Wine and Canvas for the Homeless

Last week, my friends invited me to go to Wine and Canvas. Basically, you pay a fee, show up, purchase beverages (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) and paint. Proceeds from the event go towards the Center for the Homeless.

There was a crowd in the room (and I hate crowds). After my initial anxiety, I settled in with my friends and we started painting a spring scene--raining and umbrellas. This was perfect because it is April, and it was raining. However, my umbrella started looking like upside-down flowers or produce or beach umbrellas. I felt initial frustration when I was painting because my umbrellas looked different. Instead of giving in to the self-criticism, I thought, this is supposed to be fun and stress-relieving.

So, I started making the painting truly my own. I painted outside the lines if you will; I painted the dots and circles over the umbrellas. This winter and spring was unusually cold and harsh, so why try to make this rainy scene appear normal? Once I let go and made the painting my own, I truly enjoyed myself. I noticed that people were very hard on their own paintings, even though each one was beautiful in it's own right. Lesson learned: if the model does not fit, adapt it and make it your own.

My painting is called "Off the Grid". One of my friends named it for me.

Along with the painting, I drafted a poem:

Off the Grid

April night
crowds painting
for a cause to
help the homeless

(wine and canvas)

Painting umbrellas
under rain like
everyone else but
my umbrellas
resembled upside-down
flowers
so I covered them up
with circular color resembling
snow and rain; off the grid
unusual like this
winter.

lcs/2014