Mother/daughter duo Kitty and Katy Mitchell offer popular painting parties for kids and adults.
At Saturday night’s “Lushes with Brushes” painting party, the vino did flow. Just to get the creative juices flowing as well, of course. Drink some wine, loosen up, and paint a picture to take home. This turns out to be a pretty great way to spend an evening.
“I said ‘Sign me up!’” said first-timer Laurie Death, whose husband had learned about the class from Facebook. Laurie was just getting started and already enjoying herself. “This is a wonderful de-stressor for my life of chaos,” she said.
Her sentiments were echoed throughout the room, as nine women sipped and dipped (wine and brushes, respectively).
Amy Hilton was back for a second class. Her first was the Jackson Pollack-themed party from a few weeks ago. “It was incredible,” she said. “It opened up a whole new world of painting for me. It inspired me – I bought canvases and paints."
The first time that Ruth Fordon had ever put paint on a canvas was at the Birds painting class. “It’s amazing how it turned out – who could imagine? It’s a very successful feeling.”
That feeling of success – with a good dose of fun – is what the classes are all about.
The Pigments of Your Imagination school of art got its start last fall. Katy had been to visit her sisters in Charleston, and while there, had gone with them to a “Bottles and Brushes” painting party. She had a great time and came home to tell her mom, “We should SO do this on Ocracoke!”
The trick, said Kitty (who moonlights as Ocracoke Schools Pre-K–12th grade art teacher), is to develop a painting that can be done in two hours. Using fast-drying acrylic paint (and hair dryers to help it along) is part of the formula for success. But mostly it’s about practice. She and Katy come up with an idea, and paint it themselves until they have it down and can teach it.
“I’m a more experienced painter than Katy,” Kitty said. “I’ll start doing stuff without thinking – using the side of my brush, or blending in my colors – and Katy will stop me and ask what I’m doing and why. She makes me explain it, so she can practice – that’s really good for both of us.”
The painting parties take place every other weekend, with a daytime class for kids and an evening, wine-soaked session for adults.
After school’s out this summer, they plan to offer classes 2 – 3 times a week for younger kids, older kids, and grown-ups.
“Rainy days, or after they’ve been sunburnt, this is a great place for kids to be and it’s fun for them to do,” Kitty said. Pay twenty-five bucks, drop your kid off for an hour and a half, and get a ready-to-hang original piece of artwork by the little angel. What a bargain! So far, the classes have been filling up with local kids, whose parents jump at the chance to see artwork and Saturday afternoon activities combined.
The adult classes ($35 and BYOB) have some regulars, too. Amy Howard was back for her third time – she’s also painted Joe Bell flowers and an Octopus. She was drinking red wine, so I moved on to Leslie Monticone (who offered me a glass of white.) Leslie took the Pollack Plop class, and also painted a moon over the beach.
“Water is hard to paint,” she said and Kitty agreed. “My moon is fabulous; my water is awful,” Leslie laughed, as she started on that night’s painting of a silhouetted tree. She was clearly there for the fun of it.
Kitty and Katy also attract more experienced artists.
Barbara Jemison is a painter who works with oils. This was her first try with acrylics, and she and Kitty discussed the differences in the media, agreeing you could never do an oil painting is such a short amount of time.
“We use thin-body acrylics to cover the canvas quickly, and layer and blend easily,” Kitty said.
For Marissa Gross, this was her first painting class since college. She loves to paint, and looked the part (she brought her own palette and brushes). “I’m very glad to be here,” she said with enthusiasm. “It’s a great idea for a Saturday night.”
Find out about upcoming Pigments of Your Imagination classes by emailing mskittymartinmitchell@gmail.com or calling Kitty (252-921-0261) or Katy (252-588-2216). The next class will be March 8th. All classes are held at Deepwater Theater.
