Uptown Art Uncorked: Making Masterpieces

I mentioned Uptown Art in a previous blog post, but this one is about an actual night of painting in a class. So, this is a little more detail about how it works and a picture of my latest painting! Uptown Art Uncorked is located on 6th street in downtown Tuscaloosa. It is a cool building with the exposed brick walls with all their cool paintings hanging on the walls. You can buy wine or beer at this location. In other cities you can bring your own, but Tuscaloosa has some funny laws about alcohol.

I should have taken more pictures of my progress in class,but I am just now getting used to the blogging and didn't think about it. But, basically you start with a blank canvas and leave with an actual painting. The calendar online shows you what paintings they are teaching, so you can pick one that fits your house, personality, or just looks fun. I promise I am not artistic but I always leave with a painting that I am happy with and that actually looks pretty good.

The teacher actually walks you through every step. She teaches you how to mix the paints to get the colors you need, the brush to use, the way to add it to the canvas, and can help you fix any mistakes that you make. I always follow their directions and never venture out to do my own thing. But, this time lots of other people made their background colors different based on where they wanted to hang the painting or the colors in their house. I know my friend Mira did a really gorgeous red and orange background that everyone in the class just loved. I should have taken a picture of it too. (I will get better with my pictures!)

So, we painted the background and then took a break to let it dry. Then we painted the tree and did the shading to make it look dimensional. And the we added the fun circles. This was my favorite part. The great part of this painting is that it is called a funky tree. So, it is really hard to mess it up. A painting like this is a much easier painting than say an angel or a cross because you don't have to have details like a face and it doesn't have to be symmetrical. Here is the finished masterpiece.

Again, I would not consider myself artistic but these classes are so much fun. The more you do it the more comfortable you get with the process and the better you will feel about your paintings. The teachers are all really nice and helpful. It is one of my favorite activities in town so I hope if you haven't tried it you will. And, if you had been to the previous painting studio that was in this spot, you should check out Uptown Art again. There are a lot of new paintings and a really fun atmosphere!