Local painters of all sorts pulled out their brushes for the Butterfly Brushes event on Dec. 2.
Stroke by stroke, local artist Bobbie Crane led the full room of amateur painters towards their masterpieces.
“It was a great night,” said Crane who the Hospice selected to teach the class. “The participants were happy with their paintings when they left, you could see they were glowing.”
More than 40 people attended the event at St. Jude’s Hall in 100 Mile, according to Tracey Haddow, the Hospice Palliative Care Society’s executive director.
“I was very pleased with the event. People seemed to enjoy the venue and Bobbie,” said Haddow.
The event raised about $1,500 for the Hospice. Haddow said many Hospices often need to rely on donations and fundraising efforts such as the Butterfly Brush event.
Crane created a painting that was easy enough to be accomplished in three hours, even for someone who’s never picked up a paintbrush before. The painting emulated a snowy blue background with a lantern off to the bottom right of the canvas and a couple of pine tree branches on the sides.
“Sometimes it can be challenging because the design I come up with can be accomplished in three hours by someone who has never picked up a paintbrush before,” said Crane. “I take them through the painting step by step and [try] to not rush the participants.”
As Crane instructed the group of future Picassos and Van Goghs, she made it very clear to watch her demonstration before painters picked up a brush of their own.
“I like to make sure I talk loud enough so that everyone can hear me,” said Crane. “For this design, I used six colours and we started with primary colours to make it fairly easy for everyone.”
The painting was called “lighting the path.”
“I called the painting this to signify lighting the path to the memory tree for the hospice,” said Crane. “We give around this time of the year and the hospice is a worthwhile cause to do so. We have all been affected by someone whos needed palliative care by the end of life.”
The majority of the room were women but a few men decided to see if there was a spark for their creative side. Doug Vaughan was one of those men but he was hardly an amateur.
“I have been working with Bobbie for a couple of years and her classes are always good,” said Vaughan.
It was Vaughan’s second time participating in a Butterfly Brush event.
“I was surprised by how many men participated,” said Crane. “More often than not, these events see more women and while there was definitely more women it was nice to see six male heads in the crowd.”
Haddow says another night of painting in January is already in the works featuring local artist Kim Johnston. Haddow did not have an exact date or location but said more information is to come.
“It was a heartwarming evening,” said Crane. “It’s an honour to have been asked to lead a class like this and to give back to the community that supports me.”
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