18 Curated Sip And Paint Drawing Ideas For Your Next Event

A sip and paint or a paint and sip, whichever comes first for you, is one of the most engaging and relaxing ways for your clients to spend their evening. Whether it’s a romantic date night, a birthday party, or one of those girls’ nights out, this activity beautifully combines creativity with a delicious glass of wine — and sometimes snacks, too!

So, if you’re ready to get planning your next event as a paint and sip business owner, we’ve put together some sip and paint drawing ideas below…

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Sip and paint drawing ideas for beginners

The best thing about a sip and paint is that no paint experience is required — nor is sip experience! It’s not about talent, skill, or painting the best piece, it’s all about having fun and enjoying creative expression.

Here are some curated ideas for your next sip and paint event (suitable even for complete beginners).

Animal acrylic paintings

Acrylics are a versatile, water-based paint which makes them the ideal pick for beginners. They can be thinned with water, they dry quickly, and require few accessories.

Choosing animals to paint gives everyone the chance to paint a piece based on their pets or favorite animals — a theme that is almost always relatable. While no experience is necessary, it might be worth starting the evening with a step-by-step acrylic tutorial or general acrylic painting tutorials so everyone can get to grips with how to use the paints.

Flowers

Flowers are another flexible theme where most people have their favorite flowers, scents, and colors as a source of inspiration for their piece. Flowers can also be drawn true-to-life or abstract, giving versatility.

Silhouettes

Drawing and painting with silhouettes is an interesting way of making a beautiful picture come to life. Ask everyone to start with their choice of background colors, let the piece dry and then they can paint over the top with dark colors or black to create silhouettes.

Play with lines

Remember that everything doesn’t have to be linear or perfect. And, being creative with lines can support the creation of abstract pieces. Now, faces and body silhouettes are very much en vogue.

Still life

Stemming back to Egyptians in 1,500 BC, still life paintings have now had a more contemporary and hyper-realistic twist. Ask your group members to draw something they can see in the room, or create a centerpiece for everyone to draw from their individual perspectives.

Beautiful waterfalls

Waterfalls are a universal symbol of beauty, so why not encourage everyone to craft a nature-inspired artwork to hang in their home?

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Sip and paint drawing ideas for couples

For couples, a paint date can be a creative, fun, and relaxing way to spend an evening or a way to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary. Research shows that for healthy relationships at home, the 70:30 rule is key; spending 70% of your time together, and 30% apart. So, an evening with a bottle of wine and some canvases can be the perfect way to spend some quality bonding time together without a huge expense.

Draw each other

A great idea is to ask them to draw and paint each other. This could mean drawing each other as they are, as caricatures or even each other’s bodies — of course, this doesn’t have to mean a ‘draw me like one of your French girls’ moments

Remember that there should be complete flexibility with this exercise. Encourage the couple to surround pictures of each other with descriptive words, symbols of love, or shared memories for the ultimate bespoke and perfect handmade gift.

Half and half

Another effective couples painting evening includes working collaboratively on the same piece by sharing half of a bigger canvas each. They could both work on one bigger piece and work together simultaneously, or create two sides of a one-piece artwork on the same theme.

Create something for the other person

Whether it’s a scene, the first place they met, a piece with the couple depicted, or something else that’s important to both of them, ask them to create something that will be meaningful to their partner. Arrange for them to sit together or opposite each other to mesh the date night with a romantic surprise for the final reveal of each piece.

Split up a landscape

Unlike the half and half method, splitting up a landscape piece is another beautiful way of painting together. Rather than drawing on the same canvas, use two smaller canvases to create a whole piece. It starts with sketching an outline across the two pieces, agreeing on colors, and then they can begin!

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Sip and paint ideas for adults

A super-fun idea for the ultimate night in for adults, a sip and paint provides a party atmosphere (with delicious snacks and drinks) while letting the imaginations run wild and the creative juices flow. Remember to save some time for the students to share their masterpieces with each other.

Self-portraits
Self-portraits give everyone the ability to depict how they see themselves on a canvas. Some may paint theirs true-to-life, others hyperrealistic, or even as cartoons.

Wine inspired
With wine forming a significant portion of the ‘sip and paint’ model, try taking inspiration from the wines you’re enjoying. That could be as straightforward as painting the wine bottle itself or some grapes, or you could take inspiration from the area the wine has originated from.

Interpret the same picture
If you’re in need of some inspiration, try adding a picture to the middle of your area, and have everyone try to replicate it. While you don’t necessarily want this to turn into a competition, everyone having their own version of the same piece of art hanging in their home can really bring your friend group together. This could also include all following the same step-by-step tutorial.

Paint your future
To combine painting with visualization, perhaps ask everyone to paint their dream future. Whether that’s a future house, car, job, pet, family, or more.

Theme
Coming up with an overall theme is a great way to encourage everyone’s imaginations. Themes could be flowers, weather, seasons, destinations, the sunset — really, they could be made up of anything you can think of!

Color Theme
Another simple option is a color theme. Think bold reds, muted blues, or sunflower yellows. A color theme is another opportunity for everyone’s works to be cohesive while giving them the chance to creatively express themselves as they wish.

Follow a tutorial
Alternatively, follow an online painting tutorial. Plenty of these can be found on YouTube, including videos from the go-to paint expert of all times Bob Ross. Beginner online lessons can be found in abundance on YouTube.

Bring in some expertise
If you are not an artist yourself and you’d like to add an extra special touch, consider contacting a local studio. Often, they’ll be able to put you in touch with local artists who may be able to facilitate the evening, give a step-by-step painting guide, and provide easy canvas painting ideas or help everyone perfect their brush strokes.

Supplies that you need for paint and sip classes

The supplies you need for your event are pretty straightforward and most of them are available on Amazon or Etsy. To host your next paint and sip, you’ll need the following:

1. Paint (most beginners do best with acrylic paint)
2. Brushes in a range of widths
3. Canvases
4. A paint palette or paper plates for each participant
5. Aprons
6. Paper towels
7. Table cloth
8. Water cups or small pots

Optional:

1. Easels (standing or tabletop)
2. A hairdryer to dry the paints quicker, or finish them on your next paint night

Besides painting supplies, you will probably want to prepare:

1. Wine and glasses (it’s best to choose the wine depending on the time of year)
2. Snacks or snack pots
3. Chairs for everyone
4. A centerpiece (for still life or model drawings)
5. A piece of graphite paper, to add stencils to trace.

Conclusion

We hope our list of 18 sip and paint during ideas has given you some inspiration for your upcoming paint night event. Remember that these classes don’t have to be a one-off. You could turn them into weekly events where you draw and prep one night and paint the next night. If your group are complete novices, try including a beginner (online) lesson before you get started with the painting to familiarize everyone with the paints and brushes needed.

Most importantly, have fun! A sip and paint creates a really engaging bonding experience for you and the participants, so don’t shy away from the fun part.