FUNDRAISER … At the top of the picture, Lindsey Thompson, right, gives a pointer to the painters. To the left of Thompson is Brittany Theis, head of the Fayette Garden and Beautification Club. (PHOTO BY DANIEL COOLEY, THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
By: Daniel Cooley
The Fayette Gardens and Beautification Club held its first of two fundraisers on Saturday, May 6, at the Normal Memorial Library in Fayette.
This first fundraiser involved “Painting Sunflowers.” The second fundraiser is slated for a second painting class, on May 20.
The first fundraiser was hosted by Lindsay Thompson of Edon, who owns Art Party. Thompson gave pointers to all the painters, involving each step of the 12-step process, to completion.
Nineteen people participated in the Painting Sunflowers Fundraiser. Each painting went for $15, directly to the fundraiser. Also, the cost of the fundraiser was $40 per person.
One painter, Deb Tenbusch of Commerce Township, Michigan, heard about the painting party from a friend, Kathy Ramsdell, of Fayette. Ramsdell’s daughter, Andrea Jacobs, also participated.
Laurie Reeves, of Fayette, brought her two daughters, Kaitlyn, an eighth grader at Fayette Middle School and Madison Reeves, a sixth grader at Fayette Elementary and the youngest participant, at age 12.
Pearl Phelps, the oldest painter at age 75, brought along the greatest number of painters, nine friends and relatives (two no shows).
Each painter was given a canvas with the drawing of the “Painting Sunflower” project, along with a laminated piece of paper that contained the “Painting Sunflower” picture. Next to the picture was the 12-step process involved in completing the painting.
“A lot of people don’t need to look at the steps, but just knowing that it’s there in case they need it, makes them feel more comfortable,” Thompson said.
“Plus, a drawing on the canvas looks a lot nicer and helps the painter become more comfortable about each step of the process.”
Each painter also received a cup of water, four brushes, a pallet of different colors, the canvas, and if needed, a piece of cardboard and an apron.
Thompson explained that some painters felt more comfortable trying out a color on the cardboard first, before putting it on the canvas.
Thompson stated that she also had other colors, gold and glitter and paint pen markers, for use at the end of the project, if they wanted them.
The actual picture contained a basket, with sunflowers, on a bicycle.
One of the very first steps of the painting was that Thompson told the painters to fill in the basket with a solid black color.
Then, they were to paint the top of the bicycle frame gray and bottom of the frame, including the tire, black.
When finished with that part, they could paint in periodic white stripes on the tire and frame.
Next, the painters were instructed to go back to the basket and paint brown stripes straight down. Then, next to it, tan stripes, all the way down.
They repeated the process, until the basket was filled in. Then, they could put in white stripes in a few places to make the painting “pop.”
Thompson told the painters to remember that “every step doesn’t look beautiful and don’t be afraid to use a lot of paint, because it blends better.”
Next, coming off the basket, painters were instructed to use green lines to the right and to the left of the basket to make ferns.
They then made small lines coming off the green lines, so that they looked like ferns.
Next, painters painted in the colors brown and black, in the center of the flowers, followed by painting the petals yellow.
The final steps were adding green glass, wherever the flower’s background showed and adding yellow highlights to the bicycle frame.
Thompson explained that by going through each of the steps, each painter was likely to be happy with the finished product.
Thompson can be reached by Facebook, at Art Party 4.
Dan can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com