Twenty-five UW Oshkosh students attended the first Paint Night of the 2017 academic year on Monday in the Titan Underground.

The class was led by art education major Colleen Barnstable who said she loved the idea of a creative activity for students on campus.

“Paint Night is a great teaching experience for me, and I really enjoy doing it,” Barnstable said.

Monday’s event experienced a shortage of canvases, causing the class to fill a half hour before its start time.

Marketing Manager Kelly Kramp said canvases for Paint Night were on backorder but assured there will be an ample supply for next month.

“I felt really bad because we had to turn people away,” Kramp said. “But I am very excited that we had such a great turn out.”

Luckily for everyone else, Paint Night will be back on the third Monday of each month.

Barnstable began the class by showing a completed example of the project painters would be working on while offering tips on color mixing, blending and the use of brushstrokes throughout the night to enhance their paintings.

Freshman Emily Brunschon said she definitely plans on coming to the next Paint Night.

“The instructor was super awesome and supportive,” Brunschon said. “She did a really nice job.”

Barnstable said she encourages students to express their creativity in their paintings by incorporating anything from little details that deviate from typical examples to painting something totally different.

“I don’t mind at all if painters want to go off and do their own thing,” Barnstable said. “This is meant to be a low-stress, relaxing activity.”

Freshman Rose Hatfield said she enjoyed Barnstable’s teaching style.

“I like that we can just come here to paint whatever and not get in trouble for it,” Hatfield said. “This is a really good activity for de-stressing, especially on a Monday night.”

Paint Night attendee Kristen Keenan liked that Paint Night is so uncommon for UWO.

“This is something very different than typical campus events that are offered,” Keenan said. “I don’t usually feel like an artist, but tonight I do.”

Paint Night came to a close around 8:30 p.m. with many students proudly taking pictures with their paintings alongside friends.

Kramp said this event is a great outlet for students, and she appreciates the support that the Reeve Union Board has offered to make Paint Night possible.

“I am thrilled that this event was so popular,” Kramp said. “We are looking forward to next month’s Paint Night.”