The author and her unfinished artwork.If You Go
Uptown Art’s classes range in price, typically between $20 and $35, and cover a wide variety of themes and even styles. There are tons of places locally, though, so look for paint party studios in your area.To learn more about Uptown Art and to see its schedule, visit uptownart.com/chattanooga-tn.
Paint party for two: $50. Two beers and a hummus plate: $14.20 before tip. Watching your boyfriend actually enjoy something he said he wouldn't even do: Priceless.
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About a year ago, a friend told me she'd started a new date night trend. She and her fiancé each wrote down things they wanted to try, folded up the slips of paper and put them in a jar. Each week, they drew one out and did it. I convinced my boyfriend to try it. Key word: try. While we've done a few things - go on a hike, socialize the fur babies, play a board game together, find a waterfall, explore the Sculpture Fields at Montague Park - the jar's contents didn't spark the trend in our household that I'd hoped, typically only getting pulled out when it's do or die.
A few months ago, I was at another friend's house, admiring the new piece of artwork hanging above her couch. Most of the pieces came from her own hand. I've always envied those who could draw or paint something that didn't elicit a smirk or the kind of verbal pat on the back usually reserved for children. She told me she'd done it at a paint party, which seem to be popping up everywhere these days, offering uncoordinated folks like me the opportunity to create a masterpiece. The themes are set, providing some framework to help focus your creativity, and the outlines of the more involved pieces are often sketched onto your provided canvas beforehand by someone at the studio.
"Oooh, I've been wanting to try one of those," I told her, picturing the slip of paper with that very date night idea in the almost forgotten jar.
So in honor of Valentine's Day, I decided to forego the jar and just ask my boyfriend to come with me to one of Uptown Art's classes. Perusing the various themes available nearly every day of the week - Pink Passion, Angel with Sunflowers, Female Red Bird in Winter - I decided on "Dragon." "That's enticingly manly, right?" I thought. Plus, it was one of the Monday night classes held regularly at Chattanooga Brewing Company, which offered the additional hook of fresh brewed beer, though most studios will let you bring in (adult) beverages of your choice.
"Meet me at Chatt Brew," I texted him. "I've got to do a paint party and I don't want to do it alone."
Lucky for me, that slip of paper had never been pulled out and then returned to the jar, so he didn't realize what was in store. "OK," he texted back, though upon learning what it actually was we were about to embark on, he looked dismayed. "You know I would never normally do this, right?" he said as we walked toward the Southside bar.
Mondays are Industry Night at Chatt Brew, so sometimes the place gets packed, and sometimes the paint parties swell to 20 or so wannabe artists, our server told us. On this particularly hazy week-opener, though, our paint party crew - five people in total, counting the instructor - made up about half the patrons. "Whew," I thought, remembering my childhood drawings: people with oversized Oxford-esque shoes splayed outward Charlie Chaplin-style, their fingers like Mickey Mouse gloves hanging from their nearly stick arms; and a simple brontosaurus that could only walk to the left.
It took a while for the instructor to get everything set up, having to tote all the gear - but only what was needed for this envisioned piece - to the site. For us, those supplies included various hues of blue, plus white and black paint, and the standard 16-by-20 canvas, mini-easels, smocks, paper plates to serve as palettes, a variety of brushes, and cups for rinsing water. In telling her afterward that I'd really hoped for my dragon to have some purple personality, she said classes at the studio offer such out-of-the-box opportunities, since all the materials are on-site. I also learned that the various instructors have art backgrounds themselves. A student at UTC studying art, our instructor's personal experience was helpful as she guided us through the process of re-creating the image of a dragon in the clouds displayed on the piece of paper we'd each been given. However, she still couldn't help me create the kinds of wispy clouds pictured, which was the only part of the picture I really attempted to capture.
The two hours I spent working on my piece yielded some interesting insights: Don't be afraid to improvise. There's almost nothing you can't fix with some time, effort and attention. Perfect exists only in your mind. There is beauty in every endeavor.
You always hear people go on and on about the benefits of art in trying to save it in schools: Art promotes problem-solving and creativity. Art establishes neural connections. Art helps kids process faster and score higher in other areas. I didn't have art class beyond elementary school, when I opted for music classes instead, so I was surprised not only that I created something I was proud of, but also by the intangible takeaways and their deeper relevance. I guess it's true what they say: You can teach an old dog new tricks.
As I sat back and admired my evolving masterpiece, I looked over at my boyfriend, who was intently bringing the provided image to life on his canvas - and doing a really good job. I'll admit, I was a little jealous of his clouds.
It tugged at my heart to see him enjoying something that's more up my alley than his, and to see him express himself in a way I didn't even know he had in him.
"This is fun," he said with a smile.
Now, when we finally do pull my paint party date night idea out of the jar, we plan to attend the Paint Your Pet class at Uptown Art. So if you ever come by my house, look for those pieces proudly displayed above my couch.