2024-12-04 - Painting With a Twist 🍸

Music plays more quietly in the store which seems to be Lindsey Sterling for now instead of the park music. Robin gives a wave with some signs that point to where things are. Above his head in a more festive font (with snowflakes for the tittles and punctuation) hovering in the air, 'Evening and welcome to Wine and WTF did I paint. Canvasses are there. Supplies are at the table. Wine soon. So glad you could come. I turned the heater back up. If you have ? ask away.'

Arrow's dressed in her usual Boo'ed Walk black, because she worked all afternoon at Stirring. Tonight it's a cozy knit jacket with chunky yarn, a sheer top, but the details are now obscured by a black and white striped painter's smock. She's already seated with a canvas in front of her, as if she arrived a little early. A cane leans against the wall not far from a corner seat she chose.

"Wine sooner," Arrow mumbles from where she's eyeballing the paint choices laid out for each person, a brush in hand.

Sadie appears! She takes a look around, sees the things, and beams. "Awesome."

Doesn't take her long to get her stuff all settled in at a spot, and she's already pretending to paint in the air with her brush. La~

Well, Joseph finally got himself a breath of fresh air away from work. Nobody to fix. With nobody to fix...well, he figure he would come and see what Robin had cooked up for people. Is Joseph a good painter? HELL no. Is he at least good enough for it to be funny? Absolutely. It was all fun, and honestly, Joseph needed to do something a bit more laid back than operation anyway. He was dressed casually, finally out of the coat and scrubs.

Instead just jeans, a shirt, and a dinner jacket. He sat down in a chair, lifting his hand to his bearded chin to give it a thoughtful stroke as he looked at his color options. "I...think these'll work?"

Wes has had time after work to get out of his work suit, grab a quick shower, toss on some new clothes and head over; a simple outfit of black jeans and a grey shirt of brushed flannel worn open, a black t-shirt beneath. "I am here to create," he declares cheerfully as he walks into the space, a grin curving to his lips as he heads over towards the canvases, eying them up to decide which to claim as his own.

As if it's a hard decision.

He finally lands a hand on one and picks it up, carrying it over towards an easel, asking as he does, "So how's everyone doing tonight? Hope nobody had too stressful a day. But I guess that's what the wine's for?"

Lavender walks in as inconspicuously as a rather petite person can, which is often fairly inconspicuously, wearing a baggy pair of black jeans with a cropped long-sleeved sweater knit in a horizontal black and grey wide stripe. Her hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail and when she walks, the white tipped toes of a pair of black converse can be seen.

Seeing the directions floating above Robin's head, she stands back, looking over the various canvas sizes, hand cupped to her chin, finally deciding on one of the smaller options before heading to pickup supplies and find a spot to set up. Once she is situated, she looks about the room at the others, dark eyes peeking out from bangs just long enough to slightly obscure them. When Wwesley asks how everyone is doing, she gives him a thumbs up in response.

"About anything particular?" Dylan asks Arrow, dropping himself loosely into a chair near hers and setting his chosen canvas on the easel there. "I could do the weather, politics, uncomfortable shoes, or people having meetings that coulda been emails, though admittedly this job did make me finally have to stop dealing with that, so it might be less convincing than it used to be."

Leaning forward, he considers the canvas and the paints available. "I haven't painted anything since tenth grade, walls excepted, so this should be fun. Maybe I'll be better at it drunk. Always worth a try." He definitely doesn't have a smock, but he does have a red plaid flannel over a black t-shirt with a white cartoon bunny running with chainsaws, black jeans, and black Vans. Soon they may well all be more multicoloured.

Stepping into the place and finding that it was already full of other people, Avery looks around for familiar faces and grins as some do appear to be familiar while others are not.

Dressed in a grey sweat suit, a black tank top on underneath the unzipped jacket, she walks towards an open seat and settles down in front of her blank canvas, paint brush, and paints all neatly set out.

