Paint Nite – The Concordian

The joy of paying to paint

You’ve seen the memes, you’ve seen the Instagram posts. Paint Nite. Women clad in plaint-spattered aprons pose before their landscape paintings, a paintbrush in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. All for the low cost of… $40??? Yes, that’s right. Paint Nites can cost anywhere between $30 and $80.

Who was willing to pay this? I thought. And why?

I thought to myself, who better to ask than the source, the direct target of such enterprises: the middle-aged suburban mom. My mother, to be exact, and, of course, her scrapbook-loving, book club-going friends.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my fair share of scrapbooking as a kid— and still partake in craft-making and collaging whenever I get the chance. Reading still remains one of my favourite hobbies, despite it being hard to make the time in my schedule to physically attend a book club. However, I enjoy following along with Drawn & Quarterly’s selections (the True Reads Book Club is a favourite of mine) from the comfort of my home, the bus or wherever I get a chance to read a few pages at a time.

What is it about organized creative events that have become known as activities intended for middle-aged women, specifically of the suburban variety? I’ve wondered this since my childhood. Picture a snowy weeknight in the early 2000s, in Greenfield Park, situated on the South shore of Montreal. Nothing is happening, which was quite ordinary for a primarily Anglophone borough with a population of less than 20,000. My mom would head out the door, tote bag in tow, to go scrapbooking with friends. Being seven years old, the idea of getting together with friends to eat and chat, cut out pictures and paste them on colourful craft paper was incredibly exciting.

Turns out, it actually is this exciting for middle-aged women and young adults, alike. Paint Nite, like scrapbooking club or book clubs, is usually led by one person who provides guidance for the duration of the session.

While artists create art to make a living, others make art to take a break from it. “[As a mother,] and between work, groceries, cleaning and everyday life there’s absolutely no time to get creative,” said Giuseppina Reminiscenza. A single mother of two (my mother, to be clear), she began partaking in social art activities in the early 2000s, after the birth of her two kids. “To expand our social life, we get together with friends and use this opportunity to get creative… it’s me time,” she added.

For young adults, alike, artmaking in a social setting is a chance to unwind and connect with loved ones. “I think making art with friends is always uplifting and happy, whereas sometimes by yourself, you might express yourself more deeply, it’s more personal,” said Nyomie Pandolfini. Between working full-time and attending class, taking time out of her schedule for herself is rarely an option. “Making art brings me to a calming emotional level, it’s therapeutic.”

So maybe, you too should try it. Grab a paintbrush, some drinks and a friend or two and, in the words of Bob Ross, “You too can paint almighty pictures.”

Graphic by @sundaeghost.

Concordi’ART hosts an evening of artistic exploration in collaboration with Paint Nite Montreal

Rather than spend a typical night out at a bar, a group of 20 Concordia students participated in an evening of drinking and painting hosted by Concordi’ART, in collaboration with Paint Nite Montreal, at Peel Pub on March 7.

According to Nathalie Sjarova, the vice-president external of Concordi’ART, the aim of the club is to create a community of people who enjoy both art and business. Concordi’ART’s motto is “building bridges between business and art.”

Alizé Honen-Delmar, the club’s president who is currently on exchange in Australia, created Concordi’ART in February 2017. Sjarova, a marketing student, jumped at the opportunity to be part of the executive team when she saw a post on Facebook seeking candidates.

Concordi’ART aims to encourage and help connect two typically dichotomous worlds. “Art students can learn a lot from business students, but also business students can learn a lot from art students,” Sjarova said. “It’s a very huge asset to be creative in [the business] environment, and at the end of the day, artists are entrepreneurs.”

Concordi’ART executives from left: Céline Salibi, Diana Jane Tran, Yonathan Chu, Sarah Morstad, Vincent Letarte and Nathalie Sjarova. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

Last week’s Paint Nite was an opportunity to bring people together to make art. Jessica Di Giacomo and Daniel Torchinsky, the co-producers of Paint Nite Montreal, led the painting tutorial.

A plate with large drops of paint in the primary colours—blue, yellow, red—as well as black and white, four paint brushes and a nicely rolled up apron were set up next to each white canvas sitting on a mini easel.

The goal for everyone was to recreate a painting that illustrated a close-up of an owl’s face. The first step was to outline the eyes with bright yellow and orange, and outline the beak with intimidating and unforgiving black.

Slowly but surely, the canvases went from white to covered in different self-made shades of green and blue.

With “drink-and-dry breaks” between each of the three layers of paint, participants were able to socialize, encourage one another and take a look at all the owls being created.

Paint Nites combine art and drinks for an evening of creativity and socializing. Photo by Alex Hutchins.

The final layer of paint required short brush strokes dipped in shades of blue, green and white to create a feather-like texture.

Despite all participants following the same steps and recreating the same painting, there was still room to express creativity. Some participants preferred to blend out the feathers, while others had a distinct ombré effect, going from light green to dark blue. Each eye varied in size from canvas to canvas, and one participant, Nathan Marrache, decided to paint Angry Bird-like eyes.

“It’s amazing how everyone’s painting looks so different even though it’s supposed to be the same,” said Marrache after he looked at everyone’s final paintings.

Paint Nite hosts events almost every day at various venues. More information can be found on their website: www.paintnite.com. Further information about Concordi’ART and any upcoming events can be found on its Facebook page.

Photos by Alex Hutchins