Sunday, December 22, 2013

vino and vango

I had a recent opportunity to step away
from the normal Thursday evening with
a few friends of mine.  Lady Mel had been
talking about a fun place to go paint...
A fabulous place in Springfield, Oregon named
Vino and Vango

It's bright, cheerful, colorful and oh so fun!!


 All the paints, brushes, canvases and supplies
are provided in the class fee.  Just bring your
favorite beverage and snack and some to share.
Here you can see some of the painting samples
in the background and students ready to start.


Kris has never painted before...
here she is starting on her first canvas..
Way to go!!


I meant to take more pictures of the process.
This ended up being the only one..
as I got so engrossed in the process.
What we are aiming for here is a treescape.


Here is the result!
Not bad for a couple hours of play.


Here is the closeup.
This is a bit subdued to the color palette
I normally use.  But it was good to learn something
new and see the results.
Let's see how the rest of the gang did....


Here is Melysa's painting.
She is the person who pulled the group together
for a fun night of play.
Thanks Melysa...What a wonderful escape
from couch potato Thursday.
Not that I don't enjoy those too  :0)


Letting canvases dry..


Karleen shows off her painting chops...
and she said she didn't know what she was doing..
Could have fooled me..


Karleen's closeup...


And look what the newbie did!
Just like an old master...
It pays to not know what you are doing..
Sage advice for us perfectionists.


Kris's closeup..


Go to the link for Vino and Vango earlier in the post
and check out all of the wonderful options there are
for your own Paint Party.  Step out of your 
ordinary day and do something new..and be 
sure to bring some friends with you.
This was the perfect Christmas gift to me!
Thank you again to Melysa who inspired
us to go PLAY!!

And just as a bonus...we have had some beautiful
tequila sunrises and equally marvelous sunsets in
this cold, crisp weather.


If I don't post before then...
Have a very merry Christmas!!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

A wee bit of fun

I've been a little bit lax keeping up with
the blogging posts.  I do have more  trip
photos to show.  I hope you aren't
getting tired of them...

Let's start with more Monet...


Don't you want to stroll the path...
sit with a sketchbook and watercolors?


I'm a sucker for stone walls and pretty flowers.


"At the end of his life, Monet hardly set foot out
of Giverny.  It became his sole source of inspiration."
Monet - The Ultimate Impressionist


 Waiting peacefully for its passenger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

A wee bit of the Irish....


St. Mary's in Killarney...


One spectacular view after another at
Killarney's National Park.  We only had to go across
the street to get there.


We happened upon several fine Irish chaps 
that gave us our bearings in the park.
The weather was sunny and pleasant the whole
time of our visit.


Lovely stone walls...

 
 Celtic crosses...



 A stop at the Teahouse before walking into town.


Another view of the church...
 


One of many chapels in St. Mary's...


Striking stained glass...


Hitting the shops...



Who can resist a store with this name?


Or the jokester who had a go at this sign....


I hope it wasn't Boofle...
You can see he's doffed a pint of Smithwicks...


Oh...maybe that was Chris's pint..
He met up this cheery couple at a pub celebrating their
50th Wedding Anniversary while I was
away at the bookshop.
 


We didn't take advantage of the horse and buggy rides..
choosing to earn our meals by walking.



Not all paths lead to our destination...



The locals out enjoying the weather...
better than average we hear.


This is where we're headed...Ross Castle.







 
I'll leave you with this beautiful shot of Ross Castle.
Taken on a moody weather day while hiking trails
in Killarney National Park.