Robin points to Dylan lifting a corner of his own shirt but pointing back to Dylan with an upnod of approval. He can get behind reckless rabbits. It's in short order that the cart is wheeled out, though instead of stock there's a case of various wines on it. He points to the each, Red wine, White wine accordingly. He signs with the captions overhead again Did some work on mainland in Traverse City so we can thank Lelanau Cellars for being very groovy. They're doing discounts on wine tastings through December at their showroom." End of advert

The process, though seems to be simple and Robin, for being a shy guy, seems to do alright with crowds as he does the show out front twice a day. 'Wiill show what we are painting and then when you have your wine or soda, we paint together. No mistakes or ghost of Bob Ross will haunt us. ooOoh!' That's signed as an upbeat haunting here.

"Ghost of Bob Ross." Sadie snickers, then hones in on where the wine is. When she returns to her seat, she has a glass of red that she sets down oh so carefully after a sip.

Lavender's brows arch up with interest when the wine comes out. She is certain to want some of that. The mention of discounts also earns a similar expression, but only one brow at that.

She keeps her attention on Robin mainly, not wanting to miss any of the captions. She is trying to learn sign, but can barely say more than 'thank you' and 'apple' yet.

"But what if we want to be haunted by Bob Ross?" she asks.

Dylan grins at Robin and gives him an upnod back in acknowledgement of bunn appreciation. "Wait, is that supposed to make us not make mistakes?" He gestures to Lavender as she asks about the same, adding, "'cause if we're gonna have any ghosts I'm on board with Bob Ross from the beyond telling us there are no mistakes and we'll just turn them into some happy little trees or something. Who doesn't want more happy little trees?"

Also wine, which he gets up to pop over to the cart and pour. "Anyone want a glass brought to 'em? Two hands, no waiting. ...well, one hand that isn't holding my glass, I guess." Any double-fisting will wait for much later in the drinking process.

Arrow glances back when people filter in and get comfortable, a little smile on her lips in greeting. Those that've been here a while might know her as the somewhat shy shopkeeper at an occult shop on the Boo'ed Walk. She glances over when Dylan asks her something, blinks until she realizes that was wordplay, and she says, "The economic costs of warming ocean waters."

A muscle in her cheek pulls slightly tighter as she glances down at the bunnies and chainsaws t-shirt, but she doesn't say anything about it. She glances back and says to Lavender, "Have you been on the Haunted Estate ride?"

"Well," Wesley comments, picking up one of the brushes and chewing on the end of it as he mumbles, "Now I'm painting the ghost of Bob Ross, I guess."

His head lifts at the query from Dylan, and he raises a hand, "Red wine, over here, my man-- oh, shit, Avery, this isn't fair, you're an actual artist." He grins before shaking his head back at his easel, "No making fun of whatever awful mess I create."

Lavender gestures toward Dylan with a hand palm up. He makes solid points about no mistakes. Only opportunities for happy little trees and white puffy clouds.

"If you're offering," she replies to him. "I'll take the red."

Lavender has been at the parks a long while, not quite since the parks opened, but a month or two give or take after. Arrow has likely seen her visit the shop regularly, looking for crystals and trinkets. "Yeah," she responds to her. "Riding it is way better than operating it." Lavender is one of the ride operators at the park, making sure everyone is buckled in tight before they go on their trip.

"Ghost of Bob Ross."

Joseph had repeated the words with a little snicker, along with so many others. He wouldn't mind seeing that happen. "Just saying...meeting Bob Ross, or his ghost, would be pretty neat..." Though he looked towards Dylan. "Wouldn't mind some red wine myself."

Avery rolls her eyes at Wesley before she lets out a laugh, "We all have to start somewhere, I didn't start off as an artist. This could be your big break into something." maybe not... But she was trying.

"I'll take a white," calling to Dylan, "But I think you've gotten more than one request... So... I'll just grab my own." Deciding as she stands up from her seat and walks over to the bottles of wine to pour herself glass of the white one.

"Red, please," Arrow says to Dylan on the offer of wine bringing. The bringing of wine is a sacred act and all. Deserves a please and forthcoming thank you.

She glances over at Wesley at mention of painting the ghost of Bob Ross, amused. She nods in approval nobody asked for when Joseph jumps on the red wine train too.

