JOHN DAY — With a splash of vibrant paint colors across the canvas, artist Angel Carpenter relishes the “great escape,” as she calls it, that art offers to one’s mind and soul.

She says it’s “so fun that you lose track of time as you experience that flow that comes with creative expression.”

And it’s that joyous spirit that Carpenter strives to share with others. A lifelong artist, she discovered the joy of teaching paint parties a couple of years ago. All art supplies are provided as well as a simple sketch of the design on canvas. Subject matter ranges from flowers, animals, gnomes, landscapes and more.

“Mainly I want each person to have a positive experience with painting,” Carpenter said.

The parties are held at Painted Sky Center for the Arts in John Day, and occasionally other locations in Grant County. Her business, WILDbrushes Art with Angel, is named because she wants people joining her to feel “wild and free.”

Carpenter remembers drawing when she was about 8 years old — a sketch of a girl sitting on a blanket in the sunshine. Her parents encouraged her creativity and signed her up for a drawing class a few years later.

She honed her talents and in high school received the Outstanding Departmental Award in Art. At Southern Oregon State College (now SOU) in Ashland, she earned a bachelor’s in fine arts, with an emphasis in drawing and painting. During that time, she painted with oils and watercolors, but now prefers acrylics.

Connect with Angel Carpenter by email at wildbrushesart@gmail.com, on Instagram at wildbrushes_artwithangel or on Facebook at WILDbrushes Art with Angel, where she goes live at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.