How To Teach A Paint And Sip Class: All You Need To Know

Paint and sips bring friends, family, and communities together and are the ideal way for your customers to hang out for the evening and catch up. They’re also the perfect way to celebrate date nights, bachelorette parties, and birthday parties! Once you’ve decided how much to charge for your creative workshop and started your paint and sip business, the next step is to teach your first class! Below, we’ve put together a guide on how to get started, a checklist of what you need, and some tips and tricks to show you how to teach a paint and sip class.

Getting Started and Finding Inspiration

Knowing where to start and finding inspiration can be tricky. Follow these steps to get you on the right path. First, decide what you will teach. Your business may have art templates, access to copyrighted images, or you may focus on painting something that’s in the room with you. So, for your first lesson, decide what you’ll teach! Use resources such as Pinterest, Google Image Search, and YouTube videos to help inspire you.

Preparing the Lesson and Timing

By now, you should have a good idea of the time you have available in your sessions. Is it an hour, two hours or three? The amount of time you have will also dictate what you can and can’t draw. Try creating a sample painting and timing how long it takes you to paint it by following instructions. Remember that your live classes will also need to include time for introductions, extra painting time for those who need help, time for the artwork to be dried and varnished, and time for your customers to sip and enjoy!

Essential Supplies Checklist

Now that you have a better idea of what you’re going to be painting, get your supplies ready. We recommend buying them wholesale wherever possible to reduce your costs. Below is a list of all the art supplies that you’ll need for each person that you’ll teach:

• A chair: 1
• Paintbrushes in a range of sizes: 5-6
• An easel: 1
• An apron or clothes covering: 1
• A paint palette: 1
• Acrylic paints: 10 x 2oz paints
• A canvas: 1
• Rags, towels, or kitchen towel: 1-2
• A water cup for rinsing brushes: 1
• Wine: 1 bottle
• A wine glass: 1
• Snack pots or plates: 1

Setting Up the Painting Zone

Now that you have all the prep work done, you’ll need to set up the painting area before your workshop starts. To ensure a professional environment, you should:

• Set up the easels and canvases
• Make sure each easel and space has the correct brush sizes needed for the painting
• Add a paint palette with a spatula palette knife for mixing
• Provide a jar or cup of water for washing brushes
• Place down all paints required
• Add rags and paper towels
• Provide aprons on each chair

Besides the painting zone, you’ll also need a space to prep and dry the paintings once done. Here, you’ll want a hairdryer or other drying rack to speed up the drying process and varnish for finishing.

Setting Up the Teaching Zone

Next, you’ll need a demonstration space or teaching zone to give instructions from. For this, you’ll need a standing easel, an area to place to set your palette, brushes, paints, and water, and a finished sample painting or printout to use as a visual. You’ll also want to make sure that the entire studio has visibility of what you’re doing. If the set-up is particularly busy, you might want to have a camera either on a tripod or above you recording what you’re doing. This can be cast onto a larger TV or projected onto a screen so that everyone can follow the steps with you.

Beverages, Snacks, and Legal Requirements

So, everything is set up for teaching! But you’ll also want to keep your customers satisfied with drinks and treats! As part of setting up your business, you will have checked the local alcohol laws and permits. If you haven’t already done so, you will need to get a liquor license for your studio or the place that you’re teaching from. And, you’ll need to make sure everyone in attendance is over the age of 21.

To keep your customers happy, supply a combination of white, red, and rose wine. If you have a theme and keep the wines topical, take a look at sip n’ paint class wine pairing ideas. You should supply some non-alcoholic options, too. Think refreshing lemonades, sparkling flavored waters, or non-alcoholic wines for those who don’t want to or can’t drink. While not compulsory, some paint and sip hosts also provide snacks. This helps bridge any gaps where customers are waiting for their artwork to dry, and also stops anyone from having too much to drink!

Practical Tips for Class Management

To make the experience more engaging, encourage the students to change up the colors of their artwork. Additionally, it is helpful to designate someone that will help pass out paints and extra supplies throughout the session.