How to Setup a Virtual Paint and Sip Night: Tips & Tricks

Paint and sip classes are more popular than ever.

And, with the ongoing pandemic, virtual paint and sip nights have become particularly popular.

Yes, virtual paint and sip nights are officially a thing. You can connect with friends online and paint and drink wine together. In fact, at Paint and Sip Live, we create the party for you,giving you everything you need to enjoy a virtual paint night.

Whether joining a Paint and Sip Live class or setting up your own virtual paint and sip night at home, we’ll explain howto have the best night possible.

Gather the right supplies

If you’ve never painted before, then that’s okay. You will, however, need to purchase painting supplies.

At the very least, you’ll need all of the following for your virtual paint night:

·        Acrylic paints

·        Paintbrushes

·        A painting surface like canvas,wood, or paper

·        A palette or tray

·        Rags, paper towels, cloths, or old clothes

·        A cup or jar of water

·        Soap for cleaning up

Any art supply store will have all of the items above. You should also be able to find everything at Walmart, Amazon, and similar stores.

Picking supplies, paints, and kits

Picking a Paint: When choosing paint, make sure you look for student quality and artist quality paint. For most virtual paint classes, student quality is fine.Artist quality paints are more expensive and provide better coverage and quality. Artist paint contains more pigment and will lead to superior paintings– and it’s easier to paint with. It’s up to you to decide whether or not to splurge. Most painting kits only contain student quality paint – so if you’re buying a pre-built kit, be prepared for average quality.

Picking a Size: Acrylic paints come in 2oz to 32oz tubes. If you’re setting up a single virtual paint class for yourself, then a 2oz tube is fine. Many beginner artists are surprised, in fact, how long a 2oz paint tube lasts. If you’re hosting people for a virtual paint class, then consider a larger bottle size.  

Picking a Color: Most acrylic paint kits come with 6 to 10 colors. A good 10-color paint kit has white, black, yellow, orange, red, crimson, green blue, purple,and brown, which makes it easy to create any color you need.  

Paint and Sip Live Tip: When you join a Paint and Sip Live class, we can ship a beginner’s painting kit directly to your address in days. Our kits include everything you need to start painting for the first time.

Setup the painting zone

Most of our Paint and Sip Live students use a living room as their ‘studio’. An average dining room table or kitchen table fits about 6 easels comfortably.

Place your table in the center of the room.Lay a cloth to protect the table. Then, setup the easels and canvasses.

Each easel should have the following in front of it:

·        Brushes

·        Palettes or trays

·        Water cups or jars

·        Paper towels

·        Setup the teaching zone

If you’re teaching the virtual paint class yourself, then you need to setup the teaching zone. Some people stand at the front of their living room. Others setup an easel in their office, pointing a camera or webcam to the teaching zone.

You need similar supplies for your teaching zone as mentioned above, including an easel, a place to set your palette,brushes, a jar of water, and paper towels.

Most teachers also have a sample painting or master painting as a visual. What painting are you trying to emulate? Print off the painting or create your own master painting to use as a visual.Students need something to look at when painting.

Depending on the skills of your painting students, you may want to pre-trace lines on the canvases. Pre-trace lines with graphite paper to help your students follow along. Alternatively, provide your students with traceable outlines and graphite paper.  

Buy the beverages

Technically, you can’t have a paint and sip class without some type of beverage. Otherwise, it’s just a paint class.

One of the best parts about virtual painting classes is that alcohol consumption rules are more relaxed. You can serve yourself whatever you like – not the cheap wine poured at most in-person studios.

Whether it’s beer, wine, cocktails,non-alcoholic beverages, or anything else, a good beverage completes your virtual paint class experience.  

Join a Paint and Sip Live class today!

Paint and Sip Live is the leading virtual paint class provider online today. With live DJs, professional artists, and a beginner-friendly environment, each Paint and Sip Live class is an unforgettable experience.

Get some friends together and sign up for a virtual Paint and Sip Live class today. Or, join solo and make unforgettable memories at your next virtual paint class.