Artists' Playground

Looking for something fun, relaxing and creative to do?? Put on an old shirt, get out your paint supplies and turn up your favourite tunes. You will need to create a workspace (either inside or outside) to spend an afternoon painting a masterpiece (or trying to!)

Painting is such a fun way to relax and you will be amazed at the creative talents hidden deep within! If I'm feeling stressed or tired or I just simply want to spend some time by myself to chill out - I find painting really relaxing. You don't have to be super talented at something to enjoy it. From experience I can testify that I am definitely not the world's greatest artist but I find real serenity in painting.

There are many types of painting - acrylic, oil, water colour, pastel, abstract, figures/portraits, landscape, spray, finger, splatter and the list goes on! My favourite is abstract painting. It doesn't matter what my painting looks like, it could just be a mixture of colours on a canvas and it's art!!! I find that as I'm a bit of a perfectionist doing things like portraits really frustrates me - because there is so much detail in them! Abstract art gives me the flexibility to not follow any rules or guidelines, and there is no pressure to paint a masterpiece - because this type of art is unique to every individual.

So… what do you need for an afternoon of painting?

• canvas / paper / cardboard / material
• paints (watercolour, acrylic etc)
• paintbrushes
• plastic tablecloth (to stop paint getting on your mum's carpet!)
• cup of water (to wash your paintbrushes in) and
• music (it's always nice to have some of your favourite tunes to set the mood!)

Where can you find paint supplies?

There are a few places I would recommend that have reasonable and competitive prices. Have a look at Spotlight, $2 stores, Crazy Clarks, The Warehouse or FDBs. Sometimes your local supermarket will also stock paints, paintbrushes and canvases. Tubes of paint range in price from $2 - $8 depending on the quality, and you can purchase canvases (depending on the size) from $1!

So to all you budding artists or you girls just looking for an afternoon of relaxation and creativity - enjoy!!!