Painting parties take hold in the Flathead

Imagine a typical high school or college art class. It could be any medium — painting, drawing, sculpting — the basic principle is the same. A professor gives instruction on how to create a work of art, lecturing as he or she adds a line here and some color there. Students do their best to follow the instructions, and maybe some succeed, while others might only receive a passing grade.

Now imagine that same art class, but instead of grades it’s your choice of cocktail offering positive reinforcement for your hard work.

Painting parties have become a popular trend throughout the U.S., and the Flathead Valley is no exception. Painting parties take the traditional medium of painting, and turn a lesson into a social event with the “BYO” (bring your own) party culture.

Unlike a traditional painting class, painting parties aren’t limited to aspiring artists only, and unlike the typical party, the words “party foul” are thrown out after someone spills paint, not alcohol.

I checked out one of these painting parties for myself, as I had never been to one before. I picked one that fit with my schedule, and a painting that looked like fun but not too challenging.

Upon walking into the class, it definitely felt different from anything I had taken before. Everything was neatly set up and waiting for me — the white canvas was resting against a small tabletop easel. Under the easel was a paper plate with acrylic paints already poured out into little rounds of yellow, green, white, blue and black, and to the right was a container of water and a few paper towels with three different sizes of brushes and a pen.

Stress-free painting. No setup, no cleanup. Everything taken care of. Your only focus is to paint, drink and socialize.

Looking around the room I saw that many people had chosen to take advantage of the BYO drinks perk. A group of women had brought a bottle of wine to share, with glasses provided by the studio. While others had chosen more inconspicuous means of imbibing, preferring to put their drinks in a cup with a lid and a straw — almost as if they felt out of place drinking a cocktail in an art studio. And some went straight for the ease and convenience of a can of their favorite beer or wine cooler.

The painting for the night’s lesson was a fly fisherman casting his line into a river running through a densely forested area. Starting in the background with light colors, we followed along as the instructor, Raette Meredith, added yellow — painting vertically across the canvas.

As we struggled to make our canvas match the one at the front of the room, Meredith reminded us not to compare our work to hers or to our fellow painters.

“It’s just for fun,” she noted.

Meredith, the owner of the Tipsy Brush in Kalispell, has been painting since 2002. She began doing painting parties in 2014. She was working at the Kalispell Grand Hotel, and held her first classes there. During the busy summer season, when the hotel no longer had room to spare, Meredith decided it was time to look for her own studio.

She opened Tipsy Brush in February 2015, and now does classes five nights a week.

“The idea is that it’s an opportunity to get out with your friends, making something beautiful and being creative,” Meredith said.

She also works full time as an accounting assistant. Her painting classes, she said, are an unpredictable income, although they have been more lucrative than she had expected. She hopes to someday turn them into a full-time venture.

“In trying to make a career out of my art for the first time, this is something I can get some money from,” Meredith said.

She said many people experience discouragement when doing art, because it isn’t always a promising, lucrative career.

“The creative aspect has been squeezed out of us,” she said. “[People] need something creative, some creative outlet without signing up for a full course at the college.”

Each painting is an original work by Meredith, and uses different paintings throughout the week. She also hosts private painting parties, where people can choose from the many paintings on her wall and receive instruction on any piece they want. She will also travel to attend a party and instruct on her paintings for parties.

Cayla Johnson, a participant, said it was her second time going to one of Meredith’s classes. The first time she had gone for a team-building workshop through her work. She had wanted to give the fly-fisherman painting a try, and signed up when she saw it on the calendar.

“Even if you’re not a painter, it’s step by step,” Johnson said. “You can’t screw up, and even if you do, you can just fix it.”

Reporter Alyssa Gray can be reached at 758-4433 or agray@dailyinterlake.com.