One of my favorite ways to explore different niches of NYC is through the myriad of classes available. Whatever your fancy…fencing to fiction, cooking to crochet, you can bet that somewhere in this big city of ours there’s a class dedicated to just that.
I’ve been a student in classes ranging from wine to language, and this time around decided to branch completely out of my comfort zone and try something that I have a great admiration for but zero talent in: painting. Using CourseHorse, a centralized hub that houses over 25,000 NYC courses in one place, I was quickly able to zoom in on the different painting classes offered on the day I was interested in going. I chose the BYOB Painting Class. Each evening they feature a different painting, and in the 2 hour session walk you through the process, brushstroke by brushstroke, making artists out of the worst of us.
My friend and I plopped down in the front row of the studio, eager to get our Zen Sunset on. (Yes…I was the annoying teacher’s pet that always brought apples to school for the teachers. I own it.) I wish I had thought in advance to bring a Granny Smith this particular evening because the instructor was, quite frankly, fabulous. She walked us through step by step: “Dip your 1 inch paint brush in the lavender…now start 2/3 of the way up the right side of your canvas, and slope down towards the lower left-hand corner for 6 inches.” Her voice was soothing, and I would go so far as to say the activity I was foreseeing as being difficult and stressful turned out to be completely therapeutic. Love!
I was delighted that my final product not only resembled the master painting, but that it was actually something I could hang on my wall! My friend and I left with a newfound respect for the art of painting, a sense of accomplishment, and Zen Sunsets tranquil enough for even the most chaotic New Yorker’s apartment wall.
Jessica Tiare Bowen lives in the juicy Big Apple with her adorable pink-nosed chihuahua, Gillman. He’s the inspiration for her first published children’s book, “Park Avenue Pound Puppy.” The book is the combined result of her two greatest passions: pooches and penning stories.
Her passions include art, urban hikes through Manhattan, drinking coffee with 3 creams and 6 sugars, making extremely detailed itineraries and traveling to far away places, singing along to Broadway shows, Netflix movie nights, discovering incredible treasures at Goodwill and thrift stores, and listening to stories from little people under 7 and big people over 70.
She started her career as New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary school and theater arts at a special education school in the South Bronx for 6 years. She is now a Special Education School Improvement Specialist working in public schools throughout New York City. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the online New York City travel magazine, Used York City. The magazine focuses on finding the best of New York…as used by New Yorkers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and an ASPCA Ambassador.
