My creative horizons expanded recently when I used a gift certificate for painting lessons at a local gallery.  “Learn how to paint” is on my list of things to do when I retire, but thanks to this gift, why not get an early start?

My certificate was for the Art on the Rocks Studio, which is located in Duluth’s Canal Park business district. They offer group painting lessons, where everyone paints the same image, or you can arrange for personal lessons.

The idea of a group lesson did not appeal to me. As you all know, I enjoy photography, and have found myself wanting to paint a few of my recent photos. So I arranged for a private lesson. The image I decided to start with is this one I took from my 2016 trip to Scotland. We stayed in an historic fishing village called Crovie. I immediately fell in love with the place and its quaint cottages on a ledge by the sea.

I brought a print out of the image with me to the studio. As instructor Chelsey and I sat at our easels and were about to start, she asked when I last sketched. “High school?” I answered.

Chelsey said that was okay. She just wanted to know what she was dealing with.

What she was dealing with is someone who has only used her fingers for typing for many many decades. And the last thing I ever painted was a watercolor scene in high school.

Before I could psyche myself out in an artsy panic, Chelsey started to show me how to organize my canvas and print out into quadrants to figure out what goes where. Easy peasy, right? Yes, actually, it wasn’t that hard. Then we picked up our pencils and drew in the scene.

I had to keep reminding myself that the sketch didn’t need to be elaborate. I’d be covering it up with paint eventually. I just needed a general guide to work with.

That done, we started painting. Chelsey squirted a bunch of acrylic colors onto a paper plate, which served as my fancy palette. She showed me how to mix colors and explained which brush to use to create different effects on the canvas.

We started with the background first, coloring in the sky and the grassy hills. By this time, a group class had arrived and Chelsey needed to flit between them and me. By now, I had mustered some artistic bravado and did not panic at her absence.

After two hours, I needed to leave for another appointment. Chelsey graciously said I could leave my painting there and come back again, which I did the next week.

At the next lesson, she gave me tips for painting the houses and the boat. I finished almost everything during that session except for some nets and flotsam that are next to the boat. This time, I took my painting home to finish.

I just need to find some time to buy some brushes and paint and I’ll finish it up and fine-tune the details. Here’s what my painting looks like at this point. It’s painfully elementary, but I’d like to think it’s not too terrible. Who knows, maybe it’s the start of something?!