Cabernet & Canvas – Perth Wine & Painting Classes

I hadn’t picked up a paint brush for years, literally since I was at school. Yet I had definitely picked up a glass of wine a bit more recently. Therefore, it was safe to say I was well versed in the Cabernet but not the canvas side of things.

One of my wine-loving friends tagged me in an event on Facebook a few months ago for a ‘wine and painting class’ at The Bassendean Hotel with the guys from Cabernet & Canvas. We thought we’d grab a couple of tickets and see how it went. It was definitely something different to do on a weeknight!

About Cabernet & Canvas

It’s all about the ‘paint, sip and smile’ concept for Cabernet & Canvas. These wine and painting classes started back in 2012 and were based off the ‘paint and sip’ classes that are done in the USA.

Basically it’s a mobile art studio that let’s you paint and learn from professional artists while you sip on wine. It’s an arty, creative and pretty damn tasty night out with friends!

What the night involves

The gist of the public classes from Cabernet & Canvas is that you turn up to a bar (they run the classes throughout various venues around Perth including The Bassendean Hotel, Pure Bar in Subiaco, Bistro 38 at the Joondalup Resort, Rigby’s Bar in the city and The Como Hotel to name a few) and paint while dining and drinking at the venue.

For each class there is a separate area/room where the class takes place. Everything is prepared for you to simply turn up and paint. While doing this you can order drinks and food from the bar – it’s a pretty laid back evening.

The classes run from about 6:30pm – 9pm and you’re taken through how to paint with step-by-step instructions from a professional artist. Each class paints a specific, well-known painting while you drink, eat and listen to music.

And by step-by-step I literally mean that. With the help of the professional artist you’re taken through how to sketch out the painting with a pencil (it’s very specific, i.e. ‘draw a line 15cms down from the top of the canvas’) to how to mix the paint colours to create the right shade. You also have a mini version of the painting in front of you in case you wish to create your masterpiece directly off that.

What the tickets include

The tickets for the night cost us about $50 per person. We got an early-bird deal as we booked about 4 weeks in advance. I definitely thought it was well worth every penny. Normally the tickets are about $65 which I would definitely pay if I couldn’t get an early-bird ticket.

What the ticket included:

• A $15 voucher to use at the bar for food and wine (or beer, spirits or soft drinks if that’s the way you’re inclined)
• All your painting materials (including; a 40-50cm stretched canvas, acrylic paint, paintbrushes, pencil, ruler, apron etc)
• Expert guidance
• Your canvas to take home

All up, I spent under $100 for wine, food and the class – which is not bad for a night out!

On the night

As you may have seen on social media, I would 100% recommend doing one of these wine and painting classes if you get the chance. My wine-loving friend and I were a bit nervous since neither of us had painted in years however after a few wines you start to really get into it.

We arrived to the venue a little bit earlier so we could have a bite to eat and start off with a glass of bubbles before getting stuck in. I would recommend this so your full attention is on the painting and listening to the instructions from the artist when the class starts.

Kudos to the team for the set up too, everything was all ready to go when we arrived. We literally just had to take our designated seat, grab our wine from the bar and then sit down and paint. For our class we were painting Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ with the help of professional artists Ella Dent and Shanila Samarasinghe.

I was really surprised how quickly the time went. It was full of plenty of concentration and a lot of laughs. At the end it was amazing to see how everyone’s pictures looked – all so similar yet very different at the same time.

If you don’t feel like painting the dedicated picture for the evening you can paint whatever and likewise you can put your own creative flair into it, as you can see from our masterpieces below! Guess who the wino’s in the class were!

I am really looking forward to doing another Cabernet & Canvas class as my friend and I had an absolute ball and surprisingly our painting skills got better and better as we worked our way through our bottle of Credaro Cabernet Sauvignon from the Margaret River!

For more information make sure to check out the Cabernet & Canvas website or catch them on Facebook, Instagram or Google+. These guys can also hold private classes and corporate events if you’re looking for something a little different when it comes to your next group event or team-building activity for the office!

Here is my final work out of art!