Five Hills Art Guild holds paint and palette classes

By BRITTANY FHOLER 

Cove Leader-Press 

Locals now have the option to stay in Copperas Cove for group painting classes, suitable for a date night out or for gatherings of friends, to have fun while creating their own works of art. 

The Five Hills Art Guild began offering painting classes this year and plans to continue with more classes in 2020. The classes are held during the evening and on Saturdays.

On Saturday, the guild held a Paint and Palette at their office in Cove Terrace Shopping Center.

The featured painting was of a snowman with a black top hat and a burgundy scarf. Pamela Rowland, secretary of the Five Hills Art Guild, led the class, which had only two students. 

“This is the first year that the Five Hills art Guild has had a home,” said Five Hills Art Guild Vice President Sheri Wilson. “So, we always have wanted to teach classes, we just have never had a place to do it.”

In the past, the Five Hills Art Guild had contracted with the city Parks and Recreation Department to teach classes but found that teaching classes on their own is more profitable, Wilson said. 

“All the classes that we do that are like Painting with a Twist are like fundraisers for the Guild,” Wilson said.  

Saturday’s Snowman painting class cost $55, but classes are typically $35. The guild first began offering classes for different art media over the summer, such as painting and lettering. 

They plan to have classes that are a little more art instructional for acrylics and oils, according to Wilson. 

“We just want to support anyone in the community and spread the cheer of art to everyone, and even if they’re not painters themselves or artists themselves, we love having supporters of the arts and people like that enjoying our Guild,” Wilson said. 

The idea to hold classes came from the members who wanted to teach and the members who wanted to learn specific techniques. 

Mary and Dean Roya signed up to take the Paint and Palette class Saturday morning. 

“In Houston, I had an art class I belonged to,” Mary said. It was a bunch of old senior citizens, we got together and just painted and they had a teacher that walked around, so when we moved here, I started looking for something like that. I started an internet search and I found the Guild.”

Dean called the painting a “retirement activity.”

“We’re not talented artists like they are. We’re still trying to learn,” Mary said. “I’m having fun but sometimes I get frustrated with my hand and it doesn’t want to do what I want it to do, and then the paint will do something I don’t want it to do.”

Dean said they joined the guild because it has given them a chance to learn. 

“Anybody can paint, but to learn the techniques to make it look like something, you need somebody to show you,” Dean said. 

For more information on the Five Hills Art Guild and their next Paint and Palette Class, visit their website: www.fivehillsartguild.com or their Facebook page.