Painting With a Twist – Denton, Texas

This summer my daughter and I were invited to join some local bloggers at Painting With a Twist in Denton, TX.  In the past I visited another PWAT location to paint a cross during their three hour class so I knew I would love it.  I had been wanting to take my daughter so she could experience a class since she loves painting on canvas at home.  My mom decided to join us for a girl’s night out – all three generations painting together.  The cost for her was only $35 for all supplies and instruction!

The stage consisted of two easels – one with the finished painting as an example and a blank canvas for the class instructor to paint one step at a time while he taught us.  After seeing the painting in person I was pretty excited.  I love the moon with the purple sky and cherry blossoms.

On the table in front of each of our chairs were our art supplies.  We had a paper plate with the standard colors on it, three paint brushes, our blank canvas on table-top easel and a cup of water with rag to clean brushes.

In order to make purple we mixed red and blue paint.  To lighten the shade of purple we had to mix in some white.  Since each person was mixing their own colors it made everyone’s painting turn out unique with their own shade of choice.  To make the moon glow we made the shade of purple gradually darker as the circle moved outwards.  By the time we reached the corners it was a deep hue.

Next we added branches.  Mine was a little too thick in my opinion.  After we added the first set of branches we added some white dots for stars.  To put the dots we used the opposite end of the paint brush, clever.  Then we added the small branches that will hold the flowers.

Throughout the painting process we took several breaks.  Since ours was an evening painting session we brought plenty of snacks.  We had fruits, veggie chips, bottled water and soda.  You can also bring wine which is encouraged for some extra fun.  Painting With a Twist provides plates, napkins, ice and cups.  Since space was slightly limited I used a plastic cup to hold my fruit and veggie chips instead of a plate.  We all laughed a lot during our class and our instructor was amazing.

The flowers were super easy to add.  Just a little white and red paint dabbed on.  Ta-da, I now have cherry blossoms!  Although our paintings were very different, the completed painting turned out wonderful.  I was pleasantly surprised.  My mom was a little hard on herself during the process and was convinced she thought it looked awful.  After we were done she was satisfied and once she got it home to show my dad she was kind of impressed.  My dad even asked us if we did a paint-by-number type of thing.  He assumed we had a template considering how well they turned out for non-painters.

T wanted her painting to be slightly different so she used blue hues.  Her bedroom is being re-decorated in turquoise so she felt this shade would match better than purple.  Overall we had a fabulous time.  It was a great bonding experience for our family.

I highly suggest you take a class with Painting With a Twist.  You can view their monthly calendar online to see which design they are painting during each class.  You can also schedule a GNO, birthday party or bachelorette party exclusively for your group instead of just joining a public class.  They even offer couples paintings where you each paint your own canvas and then when they are hung side by side you can see the full scene.  Andrew and I plan to do one soon.

Full Disclosure: T and I received our painting experience with supplies and class complimentary to facilitate this review and social media exposure. All opinions are 100% mine and photos were taken with an iPhone since I forgot my Nikon at home.