Painting Hogwarts

Since Marina has been so into Harry Potter, I signed us up for a class at Painting With a Twist for a Hogwarts picture. Marina was excited and wore one of her Hufflepuff outfits. We arrived a bit early and bought drinks. Marina quickly befriended the young woman sitting opposite her.

The painting was more difficult than it appeared. This time it was me that got frustrated. Marina was very supportive and helped me catch up when I fell behind. When she was almost finished, she added the flags of each of the houses to her pictures. She was quite happy with it.

This class started at 8:00 pm, so it was pretty late when we came home.

Painting The Child

Marina and I both love the TV show The Mandelorian and especially the character The Child. A paint and sip location added two paintings of The Child to their calendar. The classes have been selling out, so I jumped at the opportunity to sign us up for tonight’s class.

When we arrived, we found seats had been reserved for us. We talked a bit with the instructor and the people around us. Of course, we’re all Star Wars geeks.

The first half of the class was creating the background of the painting. Marina wasn’t thrilled with how hers was going. Once the background was done, the instructor stenciled The Child onto the canvas and we started painting him. As the paintings came together, we were both happy with how they came out. The best part was when the black light was switched on and we saw how our paintings glowed!

After the class was over, we headed home. It was already Marina’s bedtime. But we agreed it was worth it!

The Art of Monet

The art museum currently has a temporary exhibit featuring the work of Claude Monet. It’s been a very popular event, selling out nearly every day. I bought tickets a few months ago so Marina and I could check it out.

We arrived at the Museum a bit early, so we checked out the Treasures of British Art exhibit. Marina especially like the portraits of royalty.

When it was our turn to go into the exhibit, we were excited. It was very crowded, but we managed to weave our way around the people to see all the paintings on display. Marina was very interested in them. We looked at the colors used and painting techniques. Overall we were very impressed by what we saw.

After we finished going through, we checked out the activity center called “Paint.” Marina tried out a few of the crafts including painting with shaving cream. By the time she finished her art, we were both tired and ready to have dinner.

The Hills Are Alive

Over three years ago I took Marina to see The Sound of Music. She really loved it. So I decided to take her to see the production currently running. We’ve been there several times and every show has been very good. We left for the show after church.
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We had a pretty good snow storm yesterday but fortunately for us the roads were clear. We got to the theater much faster than expected. Since we were so early, we decided to look around. We’d never seen the gallery inside the Center. So we went to look around. We saw quite a few works we liked but we both agreed that the Chihuly exhibit was our favorite.

After looking at the gallery, we picked up drinks and went to our seats. We had plenty of time to settle in before the show. We both enjoyed the performance. The cast was very talented and the sets were great. After it was over, we found the actors playing the Trapp family posing for photos in the lobby. So we got a photo with Marina before we went to the car.

We had a quick trip home as well. It didn’t feel like a long trip that we made today.

Pumpkin Art

Since Halloween is only two days away, we decided to take time this evening to carve our pumpkins. This year I didn’t find stencils I liked, so Marina decided to draw the designs on the pumpkins and then carve them out.

First we cleaned out the pumpkins. After I cleaned one out I helped Marina finished the other one. Then she carved out the designs herself. One of them had a crazy face and the other she created the outline of a ghost. After she finished I made the outline on the ghost a bit thicker so it showed up better.

Marina seemed pretty happy with them when we were done.

Grease on the Riverwalk

We had tickets to see Grease in Pueblo with some friends. So we decided to make a day of it. We left the house this morning so we could be there by lunch. Pueblo is a two hour drive from home. Marina played on her phone for most of the ride. We arrived around noon.

Our plans were to check out the Pueblo Riverwalk and have lunch. Unfortunately, it was a very windy day, so it wasn’t fun to be outside. The restaurant we wanted to eat at was having an indoor issue and offered to serve us outside, but with the wind that wasn’t a possibility. We looked around and found a restaurant that was open, so we decided to have lunch there.

The restaurant was serving Sunday brunch, so Marina decided to order stuffed French toast. It was really good. Unfortunately, her stomach started to bother her again. We took a scenic route on our way back to the car and along the way we saw some beautiful artwork as well as the pretty river setting.

The theater was minutes away from the Riverwalk so we got there quickly.  I ordered popcorn for us to snack on during the show and Marina got hot chocolate to drink. They brought her a cup as well as a pitcher for refills. She loved that!


