Are Arty Parties the Future?
I’ve often said, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, that one of the most effective, and guaranteed, methods of loosening up this whole painting malarkey is to introduce alcohol to the proceedings, and that any picture painted late at night after a few bevvies at the pub is likely to look fantaaaassstic!! (they might not look quite so great in the morning, though).
Imagine my surprise then, to learn that such an approach is not only trending amongst the great un-washed, but has rather rapidly developed into a multi-million-dollar global business model.
‘Pop Up Painting’ is a company who runs 30-40 events per month in London, Manchester and Birmingham; they charge £25-£35 per head, and are planning on expanding into Sheffield and Liverpool in the new year. ‘Paint Nite’, one the the biggest companies running such things across the pond, started out in 2012 and has grown over 36,000 percent, to a current market valuation of over $55 Million. It runs events in over 1700 cities across the US, with an average of 200,000 participants per month. Cor Blimey!
It seems these sessions shamelessly combine painting and drinking. Large groups of people in a room, whatever their artistic experience (from non-upwards), are given the opportunity to paint a picture under an artist’s paint-along supervision, while listening to popular music piped through speakers and enjoying several glasses of their favourite tipple.
One of the things that caught my attention when researching these events was something the founder of ‘PopUp Painting’ said about wanting to ‘get rid of the stuffy art class image’. It got me thinking… do art classes have a stuffy image? For sure, there are people who are very serious about their art, and those that succeed are often not only passionate about, but devote many long, and generally solitary hours, to perfect their techniques. It can even make some folks a little introverted and serious.
I must confess; one of my first reactions when I heard about this was to cringe, and bristle slightly at the thought that some folks might consider traditional art classes to be stuffy. But then my second thought was ‘why not?’ After all, I’ve only recently provided a private workshop for a hen night, where none of the participants had ever painted before, drinks were very much in abundance, and all they really wanted to do (except learn how to paint, of course), was to have fun. I have to tell you a good time was reportedly had by all (the fishnet stockings and G-string were a little uncomfortable, though…).
This might be big business, then, and traditionalists may baulk at the idea of mass, alcohol-laced arty-parties, but if its giving people genuine pleasure, and they’re learning a few basic techniques along the way, then surely this is a good thing, isn’t it? Anything that raises the profile of painting and gives people the opportunity to try it in a fun, sociable atmosphere can’t be a bad thing. It reminds me of a few art clubs I’ve demonstrated at…
Maybe I’ll just make a few minor tweaks to this year’s weekend workshops…
PS. If anyone has attended such an event, I’d love to hear from you…
PPS. I was joking about the fishnet stockings and the G-string…
… they weren’t uncomfortable at all…
