I started my Acrylic Painting class on Tuesday. The last art class I took was in high school and I’d been itching to give it another try. Since my darkroom class was cancelled, this was the perfect time to do it. I figured it would be a good way to relieve stress and teach me a bit more about color and composition.

My instructor is a professional painter with a gallery in Laguna Canyon. He teaches a variety of painting classes and seems to have a great deal of experience and knowledge. We started by just making sketches of some fruits with strong shadows. It was a preparatory activity for our first project. He also gave us some tips on what supplies to buy and where to get them at a lower cost.

So, today I went out to the art store and it was like going into a candy store. With wide eyes and a silly grin on my face, I browsed the many aisles of pens, paints, brushes, and paper. Since this was my first real painting class, I was starting from scratch and had to literally buy everything I needed. It was a good thing that my instructor gave me some direction as to which brands to choose from and what type of tools I would need. It was very overwhelming and I spent nearly 45 minutes just browsing. Little by little I filled up my cart and I came home with 4 canvases, paints in all different colors, a Sta-Wet palette, painting knife, stetching pencils, and a box to hold all my stuff. Luckily there’s a “brush guy” that’s coming on Tuesday to sell us some brushes. They’re so expensive! Each one costs $5-15 each! I think this guy will be selling his for $3-6. Thank goodness.