It all started in a bar...

Nice title.  Sounds like something out of a country song or romance novel. 

Actually, it is about a hobby.

No, not drinking.  Too obvious.  Not smoking either.  Those things started earlier than that, like behind a convenience store with other teens. 

No, it's painting.

Not so obvious, right?

Seriously, today's adult entertainment is more than a smoke-filled bar with pool tables and flashing neon signs.  People of all backgrounds are being enticed with activities ranging from poker runs to zumba classes.  Even recently a nearby church advertised an adult beer and Bible study at a local tap room. 

For me, I found painting in a bar.  After writing became a career instead of a hobby, I needed another way to be creative that was different from what I did on a regular basis.  I remember watching PBS with Bob Ross and other master painters creating visions of nature using multiple shades of colors that transformed their blank canvas.

I can draw an awesome Garfield.  My palm trees look like feather dusters.

So the bar that I am talking about was actually a painting class that was BYOB - bring your own bottle.  It could have been wine or beer, they were not picky.  They only asked that you did your best not to dip your brushes in your drink.  The instructor sounded like she had some previous experience.  So I dragged my mother-in-law because she had been to painting classes before and had the best wine carrier for our bottles.  My sister-in-law joined us because she thought it would be interesting.  Wine was a bonus.

I don't know if it was the alcohol or the paint fumes, but I had a blast.  We laughed, we brushed, we made mistakes and we learned how to fix them or achieve happy accidents.  When the BYOB events became fewer and fewer, we looked into the ones set in bars.  Acoustics were terrible and we were not in control of the music volume.  Not to mention the drinks cost as much as the bottles we brought in before.  Still, I keep searching because painting gives me a kind of zen, that meditative trance as you watch and transform a blank canvas to something (hopefully) that is pleasing to the eye.  I also enjoy using someone else's brushes and paints because it takes the guess work and storage off my hands.

We did try painting at home.  Here is the result:

I know, he is quite handsome.  Those painting classes have paid off.  I get a few hours of a trance that is less greasy than a massage and I get to express my creativity in a visual medium.  Sometimes I share my work.  

It is important to try new things and follow passions.  I didn't take art in high school or college because I followed other pursuits like music or language.  Maybe I missed out on something.  Still, your hobby does not have to be related to your work.  In fact, it can be the furthest from your occupation as long as it brings you happiness and some kind of release from the daily grind.

Let me know what your hobby is.  Maybe you'll inspire my next one.