“Paint ‘n’ Palate” – art class and wine tasting

Autumn, 2011

The “Paint ‘n’ Palate” Art Class and Wine Tasting offers a chance to taste delicious wines while lifting a paintbrush to a blank canvas. It’s offered one or more times a month.
As a Romantic’s writer, I was invited to an August class. Sipping wine while trying my hand at the canvas was an event I couldn’t resist. Yet I wondered what in the world I could translate through the paintbrush.  

No worries, said Paula Sankarsingh, proprietress of Era of Elegance, the company that presented the event. Many folks who took this class took home a painting that they later framed.
A perplexing thought, that inexperienced moimight finish a painting I could frame. It certainly seemed worth a try. I arrived at the Prak-sis Gallery on West Irving Park Road.

The front room had blank canvases propped on long tables. Hosting artist Colette Wright Adams strategically placed her own paintings for reference.
I chose my seat at a blank canvas, then proceeded to the back room to enjoy a “West Coast Wine Tour” tasting. I tried wines like Napa Cellars Sauvignon Blanc and Mary Hill Winery Winemaker’s Red, nibbled on delicious cheeses and fruits, and met fellow class members.
They were as inexperienced as moi, when it came to putting the paintbrush to canvas, and as intrigued to give it a whirl.

When the class started, we took place at our canvases, and listened to instruction from Ms. Wright Adams. We were then invited to lift our brushes and copy one of her displayed paintings or to paint an original image. Either way she was available to offer guidance and advice.

Fellow classmates and I sipped white and red wines, and dolloped solid paint colors on paper-plate palettes — colors that we used straight out, or mixed to make new colors.
This was a sociable painting affair. Classmates were free to roam, comment on favorite wines and comment on each other’s paintings. The atmosphere fostered comfort, and a mutual support of expression. Ms. Wright Adams came around to offer each of us suggestions and guidance.
Everyone took home something they were happy to share.

More information
“Paint ‘n’ Palate” Art Class and Wine Tasting events are scheduled on a regular basis. Must be 21 or older to attend. Events are 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and include
six wines and tasting notes under a regional theme, to taste throughout the evening
light hors d’oeuvres
 a 16″x20″ stretched canvas to take home after painting
 use of acrylic paints and paintbrushes
 instruction and guidance by Colette Wright Adams, who is a Master of Fine Arts graduate from the School of Art Institute, Chicago.
September wine tastings feature Spanish wines. Cost is $45 per class. Space is limited .
For the current Paint ‘n’ Palate” schedule, and to register, visit 
here.

 

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