Robin takes the question about what if we want to invite Bob Ross with a captioned sign back, 'Then we do the next one on the Boo'dwalk.' There's a thank you to Dylan not used to thinking of all the things at once seems. He signs back to Dylan a 'me, same' pointing to Avery before throwing her the horns. Solidarity.

As for the painting once everyone has chosen a canvas size he shows the finished element next to a blank canvas where he's painting along with them to get them there. The end project is a dark break in a celestial forest noting of the open space and sky above it, 'We have room to add characters after in this. don't worry too hard on it now. There's no 'messing it up'. This is not a tattoo. We'll start with the background using a base colour like this, and we'll add other ones in as we go. don't worry about snow and up front for now. We're making a coolass sky however that turns out."

Dylan squints briefly at the cart, mentally mathing, but really the stems are pretty thin so how hard can it be, right? "Maaaan whyyy does it have to cost so much to fix things when the ice caps melt, I mean the ice in my drinks is always melting and that never costs me more..." He pauses, making a face, then shrugs at Arrow and says in much more casual tones, "Technically I guess some people would put that under 'politics' but really, not so much. When I rule the world we'll just make the people who started it pay for the fixes."

By now he's poured four more glasses of red, and turns his hands over to slot three between the fingers of one hand and two between the other. It's... slightly sloshier than ideal, but at least he didn't fill them so high they spill, and the glass seems to survive okay while he makes the rounds to let each requester claim one until he settles back into his chair with the last one, and looks at the picture Robin intends them to attempt. "Well, that definitely looks more ambitious than tenth grade. Or walls."

Wes catches the look from Arrow, and he brings his hands up in a 'ooo' ghost finger-wriggle, the paintbrush still stuck between his teeth like a particularly unfashionable cigarette holder. He plucks it from his lips to waggle towards Avery, "You say that now, sure." She hasn't seen him try to paint yet, after all! Then again, neither has he. Since he was in elementary school, he's pretty sure, so this is going to be an adventure.

"My man, you are the GOAT," he informs Dylan as he claims a glass of red, and then he squints towards the image created by Robin. "Okay," he murmurs, encouraging himself, "That's not too complicated. I bet I can do that."

Picking up on the signals from Robin to Dylan - but side glancing at Dylan he already has his hands FULL of red wine to be delivered. There is an upnod given to Robin, "I got you," she calls back to him and pours a second glass of white one while he explains what everyone is going to be painting.

Glancing up from the glasses of wine, she stares at the projected painting and looks back at Wesley, "I believe in you."

Both glasses of white one are picked up. One is delivered over to Robin and offers it to him before walking back to her own seat so that the class and fun can start.

Lavender thanks Dylan as he delivers the wine, nonverbally. She thanks him by lifting her glass toward him then taking a sip as if toasting to his efforts.

Inspecting the example of what their end result might look like brings a slight look of concern to her face. She is new at painting. Came here on a whim, really. Thought it might be fun. Got her out of her apartment for the evening at least. "The color scheme is my vibe," she says with a nod. "Trust in the process" That was said more to herself than anyone else.

The smile that threatened when Dylan made a joke almost appears at Wes' antics. Arrow's in the process of painting the edges of her canvas, starting there, and she stops, looks up, turns her gaze to Dylan, and just stares at him when he starts actually discussing warming waters. Her lips part and then she takes a breath instead of speaking. And then digs a copper coin out of her pocket, and tucks it onto the table at Dylan's seat. It's a die struck coin made of copper, featuring a high relief skull and crossbones on one side.

Arrow goes back to painting the edges of her canvas black. She glances up at the example of the finished project that Robin shows them. She takes the offered wine glass a moment later when Dylan brings it by. She salutes him with it, raising it slightly by way of thanks.

"Same," Arrow chimes in right after Lavender mentions the painting vibe.

Brush goes into paint, then up to drag over the canvas. Slightly too-long, too-hard strokes of the brush result in the end of each tapering off in to more of a speckled smear while the start has too much paint, but it's just the background so that isn't too much of an issue.