Marina clearly enjoyed the show. However, her stomach was still bothering her. After the show ended, she felt so bad she didn’t even want to talk with the actors, even though they were nearby. So we headed back to the car and made the drive home. Once we arrived at home, she said she felt better.

Painting A Whole New World

It has been quite a while since Marina and I have attended a paint and sip class. With the release of the new Aladdin film earlier this year, our favorite paint and sip studio scheduled a few paintings based on that. Marina and I were even more excited when we saw that our favorite instructor was leading the class.

We arrived early for the class and found a group of women who made up the rest of the class were already there. When we saw the instructor, she remembered us and gave us each a big hug. She said she’d looked for us at other Disney paintings, which was so sweet!

Since everyone was there, the class started a bit early. The painting was a bit more complex than previous ones we had done. We had to make a moon and the sky with clouds, the magic lantern and the figures of Aladdin and Jasmine in the background. It took longer than the two hours allotted. But overall we liked how they turned out.

By the time we finished out paintings it was late and we were both very tired and ready to go home. So we hugged the instructor before we left.

Leonardo da Vinci

This afternoon we decided to venture out to the natural history museum. They currently have two temporary exhibitions that we have not seen yet. We were fortunate to find a parking spot quickly. We bought tickets for the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit. Marina was concerned that it would be boring. We had a few minutes before we could go in, so we wandered around the third floor dioramas until it was time.

When it was time for us to go into the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit we found many models built from of his famous drawings. Marina liked the ones that she was able to try out. Among recreations of da Vinci’s paintings was a drawing station. She was happy to try it out. She was so focused she didn’t notice two costumed actors drawing around her. As it turned out, she didn’t like the da Vinci method.

We went to watch a multi media presentation which turned out to be very long. Marina was bored by it so she left to look at other things. She wasn’t particularly interested in the close study of the Mona Lisa at the end either, but she was fairly patient as I went through it all.

Once we finished the da Vinci exhibit, we went to the Five Senses in the hall next door. Marina had seen this one before and she was excited to see it again. Through this exhibit we saw how the senses work for humans and other creatures. Marina particularly liked the room that confused the sense of balance. At the end of the Five Senses was a demonstration with red jellybeans about taste.  Marina was quite happy to try that as well.

After seeing the temporary exhibits, we decided to go home.

Seeing the Sistine Chapel

I heard about an exhibition featuring life size copies of paintings from the Sistine Chapel. I was interested in seeing it, so I bought tickets. The exhibit was at a nearby marketplace. It was in interesting place, with many restaurants and a few shops. By this point, Marina was acting a bit grumpy, so I decided we’d have an early dinner before going to the exhibit.

Once we finished our dinner, we headed for the exhibit. There weren’t many people there either. The replicas were lined along the walls with a few on the ceiling. Each piece had a description of the person portrayed and an image of where it appears on the actual ceiling. Marina thought it was interesting, but clearly it wasn’t exciting for her.

Spring at the Garden

It’s felt like a long winter and Marina and I are definitely ready for spring. Today the weather was beautiful, so we decided to check out the spring flowers at the botanic gardens. I made us a big brunch before we left the house.

When we arrived at the botanic gardens we discovered that lots of people had the same idea. It took a while to find a place to park and we had to walk a few blocks to get to the entrance.

Once inside we bought drinks and then we started walking around. There is a current exhibit of sculptures of the human form throughout the gardens which we looked at as well. We were amazed at how many different varieties of tulips we saw. The irises were also blooming and we saw a few daffodils were still around.

We were most excited to see the Lilac Garden. The lilacs weren’t in full bloom, but there were enough that we could smell them. We wandered through a few other parts of the garden before walking back to the car. We’d had a very busy weekend and wanted to relax a bit.

Painting Party

Marina’s birthday was over a month ago but it was during Spring Break. Since many of her friends go out of town, we usually wait to have her party. Since our April schedule has been crazy we weren’t able to have the party until today.

We’ve been enjoying painting classes and the instructor we’ve had. So we decided to have a painting party. She chose a painting called “A Girl With Her Dragon.”  We were all excited.

