By Madeline Scovotti

Easels propped up white, untouched canvases, calling out to be painted upon and given life. Rows of unopened fall-colored paints sat eagerly waiting on the front table, while paintbrushes still perfectly lined in their packages rested in front of each station. As the small group of 30 students chose their canvases and began settling in, it was time for the class of 2017 paint night to begin.

The program, sponsored by the Office of Orientation and New Student Programs, took place Thursday night on the fourth floor of the Donahue building. The event, which had 30 open spots, was originally open exclusively to the sophomore class, but was opened up the day of to the entire Suffolk community.

Paint nights, which have been growing in popularity over recent years, typically take place in local bars. The Office of Orientation and New Student Programs, however, decided to bring the program to Suffolk students right on campus. While the paint night was devoid of any alcoholic beverages (which would usually be provided at traditional bar paint nights), the event offered plenty of fancy snacks, hot chocolate, and apple cider to go around.

One instructor, one painting. This is the basic rule of thumb for paint nights. The participants are each given their own canvas and supplies, then the instructor begins giving step by step instructions on how to create one particular masterpiece.

Upon beginning the night, we were shown a painting of a barren tree with a pale yellow background, a few colorful leaves floating in the background. After we had been given our paint and brushes, our instructor began guiding us along to recreate the original, while encouraging us to make any artistic changes we wished, whether it be color scheme or content.

As I made my way through each of the steps, I watched as my blank canvas transitioned from a white to a solid yellow background, and then, from there, a simple outline of a dark brown tree, to a highlighted and detailed autumn painting.

Though we were all given the same exact directions, each painting was unique and different in it’s own way. Different background colors, shades of leaves, and even styles of trees could be seen at each station. One participant even went so far as to turn her tree into the top of the head of Groot, a tree-like character featured in the recently released Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

No matter how each student interpreted the original painting, there was no wrong way of approaching paint night. As someone without a single artistic bone in her body, I was amazed at how simple it was to create a work of art that I  didn’t feel the need to immediately hide under my bed when I got home.

Whether you are artistic or not, Paint Night provided a fun and easy way to wind down and relax after a long, stressful week. And the snacks were pretty good, too.