For all intents and purposes, I am an extravert. As I tell our paint and sip friends, “When I took the Myers-Briggs inventory, I pretty much tested off the chart for being an extravert.” And when you are with us on any given weekend doing a paint and sip, that’s pretty easy to see. Unfortunately, being an extravert doesn’t exempt me from continual visits by that old black dog, depression. He seems to come up to my door at my worst moments, wants a few bowls of my “Anger Chow” or maybe to drink a bit from my pool of sadness, and decides to make himself at home by following me around all day, then shoving himself up next to me while I’m in bed – legs all sprawled out shoving his paws into my back.
In 2016, I was “waiting on some of the good times” as Bob Ross would say. I was working within a web development team whose next oldest member was ten years younger than I was. Along with that, I was deeply depressed. When I have my depressive boutsI continually doubt myself, my abilities, and my value. My mind whispers things like, “They don’t really like you, they just put up with you.” Or “They’re just giving you pee-on jobs so you’ll stay out of their way.” And the old favorite, “You’re probably just going to get fired, anyway.” Whether it was true or not, I honestly don’t know. It seemed that way at the time, and I wanted a way out. Anything and everything was fair game. I would place art online and try to sell it, create graphics for t-shirts and place them on various order by the shirt sites. Wishing and hoping that some piece or some t-shirt would get popular/go viral and everyone would want to buy it and I’d be rich from the royalties. Much like the lottery, that can be a real crap shoot, but hey, may the odds be ever in your favor, right? I even suggested to Andrea that I wanted to open a brewery where my buddy Gerry and I could teach people to brew beer on their own. Of course, ideas like that last one were a “hard no” for Andrea.
One afternoon, however, I’d been looking around on the Internet, and I came across the paint and sip concept. I did more reading and research, and with each article, my excitement grew, almost to the point of giddiness. I left work that day having accomplished nothing, except for the incubation of an idea that I was pretty sure I could actually execute. In my mind, I’d get to spend a couple hours with a group of women who were all drinking wine, might even get to drink, as well, and on top of that, I’d get to do what I’d always loved… paint!
When I arrived home that evening, I did a quick elevator style presentation for Andrea…
And she didn’t say no.
She did, however, want to check it out. We decided some research would be good, so we attended a paint and sip class. Besides, with all the crap I was going through, we needed a fun night out and to do something different than the old stand by, “Where do you want to eat?” So we gathered a couple bottles of wine, paid for our tickets, and went out to have a good time. After our session was over, I commented on the way home, “You know… I could do that.” And she agreed.
With that, the seeds of Uncorked Inspiration were planted, and I began working on finding a name for the business, creating the branding, building a website, creating a social media presence, and researching where and how to buy products for a reasonable price. Once this was accomplished, we planned our first paint and sip as a pop-up style event at Tallgrass Taphouse. We had 13 people in attendance, and the painting was “Winter Forest”. I promise you, dear reader, I will never forget that day or the friends who had faith in us to start out on a really cool adventure.
But back to the “why”.
The main reason is because we love doing it. My extravert tendencies require a certain amount of recharging, and the way I accomplish this is by interacting with lots of people. When I tell you that you’re my best friend for the next two hours while we paint and sip, I truly mean it. You’re not clients or customers to me. You’re friends who are spending time with me, and that means so much.
Another reason is that I love painting. Do I want to do other types of art besides paint and sip paintings? Of course. If and when I have spare time, I try to do that. But just the act of painting, in and of itself, is exhilarating for me, regardless of the subject matter. Throw in a good beer every now and then, and it’s the perfect job for me.
One of the best reasons is that I get to do this with the love of my life. Andrea has done more to support me in this endeavor (and in life) than I have ever deserved. There have been hard times. Believe me. Times where we almost threw in the towel. Times where we disagreed and even fought. Times where we wanted to say fuck it, this just isn’t going to work. But then an order would come in. Or two, or three. And we’d do the event and we’d both realize why we’re doing this.
Do we need any more reasons? Yeah, there’s actually one more, and this one is such a good one. It’s you. When you come to paint with us for the first time, and I get to see you create something on your canvas; that’s such an exciting process. Even though I can’t take credit for your work, I do like to think that there’s a little part of me in each of your paintings. Maybe you learned how to paint a Bob Ross style “happy little tree”, or proposed to your significant other, or I showed you the dragon twist. Or maybe it was your first time ever and you simply needed a fun evening out. I appreciate you allowing us to be a part of that.
So what it boils down to, my friends, is that you are the reason why we do this. Because with you, I get to fill my extravert cup. With you, I get to paint with friends. With you, I get to do a job that I love with the love of my life. And with you, I get to watch you grow in your creativity and as an artist.
See you sooner than later.
-Neal