Mommy and Me Painting Class!

As a Mother's Day gift from Gigi this year, Katie Anne and I got to take a "Mommy and Me" painting class at The Funky Paintbrush in Woodstock.  It was such a great bounding time for me and KA!  With SJ still being on a two nap schedule, it's hard for Katie Anne and I to do the things that we're used to doing in the summer.  So, this was a great surprise for us!  My mom kept SJ - and even let us borrow her new car with GPS to help us find The Funky Paintbrush - and KA and I were off!  

Katie Anne got to pick the painting that we did, and she picked the Sleeping Cat.  (Not my first choice because the colors nor cats really go with our house, but it wound up a lot better than I expected!)  The instructors took us through the painting step-by-step, and Katie Anne did most of the work.  She did an awesome job of listening and following directions - she's a great painter!  I did the outlining work that took precision, and I filled in some of the bigger parts of the sky and background of the grass when she got bored with it.  It was really a team effort, and everyone at The Funky Paintbrush was impressed with our great our cat looked - especially with a four-year-old doing the majority of the painting!  The class lasted two hours, and it gave KA and I some time to chat without interruptions.  Plus, we got to take home the cute painting of the Sleeping Cat when we left!  Here are some pictures of us at work...

The artist is ready to begin!

 The instructor does the outlining for you to get you started in the kids' class.

 Mommy and KA!

 Look at that concentration - painting the sky.

 Working on the grass background.

 Two girls having a great time!

 

 Working on the body of the cat- we started with a background of orange and added strokes of white, yellow, orange, and red.

 

 Katie Anne did an amazing job on the flowers- she did those almost entirely by herself.

 Adding the highlights.

 Making the grass look more realistic.

 Katie Anne did not want ANY help from me when it came to mixing her paint colors.

 I outlined the cat's body and drew the face, and Katie Anne added the the finishing touch - the nose!  She was really trying so hard - look at that face!

 KA with our beautiful finished painting!

 The Sleeping Cat!

Sleeping Cat is now hanging proudly on our living room wall, and KA loves that something we made together is out for everyone to see!  The painting class was a great gift for us!