Sips 'N Strokes

Booze and art are a powerful combination, going hand-in-hand for millennia, and quite possibly responsible for the creation of some of mankind's most revered works. You don't have to go full whiskey. A good vino, a white wine spritzer, perhaps a hard lemonade or two if that's your thing, any of these will either reveal your heretofore latent artistic genius... or reduce you to an amoeba-like puddle capable of little more than stick drawings.

Thankfully for my friends and I, booze appears to have the former effect on us, for we did consume a fair amount of adult beverages at a recent Sips 'N Strokes experience.

With rock-star results, if I do say so myself:

This was a perfect way to celebrate TP's birthday because it was creative, allowed for drinking and chatting, and was a bit different from the norm. I haven't held a paint brush since high school, but I'm proud of the masterpieces we created.

Here's the birthday girl:

And here are the deets for Sips 'N Strokes:

• You pay the fee ($35, I think), and you receive a canvas with a pre-drawn object on it (either a butterfly or a pair of legs, on the day we went), and as much paint as you need.
• The class is three hours (I know, I know, it sounds like forever, but it actually flew by), and there's an instructor on a stage in the front of the room taking you step-by-step through the painting.
• The instructor tells you what to do, and also paints on a canvas of her own, so you can see what she does.

There were huge benefits to having an instructor break it down for you, because there's an order of operation to building a great piece. There's no "right" way to do things, but certainly there's an easier way, or rather a way that would minimize that feeling of overwhelm when you're trying to figure out what to paint first.

You can bring food if you want, and of course your own booze. (Just have a designated driver!)

And have a good time! I was surprised at how fun it was. I really like how mine turned out. I mean, I figured it'd be decent, but I actually like it.

Here's Gabbie's and TJ's masterpieces:

#RedBottoms

Which brings us to AD's piece... she had a bit of inspiration at the end of the class, when we were all packing up. All I know is, she picked up the turquoise paint, and that was it for her butterfly:

[cycloneslider id="sips-n-strokes-a"]

Pretty soon the whole canvas was covered. But it still looked nice, actually, and turquoise ocean colors are my favorite, so hey.

After all, this is the place to create something that makes YOU happy, dang it. I'll drink to that.