Michelle Barbero, Contributing Writer
On Saturday, September 17, students began to pile into the Hunt Union International Lounge for the Sit and Paint event hosted by the Student Association. As promised, artists received free food as well as the opportunity to create their own painting.
Traditionally, Paint and Sip events consist of group painting lessons with an instructor and wine or other beverages. SUNY Oneonta put its own spin on this practice; lemonade, juice, cheese, crackers, and fruits were available as well as canvases, paint, and other painting supplies.
The tables, draped in red cloth, began to fill up and students anxiously waited to see who the instructor would be, as well as what they would be painting. To most people’s surprise, the instructor was not joining the group in person, but through YouTube. A projector in the front of the room displayed the teacher on the wall.
The instructor, Cinnamon Cooney, goes by the name The Art Sherpa on YouTube and posts live videos on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Her videos consist of painting tutorials for artists at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. The video that was shown at the Sit and Paint event was her video titled “Beginner Acrylic Painting Class Birch Trees.”
Following Cooney’s instruction, filled with humor and easy-to-follow directions, students were able to create the beautiful scene of a snowy winter night on their canvases. Starting with painting the moon, to putting the carefully detailed snow on the trees, students were able to follow the directions successfully, creating paintings that looked identical to Cooney’s painting.
Some people decided to portray their own interpretations of the painting and most were extremely pleased with how their artwork turned out. This event was open to all SUNY Oneonta students, so many participants were not art majors or had not painted in a while.
“I haven’t painted in a while and it was nice and calming to go back to painting,” said student Rachel Menoutis. She also expressed that it was interesting to see what her friends were creating.
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