VANtastic 2 wrap up boogaloo

I had my 18th Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon" (entitled VANtastic 2!) on Saturday, May 13th at Wild Oats Bakery and Cafe in Brunswick- and it was a blast! I set up my work on Friday evening and took it down on Sunday afternoon...and let me tell you, that place was busy, busy, busy - all day, every day!

This was my second time having a "Paint-a-Thon" at Wild Oats: the first time was in March 2016, and I was set up near the door to the patio (that month's cause was the Coastal Humane Society, in case you're keeping track). This time, I was set up in the hallway next to the dining room (and the cause was ArtVan), and it was the perfect place to be! I was in the middle of the action without being in the way, and the lighting was wonderful, thanks to the beautiful atrium and the sunny weather.

my racks

Wild Oats is one of the many places that makes Brunswick cool, and I'm grateful that I was able to be painting all day and showing my work at such a wonderful community hub. Plus, the friendly, helpful staff at Wild Oats could not have made me feel more welcome! I'd like to extend a special thank you to Valerie (who agreed to host me, who helped to coordinate the event, and who did a great job promoting on social media) and to Jen (who took care of anything else I needed, including raffle ticket pulling duties)- you guys are awesome!

the e-newsletter...thanks, Valerie!

I know that Wild Oats Bakery and Cafe is famous for their carrot cake (and who doesn't love carrot cake?), so I used that as the inspiration for that day's painting...I give you "14 Carrot Cake"!

"14 Carrot Cake"

The eight hours flew by (as usual), and soon it was time to draw the winning raffle ticket (drum roll, please):

Jen pulling the winning ticket...

...congratulations, Amy! 

Amy Finnen has purchased raffle tickets for many of my past Brushstrokes With Impact (tm) "Paint-a-Thon" events, but this was her first time winning! Thank you, Amy, for giving my work a good home (and for your friendship)! 

VANtastic 2 was a successful event all around: I met some cool people, I had the opportunity to chat with friends and friendly acquaintances, I sold a ton of magnets, 4 prints, 2 tote bags, and a bunch of raffle tickets...I even sold a painting for $900 (*gasp*) - a new record for me, by far! 

"Strawberry": SOLD!

Thanks to everyone's support, we were able to raise $181.50 for ArtVan! Woo hoo! What will happen next month? Stay tuned...