The Scenic Regional Library in Warrenton, Missouri, had a free watercolor painting lesson as part of their weekly adult programming events.
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An evening of fun and laughter started simply with just a blank white piece of paper.
Each sheet set out on each of the tables in the meeting room at the Scenic Library in Warrenton, alongside pencils, paintbrushes, paint and bowls filled with water.
And a roomful of women, along with two men, came in ready to enjoy a night learning how to paint using watercolors.
“There’s two pictures on your table,” instructor Carol Peper told the 54 people in attendance.
The picture everyone decided to work on was a design Peper painted that featured different flowers in a vase of water. Peper instructed the budding artists to start by drawing the outline of the biggest flower in the picture, the sunflower.
“Don’t get hung up on how your flower looks,” Peper told the participants. “It’ll all look beautiful in the end.”
Early on, many of the participants were painstakingly trying to copy the design. But then they were called up, table by table, to get some of the alcohol-infused ice cream provided by Udderly Moolicious, and then everyone’s creative juices really started to flow.
Many had designs that looked similar to what Peper had drawn, but were far from exact copies. And that’s exactly what the longtime art teacher wanted to see.
“They turned out beautiful,” Peper said after the event. “Each one had a different style. I just want them to be creative and do what they like to do, what they feel good about, and be there to help them.”
And help them Peper did, as she bounced from table to table, participant to participant, to help with everything from sketching the design of each flower to finding the right color for each petal.
Two participants shared a paper plate with tiny bits of acrylic paint – blue, red, green, yellow, brown, black and pink. Those tiny bits of color, mixed with a lot of water, gave each artist exactly what they needed to color their designs.
About halfway through the evening’s class, Peper had participants at each table hold up their incomplete artwork just to show everyone else in the room how each design was different.
Compliments were shouted across the room as each participant encouraged their friends, along with some “ooh’s” and “aah’s” at each attendee’s creativeness.
“I think when people first start out they feel like they have to make it look just like the picture until we can finally we can talk and they can see how other people do things,” Peper said. “And then they just take right off and they feel open about it, they feel comfortable and they do their own picture.”
As the night progressed and more and more participants finished their pictures, it was easy to see just how different each was. While most of them looked similar to Peper’s original design, none were exact, giving each of the new Warrenton artists a special piece to take home – and a new batch of confidence in their own skills.
“I know that there were some ladies that were sitting and they said they were so afraid to start,” Peper said. “When they come in they sit down and they’re quiet. I want them to feel successful. And I think that just puts self pride in each person.”
The pride was evident as participants wrapped up their paintings, with some even signing their work before heading out to enjoy the rest of the evening.
“I had a ball, but I always have a ball!” Linda Douglas, of Warrenton, said. “This was a lot of fun.”
Douglas is a regular at the library’s Tuesday night events.
“There’s a whole group of us, there’s like seven of us in a group that come together and we always look forward to it every week and we have a ball when we get here no matter what we do,” Douglas said.
Every Tuesday night, there’s something going on for adults to enjoy, be it a painting class like this Tuesday, or listening to speakers, to mix-tape bingo and more.
“The paint nights are very popular around here,” Kerry Christian, the library’s adult programmer, said. “Those usually fill up very quickly.”
So quickly, Christian said, that they often require a waiting list. The watercolor class had a wait list of 50 people, “if not more,” she said. But 11 of the people on the waitlist were able to attend.
Christian said the rest of the people on the waitlist will be given another opportunity to attend a class sometime next spring.
“I try to work it to make sure everybody gets a chance,” she said.
There’s a reason these events at the library are so popular.
“I think it’s a sense of just bringing the community together,” Christian said. “I try to make sure everybody is included and I think it gives them that sense of ‘wow. They remember my name,’ and then they make all these friends and over the years, I’ve seen all these friendships build just coming to these programs.”
It’s exactly what keeps Douglas coming back to the Tuesday night library events.
“I look forward to every week,” she said. “So this for me, especially now, I think it is getting out in the community, having an event to look forward to, meeting new friends and meeting up with the ones I already have.”
And she said that’s why people who aren’t already attending the events should come out and give them a try.
“If people have never tried an event or have never really gotten involved with their library, get involved,” Douglas said. “There are book clubs, there are kids events, there are different activities that go on. I would just say please check out your local library. It’s a ball.”
And the events are always free. And no one ever has to bring any supplies, Christian said. The library provides everything.
“And that’s awesome,” Peper said.
“It pushes people out of their comfort zone and people who might not leave the house or do something because of the cost associated with these types of things can come enjoy themselves for a couple of hours, have friendships and conversations and do something fun and not break the bank,” another watercolor participant, Jessi Nagel said. Nagel is also Peper’s daughter.
And while the library does promote its events, there are still many people – even people who have spent years living in Warrenton – who don’t know about what’s happening.
“When people do find out, they’re always like ‘oh my goodness, I can’t believe I didn’t know the library did this,” Christian said. “So I’m always trying to figure out ways to get the word out to people that we do these and they’re free and they’re fun and there’s something for everybody. You might not like one thing but you might like the next week. So it’s always best to check it out.”
You might even find a new hobby, just like Douglas did. The first event she attended at the library was on terrariums. She did some outdoor gardening, but had never done any indoor gardening.
“I like to plant flowers and stuff outside but we’ve made little tea cups, terrariums, and I do a lot of that on my own now,” she said. “I have experimented with a lot more indoor planting than I have ever done in my life. I have probably eight or 10 plants in my house now, but I never had that before. So that’s something new for me!”
Christian said it’s not unusual for an event to spark a new interest in an attendee.
“I’ve seen people who never came into the library but attended the events,” she said. “Now they have library cards. Now they are avid readers.”
And a lot of that reading, at least from the Tuesday night crew, is centered around that evening’s event.
“They’ll get here early because they want to check out a bunch of books before they go in,” Christian said. “Or sometimes they’ll come out afterwards and they might want to get a book on whatever the presentation was.”
Christian said events at the library are open to all adults, and she encourages everyone to register for one of the upcoming Tuesday night presentations.
“I love to have new people, new faces, and I love to see the people that have been coming since I started in 2012,” she said. “I still have the same groups of people and it just blows me away but they’re here every Tuesday and they just enjoy it.”
To register, call the Scenic Library at 636-456-3321 or register online at scenicregional.org. Christian also creates the event on the library’s Facebook page, Scenic Regional Library Warrenton where people can also register.
“They just have to show up and have fun!” Christian said.
About the author: Jason Koch is the editor of The Warren County Record, and covers local news and government for the newspaper. He has won multiple awards from both the Indiana and Illinois APME and from the Illinois Press Association. He can be reached at 636-456-6397 or at jason@warrencountyrecord.com
