I haven’t posted all of the paintings I’ve done at paint-and-sip-style events. However, you will find a few of my least favorites on this blog. I’ve never really been creative nor artistic at all. Yet, I love these classes because we are given specific instructions and guidance. It’s a lot of fun. What I have learned is that I don’t like to paint buildings… and bridges. Either that or I have to learn how to paint straight lines. Steady hand? No, I couldn’t be a surgeon!

I did a few more paintings this summer! One of which was at coup d’etat in Uptown Minneapolis. My friend Jen and I met there for dinner beforehand. It was a beautiful summer day in July to dine outside. To start, I chose a cocktail.

When in Minneapolis, which cocktail should you order off of this menu?

That’s right…

Only, it didn’t look very… purple. I took another photo with a different filter.

I was so glad it was Happy Hour because the HH food menu interested me more than the regular one. Jen ordered off that menu, too.

These are a different take on hush puppies because the bits of crawfish are inside. We both tend to like hush puppies with chunks of corn. Then there was my Happy Hour dish:

These texture of the shrimp was the best I’ve ever had – cooked to perfection. The white cheddar grits were in the top three I’ve ever had and the contrasting flavors all came together perfectly. It was like one incredible meal for just $7. I can’t imagine getting anything else here!

We did opt to share dessert at the suggestion of our server:

There was a lot going on here! The juxtaposing flavors seemed to work together; but I wasn’t in love with the dish like our server was. It’s nothing I need to get again. After dining, we went into the private room where our painting class would take place.

No, that mural on the wall was not what we were painting! I really liked this room and could see it adding elegant ambiance to a private party. Yet, it was a little dark for painting, even with such beautiful lighting.

Furthermore, the acoustics were horrible, making it very difficult to hear the instructor. And truthfully, I wasn’t entirely excited about doing this painting because there was a lot pink going on. {Although I know you can paint any color you want on the canvas!}

There was also a lot of detail that made the original painting look very difficult to replicate. Nonetheless, the result was a lot better than I expected!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What am I doing with all of these paintings you ask? Our most prized ones are hung in our living room, like portraits.

As for the others…

Well, in our basement, we have track lighting such that it makes a nice little gallery-like set-up around the main room. The only problem is that it’s not where we spend a lot of time. Rob jokes that we spend about eight times per year down there for our monthly poker tournaments. Oh. And to do laundry. And workout in the winter. And to get wine. 🙂

There is one painting I’d like to do again. Before this painting made it downstairs, my brother came to visit…

“Can I have that one?” he asked.

I was floored. How could I turn him down? Somebody wants my art? Hell, yeah, you can have it. He might have asked, though, because he likes turtles, like this kid:

~

Have you ever given someone something that you created?

Cheers,
Carrie