Sip N Paint Night
If you know me than you would know that I use to be an art instructor at Painting with a Twist in Atlanta for about 3 years as a part time job. Cause you know in Atlanta almost everyone works/have more than one income. Working there didn’t feel like a job to me cause I was painting. So to do what I love and get paid for it was a plus for me. Unfortunately I ended up moving to another state so I left. Working there helped sharpen my painting skills and teaching skills as well. Skills I have used to teach people of all ages for my own business.
Last month I was asked to be the instructor for a Sip N Paint night. I gave them two paintings to choose from and made the final decision based on if they have painted before and their confidence level. The decision also was based on how many colors and paint brushes are needed. So I decided on a painting that only requires two paint brushes and four colors.
Short video of the sip n paint night!
When I do these events I provide everything. I bring aprons, paint brushes, cups, palettes, paint, easels, and canvases. If i remember to purchase an extra table cloth I’ll bring that too but this time I only brought large paper to place the canvas on. Luckily the host had a plastic tablecloth handy to be used. Only thing I had to got out and purchase were the canvases. I wanted them to be small enough to get the painting done within an hour or two. So I decided to get the 8”x10” canvases plus they were on sale at Hobby Lobby. Can’t beat a good sale on art supplies. I also ordered cardboard easels because there were more than three people painting. If it wasn’t a total of six individuals I would have used my metal ones, not sure if I like the cardboard easels yet but they did what they were met to do.
Because this painting was fairly easy I did not provided a pre-sketch of the drawing. Plus when something is already sketched out on the canvas the students tend to really make sure that paint in the lines, which is not also necessary. Or get upset cause they painted over the lines or a line is missing. So I rather not pre-sketch it out just easier for me as an instructor, especially if it’s not a face or a figure of some sort.
Set up of the canvases.
After setting up I give them time to chat, eat and pour them a glass of liquid courage and begin the lesson. The hardest part of painting that night was the blending part. Blending is your friend. Blend like your life depends on it. So we spent a bit of time getting the blending right. Anyone who was struggling I guided them as well as encouraged them to keep drinking lol. I do go over some rules. My number one rule is no negative self talk. It is important that everyone stays positive. Have fun and acrylic paint does not come out of clothes. I repeat acrylic paint does NOT come out of clothes once it dries.
To lighten up the mood and give our painting some time to dry we played a personality game where everyone had to draw a pig. That was the only instruction, draw a pig. And based on the look and characteristics of the pig determine their personality. This was a hit at Painting with a Twist. You can learn a lot about someone based on how they paint/draw. Each person received a pair of handmade earrings and a small resin sculpture as a gift from me.
Handmade beaded earrings
Overall the Sip N Paint night was a success. No one quit and everyone loved how their painting turned out. Looking forward to the next one.