Oya Arts are hosting a Paint Party Happy Hour to inject some fun and relaxation into your evenings
Who
are Oya Arts?
Oya Arts was founded by Karen Alleyne, a self-taught artist whose work explores the beauty and complexity of the African Diaspora. Through exciting projects, commissions, and exhibitions, Oya Arts has created an amazing creative space – you can read more about their exhibition The Deliverance of Womban, written up for The Gallyry by Karen last year.
Now that the world is going into lockdown, Oya Arts have found a new way to stay connected and creative through art with their Paint Party Happy Hour. We spoke with Karen to hear more about the Paint Party and how art can help people through these trying times.
Why
did you create the Paint Party Happy Hour?
Karen: “I decided to create this as a direct response to the government shutting down our pubs and restaurants after 10pm. We have gone through so many ups and downs over the last few months and I wanted to inject a little fun and relaxation into everyone’s evening. We are spending so much time at home recently and sometimes it is good to reassign new meaning to a space that you spend a lot of time in. For me, there is no better way to do this than through art, you can completely lose yourself for a couple of hours and forget where you are.”
“We have gone through so many ups and downs over the last few months and. I wanted to inject a little fun and relaxation into everyone’s evening.”
What
can people expect from the Paint Party?
Karen: “Expect to experience some serious relaxation whilst picking up some new skills, or honing your existing talents! Normally when I run my paint and sip classes, we create from an existing painting that I have prepped before the session. However, during my “happy hour” I will teach participants to paint a landscape from a photograph. I will give them all the tools they need to recreate the composition in an impressionist style. First, we will take a look at the composition of the picture and map out all the different values. I’ll then run through the brush techniques needed to create the different elements of the painting. Then we will have some fun and put them all together!”
How
can art help people through these trying times?
Karen: “Art is probably the single thing that helped me keep it together throughout this whole pandemic. When the world is uncertain, the ability to create something from scratch brings a sense of security that has been lacking. When you create in a virtual space with other like-minded people, it really helps to elevate the soul and provides a bit of connectivity in a world, where we are becoming increasingly more isolated. For me, art is nourishment for the mind, getting lost in colour for a few hours is a great form of escapism.”
“For me, art is nourishment for the mind, getting lost in colour for a few hours is a great form of escapism.”
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