DAB

1) to pat or tap gently, as with something soft or wet
2) to apply (a substance) by light, short strokes to the surface
3) to strike, especially lightly, as with the hand

(Dabbing, in an artist's vocabulary, refers to applying paint in layers which contributes to the flickering effect of impressionist works.)

Again thanks to Living Social, I had the change to try out a wine and painting class. These things seem to be all the rage recently, so I definitely wanted to give it a shot. In high school, Jo and I took an art class together, so I thought it would be fun to reminisce -- this time with wine.

The adorable little studio is located in West Seattle (yes I know, everything in West Seattle is adorable and cute -- and this place is no different!), and is called Mind Unwind. Our class fee provided us with a complimentary refreshment (from the Treehouse Lounge upstairs), materials, and a 16 x 20 canvas. The theme of our painting was "Seattle Starry Night", after the famous Vincent Van Gogh piece. Its like they read my mind! I love it!

I will be the first to admit -- I am no artist. In fact, I was a little intimidated to go with Jo because she is much more artistically inclined. But once I saw the sample painting I was relieved because the content was simple. The creativity comes with the way in which you stroke and dab the paint on your canvas. 

We started out with a baseline sketch of our skyline, mapping out where we want our swirls, starts, and moon. From there it just became a matter of mixing and shading with our color pallets. Acrylic is fun to work with because it dries fairly quickly, allowing you to adjust your colors however you would like by dabbing on lighter or darker colors (it also allows you to fix your mistakes easily, as you can fully paint over what you don't like).

Overall, I found the experience to be lots of fun, and surprisingly relaxing. I was actually proud of my final product (this is rare with anything artistic I do!), and it is now hanging up in the hallway of my house. It was challenging for me to step out of my comfort zone, and explore the world of painting -- but once I did I found that I am interested in exploring this new world more. Maybe I am DABBING my way towards a new hobby?