I showed up early and set up some snacks alongside the cake. The cake was actually a group of cupcakes made to look like a blue dragon. Everyone showed up early, so they had time to socialize, have a snack and get their smocks on. Some of the girls wanted to change up the colors of the painting, including Marina. She wanted hers to be an “ice dragon.”

We spent the next two hours working on our paintings. We took a break to let our paintings dry and had cupcakes. Then it was time to paint again. All the pictures looked different but clearly they had a fun time making them. Marina customized hers and it came out looking great.

As soon as everyone else was picked up, we headed out.

The Art of Dior

We had tickets to see the Christian Dior exhibit at the art museum this evening. Marina and her friend got all dressed up but then ultimately decided to wear the clothes they wore to school.

We decided to leave early to deal with rush hour traffic. It also had started to snow. As we drove the snow got heavier and it took us twice as long to get there as usual. Fortunately we arrived just in time to go into the exhibit.

Both girls loved the fancy dresses in the Dior exhibit. They agreed on some but also had their own favorites. We spent the most time in the last room that had dresses inspired by countries around the world.

After we finished seeing the Dior exhibit, we went into the interactive area. They had activities for print art. Both tried each types. They seemed to enjoy the activities and were happy with their finished products.

Once their artwork was finished, we decided to leave. It was late. Unfortunately, due to the snow, the drive home was worse than the drive there. It took nearly 90 minutes for us to get back the house. Both girls were dozing off the entire time. When we finally arrived at home, we had about eight inches of snow to walk through!

More Mermaids!

Last month, Marina and I went to a paint and sip class for a mother daughter mermaid painting. This weekend they had a class for another one. This painting was inspired by the Disney movie The Little Mermaid.

We were running a bit late, so we arrived just as the class was getting started. Each of us took a stencil to draw on the shape of the mermaid. Then we started creating the gradient background. That was fun but it took a while. Then we filled in the mermaid. Marina had a few issues with hers, but this time she calmly dried the paint and fixed what she didn’t like. In the end she was happy with how it came out.

A Mermaid and Her Mom

A few months ago Marina and I went to a paint and sip class and made mermaid paintings. We decided we wanted to do another one. This time it was a class for mothers and daughters to create two paintings that go together. We both wore Ariel shirts. 

When we arrived we saw that most of the daughters were pretty young. That didn't bother Marina at all. We bought drinks and found our spots near the front of the room.

The pictures were already drawn in for us and we had fun painting them. Marina added some great detail to the mermaid tail. We decided to make the hair of our mermaids like our own. Marina's turned out great! Especially considering that she had to mix the colors to make brown.

Near the end of the class, Marina got a bit frustrated with the final touches. So I helped her fix the issues. Once the class was over we stopped for lunch. We both felt better after we ate.

Mermaid Masterpiece

We took our first class at a paint and sip store about a year and a half ago. It was a tougher painting than we expected and Marina got a bit frustrated. I asked her if she wanted to try again with the mermaid painting they had scheduled tonight. She said yes. So I signed us up.

When we arrived at the studio, I was surprised to see only two canvases set up. It turned out Marina and I were the only ones signed up for the class. That seemed a bit strange, but it turned out to be great. Marina was much more comfortable than in the big class we were in before.

Marina chose to hand sketch her painting while I had the instructor do it. As we went along, Marin added her own touches to the painting. She changed the mermaid’s hair and fin colors. We all had a fun time and overall we were both happy with our pictures.

Pixelated

Today was Marina’s first day of summer vacation. I decided to take the day off and we went to the Botanic Gardens. We both slept in and left in the late morning. The weather was very warm today and the Gardens were popular. We were very happy to get a parking spot in the garage and out of the sun!

Once we got inside the gardens, Marina was ready for lunch. So we stopped at the café and ate sandwiches before looking around. They have a collection of sculptures called “Pixelated” on display this summer and Marina was particularly interested in seeing those, so she used the map to make sure we saw them all.

We headed toward the lilac garden in hopes that they were still in bloom. A few of the flowers remained, but not as many as we have seen in the past. We also took some paths around we haven’t used as often. We saw columbines and irises in many different colors all over.

Marina really enjoyed the Pixelated sculptures – she was especially excited about the “Cat Head” one. After we went through the garden we went to the children’s garden. After seeing the sailboat sculpture Marina spent a bit of time playing in the wading stream before we decided to go home.