The Gift of Experience: Painting Classes

If there’s one activity we love almost as much as writing, it’s painting–especially if there’s a glass of wine right next to our palate! Perhaps it’s natural for creative types to be drawn to art forms across genres and across media. It certainly is for us. There’s something freeing and rejuvenating about sitting facing a blank canvas with a palate of glistening paints in hand, ready to be used for beauty. So, if you have a friend who’s hard to shop for, if she’s anything like us–a writer perhaps, or just a creative type in general–why not consider giving her the gift of experience this Christmas and treat her to painting class?

Art classes abound in a city like Seattle, which is home to as many artists as coffee-drinking intellectuals. But unless the recipient you have in mind is a serious painter, we suggest you check out one of the social painting classes offered in the area, many of which offer refreshments such as wine, hors d’oeuvres, and little snacks. We’ve checked out a couple of them lately, and have two recommendations as starting places.

Corks and Canvas Events

Described by the owner as offering the Nordstrom of paintings, Corks and Canvas Events are the ultimate in a girls’ night out (not, of course, that they have to be limited to women).

For these classes, the wine is just as integral as the painting, so they’re held at wine-related places like wineries, wine bars, etc.

The instruction at these events is wonderful. The instructor makes an effort to walk around with her canvas, painting as she goes so you can see clearly what she’s doing. It’s really nice not to have to crane your neck to see what’s going on. In addition to the wine, this was something we really appreciated about the class. She also encourages you to follow your own strokes and not focus so much on sticking to the example painting. Very liberating!

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Painting on the Vine

Classes by Stani Meredith of Painting on the Vine have recently relocated from West Seattle to the Seattle Creative Arts Center. A big feature of this class is that the participants are encouraged to paint whatever their heart desires. If you feel like painting pink flowers instead of yellow, or a landscape instead of a vase–run with it! Stani will help you through the process.

And Stani really knows her stuff! She focused on the craft of painting and gave instruction on different techniques and even taught us a bit about the origin and history of certain styles and strokes. We not only walked away with beautiful paintings but also with a bit of art knowledge we didn’t have before.

 

http://www.paintingonthevine.com

Our evening at Painting on the Vine was courtesy of Stani Meredith at Painting on the Vine.

Some photos taken by Daytona were previously used on The Flying Salmon, her blog at Wanderlust & Lipstick.