A few weeks back, I had one of the the best nights I’ve had in a while.  I (quite unexpectedly), had the opportunity to be the featured live artist for Sudwerks Brewing Company at the Art of Beer Invitational in Sacramento, California – an evening showcasing great beer, good food and fine art.  If you are not familiar with the event, fear not, as I was also a newbie to the night’s amusement!   I will fill you in. Various breweries are represented, pouring multiple varieties of their best beer, which are paired with gourmet food options (such as Firestone Walker’s Nitro Merlin Milk Stout paired with browned butter sea salt cookies), and showcased alongside great (beer inspired) art – all of which is auctioned off at the end of the evening with all funds raised donated to Ales for Autism.  A really fun evening for all in attendance – attendees, vendors and artists alike – and a great opportunity to give back locally.

I had not had the opportunity to do a live paint event before, nor had I attended the event itself in the past, so I really wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of the evening’s potential.  Finding the location and getting through Friday traffic was a bit of an ordeal, but so worth it.  The event itself was absolutely huge and full of energy (not to mention malt and hops!)  It definitely kept my husband busy exploring and sampling when he wasn’t in charge of taking photos and videos of the night or doing food runs for me in between brush strokes!  In fact, if it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have gotten to sample as many good beers, food and cookies as I did, so a big THANK YOU to Sean Patchen for being my hero and aide for the evening!!  Sometimes, us artistic types forget to eat in the midst of a creative streak…

It was also really neat to see how enthusiastic people were to see a painting done live.  I decided to paint a pint of my favorite beer by Sudwerks Brewery – 3 Friends or 3BF (BF also being my initials prior to my marriage, so pretty cool there) – a really good dark ale highlighting roasted coffee, cocoa nibs and vanilla bean, backed by a lively and colorful background.  Looking back, my decision in the colors I chose for the background definitely summed up the energy of the evening.  Very bright and spirited (wink, wink!)  It was very encouraging to see peoples’ reactions to my work live, as I completed it, and also get on-the-spot feedback, too.  The lady who won my piece in the auction at the end of the evening was thrilled to get it, even giving me a hug as she walked away with it.  I hope the piece brings her much happiness in the years to come.  Please see the time-lapsed video of my work from the evening to get an idea of the process behind it!

Lastly, I would like to say a big thank you to the staff at Sudwerks who welcomed me from the beginning and gave me the lovely opportunity to join them for the evening – Trent, Brady, Sara and Nick.  It was a delightful evening and I’m glad to have had the opportunity to share it with you all.  Thank you to all the supportive art enthusiasts who spoke to me during the evening, too.  It was a fun night that I’ll happily remember.  And thank you to Yolanda Saldana, hostess of the Wildland Firefighter Foundation Fundraiser, for requesting my attendance to her charity event.  I will be looking forward to painting another piece for a great cause for her event on April 26^th, 2016 at the Lions Gate Hotel in Sacramento.  Please come back and visit as I’ll be sharing that experience with you all as well!