Joe Kline / The Bulletin Mary Berry, of Redmond, mixes some paint during a beginner acrylics class on Sunday at SageBrushers Art Society in Bend.

There’s a lot to like about acrylic painting, instructor Carol Picknell said during a beginning acrylics class on Sunday.

“If you don’t like it, just wait a few minutes and paint over it,” Picknell said. Plus, Picknell said acrylic paint is a very versatile medium.

Picknell held the class in the cozy studio of SageBrushers Art Society in southwest Bend. The small building, just east of the Old Mill District, has housed the society since the early 1960s. There are roughly 70 members of the SageBrushers Art Society, which also has a gallery in the same building.

Students Daniel O’Neil and Mary Berry worked on paintings of a fall landscape and a bird, while Picknell offered tips.

O’Neil began taking acrylic painting classes at SageBrushers approximately 18 months ago. O’Neil said he has 40 years of experience in graphic design and currently works for an advertising agency, so he typically creates digital images.

Lately, O’Neil has been painting in the mornings before he goes to work.

“It’s just fun to get something shaped in (on Sunday), and then during the week I’ll finish it off,” O’Neil said, as he worked on a landscape painting. “I’m so into the digital thing, it’s nice to get my hands dirty.”

Berry, a former draftsman, said she usually paints in watercolors and sometimes uses pastels. Sunday was the first time Berry took a class specifically on acrylics.

Berry said one difference between acrylics and watercolors is that with “watercolors, you really can’t cover up your mistakes.”

Picknell said she tells her students not to worry too much about their personal painting style because “when you start painting, your own style will begin to come out.”

Each class costs $25, and Picknell said for $10 she provides materials for people who do not have their own.

— Reporter: 541-617-7829, hborrud@bendbulletin.com