Sip yourself into believing you're the next Picasso at Aberdeen's boozy paint class By Shanay Taylor
Red Zandolee's wine and paint in Aberdeen offer events where you can participate in the comfort of your own home or out with a group. Feeling bored of your usual activities and looking to find a different way to spend your Saturday afternoon? Well, we may have found the perfect solution. You can take a painting class in Aberdeen but here's the best part - you can have a drink or two while you paint your masterpiece. Red Zandolee's wine and paint in Aberdeen offer events where you can participate in the comfort of your own home, an event hosted by you, or out with a group. The painting class simply requires you to show up with an open mind and a bottle of your choosing. All of the painting materials is provided and each individual will receive their own easel, canvas, brushes, and paint, that will be set up by the team upon arrival. Getting tipsy and thinking you are the next Picasso? Sounds like fun. The session lasts three hours and participants will have the opportunity to create a painting of their choosing, while socialising and drinking. Suitable for beginners or advanced painters, instructors will be there to give a helping hand if needed. However, participants are encouraged to look at the class as being fun rather than an art lesson. If you don't fancy the mess in your own home, Red Zandolee's is willing to travel to any venue of your choosing.
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Art and wine: Learning to paint while drinking By Suzanne Bearne Business reporter More and more of us are attending so called "sip and paint" classes, where you learn to paint while enjoying a drink (or two). But can you hone your skills while under the influence of alcohol? It's Thursday night and instead of catching up with friends or cooking at home, my eyes are firmly focused on a picture of Banksy's Girl with Balloon mural, as I nervously wait to try and replicate the famous artwork. "The first thing I need to tell you is that this is not a serious art class," announces our host, Gareth Shelton, as 18 of us anxiously play with our paintbrushes. He then gives us step-by-step instructions on what brushstrokes to try and which shades of acrylics to mix. There's a collective sigh of relief, especially from this novice who hasn't picked up a paint brush since leaving school.
But I needn't be too anxious; it's pretty clear this painting session isn't your standard art class. For starters, rather than being holed up a quiet classroom we're on the top floor of a pub in central London, where a playlist of indie tunes from the likes of Oasis and The Killers is being blasted out. And while I'm clutching a brush in my right hand, my left is wrapped around a large glass of sauvignon blanc. While the brush may help me unlock my creative genius, the wine is helping quell my nerves. Over the last decade, "sip and paint" classes have taken off around the world, and can now be found in New York, Dubai, London and Hong Kong.
Experts says it's largely been driven by millennial consumers, who increasingly prefer to spend their cash on experiences, such as gigs and holidays, rather than material items. In a typical session, an artist will teach you how to paint or draw a particular artwork while you enjoy a few drinks and socialise. The alcohol is sometimes included in the ticket price. "We wanted to get rid of the stuffy art class image," explains Mr Shelton, who set up Pop Up Painting with his mother in London 2013 after attending a similar session in the US. "When people are going for drinks after work, they are hungry for something different to do. Wine makes it more interesting and makes people less anxious."
But is it just about having fun or can you learn something, too? "You can definitely learn. A glass of champagne or a cocktail are a great way to loosen up and be less critical of yourself." No one ever drinks too much at the events, adds Ms Bierlich. "Normally guests have one or two drinks during the event because they are so engaged. That takes the focus away from the nearby bar."
"Also, I think a higher proportion of Brighton-based activities are 'crafty' anyway, and people move there because of that culture. We therefore weren't such a unique offering." Over in Chelsea as we wrap up and assess each other's creations, I speak to Tejal Kanjee, 26, whose version of the Banksy mural is far better than my own. She says she's had a good time, and that this is her third class in two weeks. "I thought it would be fun and something different to do. "I hadn't painted since I was at school but it's made me more confident," she says, her nearly finished Jack Daniels and coke standing next to her canvas. After the class I visit another pub where my "Banksy" receives compliments from a number of well-oiled punters. But the next day I fear alcohol may have clouded their judgement, and decide my artwork is better left under the stairs than above my mantelpiece.
EntrepreneursFEB 13, 2015 @ 11:48 AM 40,658 The Little Black Book of Billionaire SecretsDrinking While Painting: The Party Franchise Niche That's Booming 'Franchise owners in this niche organise alcohol fueled painting parties. Working from an example canvas, party guests create their own version of the artwork on a canvas they get to take home as a souvenir, all while visiting with friends and enjoying a glass of wine or craft beer. This isn't like art class and guests aren't expected to be artistically savvy - it's 'fun art'you can bond over making, and then take home.'
“They finished the class by the glow of the headlights and that was the moment I knew Painting with a Twist was more than just an art class,” said Cathy. “We’ve had customers tell us, ‘This is better than yoga,’ and ‘I haven’t thought about the flood, the kids or my job for two hours,’” she added. Painting, in other words, is therapy. Psychologists and clinical therapists have known this for quite some time, and artists, of course, for even longer. Freud wrote in 1916 that art was a transformation of and alternative to neurosis; the Surrealists, following his lead, saw art as expressions of the deep subconscious, and created it as freely as they could. Freud’s protege Carl Jung later wrote that “colors express the main psychic functions of man.” The modern term “art therapy” was coined in 1942 by British artist Adrian Hill, after he discovered that drawing objects in his hospital room helped him recover from a bout of tuberculosis in 1938. He began to teach art as therapy to soldiers returning home during the early years of World War II. After that, medical researchers began examining the practice more closely, developing specific techniques and standards for the practice, and though art therapy is still used to treat soldiers suffering from PTSD, the practice—now extensively credentialed—has expanded far beyond that. It helps that painting can be done by the otherwise immobile, in a psychological or strictly physical sense. Frida Kahlo was studying medicine before she was in a gruesome bus accident at the age of 18. She began to paint to occupy her time during her three-month recovery, and went on to become—well, Frida Kahlo.
According to a 2005 study by researchers at Boston College, the act of creating a work of art can actually improve someone’s mood, unlike other activities like copying geometric shapes or solving a word puzzles. Selecting their own shapes and colors allows individuals to to better express their feelings, the researchers reasoned. Psychology researchers have also shown that structured coloring can induce a meditative state that reduces anxiety."