Summary: Really cool concept; not great execution
Recommendation: This is something probably worth trying once but no more than once
I friend recommended this, so when I saw the Groupon for it a few months ago, I couldn't resist.
The classes are $35 each which is very, very good for what you get. The $35 covers the instruction, canvas, paint, and use of an apron and brushes.
You pick the class you want online by the painting you want to try. There's not a lot to choose from in terms of painting selection. A lot of the paintings look really amateur. If you're going just for the experience, great, but it's hard to find something you might really want to hang on your wall. Once you register, they'll send you an email confirmation and place an authorization (hold) on your credit card. They'll only charge the card if you don't cancel (you can do this up to 24 hours before the class starts) or if you tell them you want to use that before you arrive.
My boyfriend and I signed up for one to paint martini glasses. We brought wine and snacks which was nice to have throughout the class. Our class may have been unusual, but it was very, very quiet. The instructor didn't solicit questions, and the groups weren't talking much. We felt like we had to whisper when talking to each other. Overall, the atmosphere was fairly oppressive.
As far as the instruction goes, we had a different experience than the other reviewer. The instructor would say something like, "Draw three triangles" or "Blend the two colors" without giving very much direction as to how. We're not artists at all (I haven't picked up a paintbrush since I was in sixth grade), so we really had to watch what she was doing to figure out how to follow the vague directions. This isn't a big deal if you're at the same place in your painting as she was and could follow exactly what she was doing, but it made us feel rushed.
At the end, we used some puffy paint to put finishing touches on the paintings and more direction here would've been very helpful. She basically said, "And after your painting is dry, you can use puffy paints here to add whatever details you like." The puffy paints were difficult to use if you've never used them before because they can come out unevenly.
At the end, even the instructor's painting didn't look very much like the original.
Okay, so a lot of that sounds pretty negative. I should say that the concept itself is terribly creative, the price is very good, and with a better instructor, this would've been a wonderful experience. We still had a lot of fun being artists for an evening, but I wouldn't do it again. read more