Living in an artsy world

(c) Alina Rubezhova 2013 - Instagram filter 

I've always wanted to be the artsy type.

But, the thought of anything involving art scares the hell out of me - I'm not graceful, my hands shake and a paintbrush is daunting to say the least. Not to mention, art class wasn't the easiest to get by in high school. So, instead I envied those who mastered the skill of drawing. But yesterday, I got to bring out my inner Picasso. Okay, well not Picasso - but he's the only name I could think of that sounded hip enough. A group of my friends got to experience Urban Art Bar - a fun little studio located in South Boston.

I should start by saying that UAB is my client for Boston University's PRLab - so I do technically work for them, but I'm putting all bias aside and being completely sincere. Naturally I had to experience the atmosphere to get a better understanding of what UAB does. Now that I've gone to a class, I'm going to shamelessly promote them to all of my friends. I walked in with the thought that my painting would resemble a child's finger paint slob-kebob, but I walked out with what I deem a masterpiece. It was a rendition of Boston's Frog Pond - guided by our teacher, Vicki. And to add on to that - everyone in the class did well, especially considering none of us had painted before.

So I'll start with the step-by-step of what you have to look forward to.

1) We came in just before 6:30, which is when the class starts. And we picked our seats at the front of the house and settled in. The studio itself is cute - there's artwork around the wall (of the pieces that the artists teach). The studio was lined with canvas around and paint brushes laid out. You have the option to get a drink at the bar - beer or wine. UAB finally got its liquor license, but there's a small selection of bottled beers (including Angry Orchard) and your typical red and white wines.

The walls with the beautiful artwork

2) A little after 6:30 as everyone piled in, Vicki introduced herself. She had a fun personality with the mantra that there is no complaining about your masterpiece. Basically, no matter what you do, it's yours and it's beautiful! Which really is inspiring to a group of non-artists. She began by introducing us to the different brushes (we had a set of five).

3) Then, she started us off with the first step (I'll post pictures every few steps so as to not overload you with visuals - and to not give away how to paint this!) and gave us a few minutes to complete it as she played some upbeat music. Okay, the first step wasn't bad at all. It required drawing a curved line through the middle of our painting. I did it! Afterwards, she had us paint above the line with our acrylic paints, mixing colors like the seasoned artist I'm becoming. The sky. I painted a sky! I swear, I've found a new calling.

4) Finally Vicki got us here:

5) A few steps after this, we got a little bit of a break to get food, socialize, get a few drinks - but mainly to let the paint dry. If you're hungry - there's a Dominos right next door and a Hess station nearby as well. Being the candy fiend I am, I ran over to the Hess to get my favorite: Sour Patch Watermelon. I'm really surprised I've made it this far without a cavity. 

Anyway, when everyone was situated we moved on to the next step of painting. Vicki did a great job instructing because I finally ended up somewhere here:

And then brace yourself...(seriously, brace yourself because I'm convinced I'm a master artist at this point)...

Voila - my very own Frog Pond to hang anywhere I please. :)

Needless to say, I'm impressed. The class went smoothly - went pretty much exactly the entire three hours and I walked out feeling very proud of my work.

So, if you're bored of the usual day-to-day activities, gather a group of friends and reserve a spot for one of the paintings! You won't regret it and you'll have a blast doing it.

-A.