At my thirtieth birthday party, my friend Tamsin suggested a Georgia O’Keefe-inspired Ladies Night of Painting at her art studio. My creative soul sisters Molly Ann and Marilene went with me. I’m working on the easel to the right and they’re sitting across from me. It was a lot of fun! It’s nice to do things like this, to tap into that creative reservoir I have inside of me, every once in awhile.

These are our flowers. (Thanks to Tamsin for taking all the lovely pictures!) From left to right, the painters were: Molly Ann, me, and Marilene. We commented how the way we painted our flowers really expresses where we fall in the left-brain/right-brain division of the world.

Molly Ann is on the left. She’s logical, sequential, and analytical. Her painting has clearly defined boundaries. Marilene in on the right. Way on the right. She’s intuitive, random, and a total free spirit. She actually painted her rose by daubing blobs of color, building from the center outwards. It would never have occurred to me to do that.

“We can tell who has a master’s degree in art,” Molly Ann pointed out.

I’m in the middle of these two, but I’m definitely closer to being left-brained like Molly Ann. I like to have nice outlines. But I’m also trying to break free of that. See those leaves? I got inspired by Marilene and took a risk. I got a little carried away. The bottom left of the canvas almost pulls focus from the flower.

Anyway, I had a great deal of fun, and I hope we get ourselves organized again for another art party soon!