"Couldn't we cheat," asks Wesley as he works, musing aloud because he's never heard of an inner dialogue, "And just get, I don't know, a black canvas to start with? Although I guess you'd need to dye the canvas originally, which is sort of painting it already, only it was someone else-- does that make it a collaboration? Huh."

It may be becoming clear just why the park keeps him in a non-speaking role where he has to keep his mouth shut.

"I do fuck with the color scheme," he then agrees with Lavender and Arrow, "The monochrome mixed with the aurora colors in the sky are great and I will not pull that off one-third as well. I'd say half. But I'm gonna be drinking."

Robin gives Avery the heart hands, brush in his fingers still. It's to Wes he signs with text above 'You can. We learn the method and it will work out organically and be cool and yours.' He does, for their sake, demonstrate thinning the acrylics with a little bit of water to make them less pasty but starts in on his own canvass with demonstrative dark swishes and no plan yet. 'The colours will let you know how they want to blend and then you can lean into it. Don't knock your canvass over though.' in case that was too literal to some.

Back to Wes he nods yeah absolutely! but then makes the gesture of 'money' but nods all teh same.

In return, Avery offers the same heart hands to Robin once she's sat down at her own seat and her hands were free to do. A large smile on her face as she looks back to her blank canvas.

To Wesley's suggestion she grins and gives a nod, Robin answers it the same way she would have. Well, not exactly, Robins did it in a non-sarcastic tone.

Picking up her wine she takes a drink of it before she even picks up a paintbrush.

"You could probably spraypaint it the day before," Dylan muses to Wes's pondering, "...which'd definitely also count as painting it already, but it'd be ou. I dunno what effect that'd have on painting on it afterward, though. Like, would it get wet again? Would it not and you'd need it to?" He is vaguely aware that sometimes people want colours to bleed into each other. Probably from watching Bob Ross at some point.

The coin from Arrow gets a blink, and as he takes a good sip of his wine he leans over to pick it up and investigate. "Ooh. Pirate booty. One of the top three types of booty." He returns the salute of glass, takes another drink, pockets the coin, and finally picks up a paintbrush. This at least means he gets to see Robin's demonstration before he starts trying it himself, which is probably a plus.

Wine glass cradled elegantly in one hand, Lavender watches Robin paint, trying her best to copy his motions with the brush in her other hand, to make her canvas look like his. She lifts her glass to Arrow, then to Wesley, who are all down with the color scheme of their project. "I'll be ecstatic if mine looks remotely like that," she says in the most non-ecstatic voice.

"What are the other two of the top three?" Her dark gaze settles on Dylan as she asks.

Robin signs back curiously walking around making sure there's encouragement if someone's stressed out. Low stakes blending for now and soon, more in different colours for the snow. Fun stuff. Looking to Dylan he wonders the other too like actual booty and dragon booty? Do dragons have booty or is it just the vast horde? It doesn't seem that organized i-d-k. Anyone here a part time pirate to answer this?' There's a hoarse chuff that is a bit of a wheeze sound but still amused all the same. He gestures to lavender who is on team wannaknow.

Walking around he gives Joseph an upnod and sips his wine Avery was nice enough to get for them. For this he jsut signs, 'very nice! You can. you di it.' which are simple words with a bigger sentiment.

A black canvas! Well, more or less. It's a bit spotty at the edges. Wesley swirls the paintbrush around in the jug of water, then leans it there to rest for a moment and become less paint-y as he takes a sip of his wine. The canvas is given a thoughtful look, then he looks to the illusory image. Hm.

Then there's booty discourse going on, and he smiles to himself, murmuring just-audibly, "Never heard complaints about my booty before."

Dylan really should've expected to be asked to elabourate, but there's a brief pause before he does, one filled with another drink of wine. "Pirate's booty, everyone's other favourite booty, and the other kind of Pirate's Booty -- those cheesy puffs. Preferably with nuts and caramel on it. Don't knock it 'til you try it." He sets the glass down to get back to trying to paint, watching Robin and trying gamely to copy. "...also Booty v Barnaby's not bad. Some lady in old timey England sued a guy for slander for saying he saw her husband Mr. Booty running into Hell after he died. And she lost." Which makes him grin, as he works on catching up to that whole base-colour thing.