I had the [spur of the moment] opportunity

to take an all day class with the internationally known artist, 

Sunny Carvalho on Saturday - 

Who knew she lived near my neck of the woods?!?!

I've loved her quirky art for quite a while 

[and quirky is a word I embrace in a GOOD way --]

[My art - inspired by Sunny - book quotes and all - lol]

So I was THRILLED when she posted a little note 

about having some spots left in a class at 

in Birmingham -  

How have I not known about this store?!? 

They've been in business for over 40 years!!

It's huge and wonderful with the best staff ever!

I know I'll be back to shop there!

 [One of Sunny's art pieces - but click on the link above to see more of her fantastic stuff!!]

 
So - we started the day with basic information 

about how she creates her gorgeous pieces 

and then she encouraged us to do our own interpretation - fun! 

My work in progress --

She walked us through faces shapes, bodies, 
SHADOWING, 
adding backgrounds with napkins [LOVE!!!!] 
and finishing up the faces, eyes, quotes, etc. 

 We took a break in the middle of that day and walked up to 

The Garage and had a sandwich before continuing on...

Still working on them...
It was different to create the focus of the art a
and then put the background around it - but I loved the way it all worked out --- 

 All in all a [very!] good day - I met some new artsy friends 

[including Jane from Gracie and Company!]

This is the collection of our finished work - 

I love seeing how each person puts their own spin on things!

And mine, a little closer:

The first one, that I still plan to add a sibling quote to 

And the second one - 
LOVE that little piece of gessobord. 
Wow. Good stuff.

 
I learned some new techniques with some fabulous paint - 

I've always used only the cheap stuff, 
mainly because I've not wanted to invest in things 
when I don't know how it works --
but after painting with Sunny - 
I did end up buying a few tubes of the 'good stuff.' LOL.

And I love it.

Seriously - look at those vibrant colors!!!
[Yay for travel checks that come at just the right time!]