There’s a kind of giddiness I can’t shake this week—the kind that usually belongs to back-to-school aisles and sharpened pencils. But this time, it’s mine, and it’s all art.
After years of feeling like painting was something I circled but never quite stepped into fully, I’m finally doing it: I’m enrolled in an in-person painting class at my local university. Not online, not a sip-and-paint night, not a video tutorial. A studio class with an instructor, classmates, paint under my fingernails, and the smell of turpentine and gesso.
It really feels like this is more than just a class. For me, it’s a pivot point that’s been a long time coming.
Why now?
Like a lot of us, most of my working adult life has taken place at a desk. Writing, reading, thinking. Even my hobbies involved the same things: writing, reading, and thinking about what I’d written or read. I love those things, but it can start to feel stagnant and insular. Even when I made time for art, it was small—contained drawings, tight pencil work, details crammed into a watercolor block. But what I’ve been craving lately is scale. Movement. A wider range of motion. I want to feel more active in my own life—and making large, expressive, physical paintings feels like a path toward that.
Just before the pandemic, I’d signed up for both an acrylic painting class and an illustration course at a local college. This was an all-in decision. I was attending class 5 nights a week, for something like 4 hours every night. I left for class straight from work and got home when most people were heading to bed. Those classes were great, but I barely even got started before everything shut down. Like so many things in that era, all my momentum froze. I tried online courses here and there, but they always felt too cramped—too shallow or too juvenile. Not what I needed. I wanted something more serious. Instruction that could actually teach me, challenge me, guide me toward the painter I want to become.
So when I found this university class—a short summer session that fits with my full-time job—I was all in. The enrollment process was hilariously complicated (what’s a little bureaucracy when a dream’s on the other side?), but I was determined. And now that it’s official, I keep mentally rehearsing my first day, imagining myself inside the studio.
What I’m hoping for
Some of what I want is tangible and technical:
- Mark-making that feels confident and intentional
- A deeper understanding of color—especially how to mix and layer colors to get that luminous palette I’m always chasing
- Better, more professional finishing—learning how to resolve a painting so it looks polished and high quality
- Expanding my approach to subject matter—maybe even trying figure painting, which has never really called to me but feels like a worthy experiment (especially when the instructor is an expert in that)
But a lot of what I want is harder to name. I want to feel myself becoming a painter—not in some twee sense, but in a steady, practice-based, no-turning-back sense. I want to move toward that identity in a real, embodied way. I want it to feel inevitable.
Part of that means letting go of the “all or nothing” story I’ve been carrying when it comes to my work. Every class session, I’ll be trying to hold a middle path: focused, but not obsessive. Loose, but not careless. Guided, but still playful. I think the structured class environment will help with that, especially having an experienced pro on hand to offer feedback and expertise in the moment.
What I’m nervous about
There’s the usual stuff—am I going to be the oldest person in the room? Will I feel behind? Am I setting my expectations too high?
I’ve also got a few logistical things on my mind: the class runs in the mornings, which overlaps a bit with my job. I’ll miss one full class day and part of another due to a work trip, which isn’t ideal, but it’s not the end of the world. And I haven’t gotten a supply list yet, which puts me in limbo of wanting to be ready but not wanting to bother the instructor (yet again).
But even with all that—there’s so much excitement. And real joy. I haven’t told many people I’m doing this yet, and that feels right. This isn’t about me announcing some new phase. This is about living it. Letting it take root. Letting it grow into something I can carry forward—into new paintings, new practices, new relationships. I’m really looking forward to my own development, and also the community I expect to build.
As much mental rehearsing as I’ve done, I still don’t know what the next few weeks will hold. But I do know this: I’m finally making art not just as a hobby, but as a way of life. And that feels like the beginning of something very, very good.
Grow with me
This class marks the beginning of a new chapter, and I’ll be sharing my reflections, lessons, and behind-the-scenes moments as I go. If you’re curious about the process of building an art practice from the ground up—or just want a bit of creative inspiration in your inbox—I’d love to have you along for the ride.
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Either way, thanks for being here. I’m so glad to have you with me as I take this step.
It's Henley 