My heart is full....

"Thank you, Amy and Hannah, for all you did to make this event happen and shine as bright as it did! Thank you, Tristan, for your patience and your ability to share your talent and passion with us. Thank you, Annie, for sharing your valuable time and wisdom. What an amazing two days. Bucket list checked for sure!!!" — Tracey Craven, Joy of Painting Masterclass participant and Book Talk attendee

My heart is full. 🩷 And my mind is still processing all that occurred a few weeks ago.

What a wonderful whirlwind of activity ~ from hosting Annie Sloan, THE inventor of Chalk Paint® and world-renowned color expert, at The Hare & The Hart for a Colourful Living book talk and signing (with a paint demo thrown in), to two days of the Joy of Painting Masterclass on either side of that!

Tristan Merriam is an amazing teacher, brand ambassador, painter-in-residence, and cohost ~ and we cannot thank him and Annie enough for coming here!

The lively group of creatives (and yes, everyone who picks up a paint brush is a creative!) who attended the Joy of Painting Masterclass learned numerous techniques using Chalk Paint® and other exquisite Annie Sloan products.

It was a joy to see all the colors, textures, patterns, and designs they came up with under Tristan's guidance and encouragement.

A bonus for this group was that Annie Sloan herself was at the first day of the 2-day workshop, which is extremely rare. We were so blessed to be given a lesson in Gustavian paint techniques, after which everyone got to try their own hand.

What a joy it was to watch people try things (like this and many more) that they'd never done before ~ and absolutely flourish!

Lovely to behold was the laughter and chatter as the days unfolded, and strangers became acquaintances, and acquaintances became friends.

I can't wait to see what happens next ~ both creatively and community-wise!

The Colourful Living book talk and signing event was truly magical, as guests were treated to Tristan Merriam and Annie Sloan's camaraderie (they do co-host The Colourist podcast, after all!)

Tristan engaged Annie in conversation about her journey as an artist, designer, color expert, inventor, and entrepreneur. This front-page news article gives a nice summary of the event.

Across the two days, many great memories were made and captured. These are but a few of the stunning photos by the uber-talented Bri Whigham that showcase the collaborative, creative, community feeling and energy of the events.

To see more photos, please go over to our Instagram or Facebook.

And… oh, my goodess… drumroll please… Tristan enjoyed his time here so much, he told us that would love to return!

Please let us know if you would be interested in a future Joy of Painting Masterclass with Tristan, and we will be sure to keep you in the loop!

This post's caption gives a huge THANK YOU to the generous souls who helped us prepare for and execute these events.

Oh, how we love our community!

xo,