Flying unicorn

I have been going to painting parties for a few years. The teacher is a friend who always laughs at me because I go, knowing what the subject will be and then design my own version and tune out a lot of her lesson. She knows I’ve had a lot of lessons and years studying painting. But I used to spend a minimum of twenty hours actually painting, after countless hours sketching and planning. Then I realized I’d never really be a master painter, and I’d rather work with special ed children. After that I quit paining, because the little quick line art doodles I did were all I had time for and I judged them harshly having painted better for years.
My friend, Tiffany ran these three hour lessons and my book club decided to do one together. I had a blast and felt so much like me, with a brush in my hand. Since then I gave myself permission to doodle with paint, realizing they don’t have to be masterpieces to be a hobby I relax with.
Now I’ve had trouble at home, giving myself three hours to do a hobby, but I can go to her shop, with a friend, visit and paint and come home feeling refreshed. It’s been so healing. And fun to modify her lesson to fit my own take on it.
This time the lesson was for moms and kids. My kids are grown but I’ve been mothering my granddaughter and we went together. She was two years younger than the suggested age, but handled it like a serious artist. She looked at the example, a desert sunset with black cactus silhouettes. She immediately started planning the scene. “I like sunrises better, so ours is a sunrise, and the shadows aren’t cactus because this is a Wyoming desert. I’m doing a flying unicorn, but she isn’t black, she is cotton candy pink, and you are doing a black shadow of a jackalope.”
And so it was.

[Francoise]

Awesome. I love the modification that neverhrless still follows the recipe. It's like making a dish but changing every ingredient and quantity. Love it.