More then 8 years ago I started what at that time was only done at one place on the north side of Chicago called Bottles and Bottega. 9 years later there are hundreds of these sip and paint places all over the country. 

 

Back when I started teaching at The Studio in McHenry the recession was hitting small businesses hard and The Studio was struggling so the owner Lucy and I decided to check out what this Bottle and Bottega place was all about, hoping we could find something else to help out a small business. We enjoyed what Bottles and Bottega were doing so we decided that we would try our hands at this new concept of painting and partying. We thought we could do what they were doing and add a little something to this idea of painting and partying.

 

Close to 9 years later we now have done hundreds and hundreds of paint parties and we are still having a good time doing them. Seeing the general public come to paint and having them leave with a painting and a smile on their face makes it all worth it.

 

When these paint parties started getting popular and people and artists saw what I was doing, many of those artists asked me why would I do this. It seemed to them that it was below a professional artist to stoop down to this level of painting. I saw it in a totally different way, I felt I was giving people who would probably never even take up the hobby of art a chance to try out what it is like to paint a painting. I must admit that I don't dummy down the work like many of the sip and paint places do, many of the paint and sip places do paintings that look somewhat amateurish. I spend a lot of time working out paintings that I know beginners can do that look very high quality. This was a problem when we first started because many of the customers thought that they could not do what they saw in our paintings, so we didn't get many people at first. Then when people came and did a painting they couldn't believe they did, we started getting loads of people because they saw their friends on social media and decided if their friend could do it so could they. Word spread and we have been busy teaching thousands of beginners and many return customers.

 

In the beginning, I was criticized by other teachers and artists that they don't like or think this was a good way of teaching. I would tell them and anyone coming to these party's that these paint parties are not classes they are an event where anybody can come to paint, party and have a fun time doing it. 90% of the clients that we get are non-artist and most have never painted or even touched an artist paint brush. Many may never do it again after a single party but there are loads that try it and fall in love with painting. Those first timers that love it come again and again and many become students to regular paint classes. For many, it is a great night out and they don't pursue the craft any further, but many of those people become art admirers and now appreciate what artists can do and create.

 

Many of my return customers tell me that they know it isn't a class but they say every time they come they learn something new. I say this is a great way to get people started down a path to becoming an artist. I don't know how other places run their parties but I love inspiring the general public to love art and painting by giving everyone a taste of being an artist and creating.