Beer, paint, and a killer soundtrack.  This is not your average paint night.  This is Craft and Arts at Chapman Crafted, a night where you’ll learn all about craft beer, art, and maybe even a little more about yourself.  It’s a paint night for artists, for those with no experience, and you.

I received complimentary admission to facilitate this review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In search of new experiences for Mom’s Night Out and date nights with my husband, I’ve done a variety of paint night-type activities.  The formula is pretty standard.  You arrive, grab a drink, and are instructed on a creative project.  It’s not quite paint by numbers, but a step-by-step tutorial where participants’ end product is largely identical to the instuctor’s.  If it’s your first time painting, it’s a great way to get your toes wet.

This is not your average paint night.

First, this is a paint night dudes will enjoy.  There are lots of things my husband goes along with because they make me happy (OstrichLand, for example).  But this is an activity perfect for guys, too.  The kind that drink beer, the ones who have never picked up a paint brush, or the guys that make art for a living.  It’s for all the dudes…and the ladies, too.  The night I attended, attendance was evenly split between men and women.  A dad and his adult son strolled in, a married couple, a duo of gal pals, and a couple on a date.

This experience is best suited to participants aged 21+.

In true Melanie fashion, I arrived early and found myself at Chapman Crafted.  The brewery is steps from the historic Orange Circle in an industrial space.  The tasting room is dark, filled with long tables and stools.  Towards the back, the bar with beers on tap clearly displayed. The class would be hosted in an attached room with two walls storing barrels.  Two long tables were covered with brown craft paper and inspirational messages scrawled in black Sharpie like “Make what you want.  Do you, bro.”

Make what you want.  Again in Melanie fashion, I had done my research.  I knew the class resulted in collage-style pieces on wood.  Typically not my artistic style, I brainstormed what I wanted to make.  I considered bringing maps from my amusement park collection.  I’d showcase my love for all things Disney, Knott’s, and even a little Universal Studios.  I’d make a scrapbook backdrop for our family fun.  But my babysitting fell through at the last minute, meaning Matt had to stay home with the girls.  It had been a mad dash towards my departure and the idea of being late makes me all kinds of anxious.  So I rushed out the door empty handed.  I’m so glad I did.

At each seat were an apron, a piece of unfinished wood, instructions, and small cards.  One of the cards served as credit for a beer, and  I opted for the Mt. Baldy Cream Ale.  I noted the IPA’s for our next visit since those are Matt’s jam.

Then our Craft and Arts class began.

Craft and Arts

Chris, the creator of the Craft and Arts class, and in full-disclosure, a person I’m happy to have known since childhood, began with an introduction sharing a bit of his artistic background and the plan for the evening.  “This is not your average paint night,” he shared.  That well-known formula of other paint nights start with a glass of wine and an attempt to mimic the instructor’s set piece.  At the end of the evening, you’ve had a lovely night out.  But you learned nothing about the wine, the art, or yourself.  This is not your average paint night.

The Craft and Arts class is aptly named as it celebrates both craft beer and the art we’d be creating.  With our complimentary beer included with course fee in hand, Chris instructed us to check out our beers.  We chatted, observed, and noted things like the color, aroma, taste, and mouthfeel.  I’ve been drinking beer for decades (sorry, Mom), but having a word bank to better describe my beverage made a fun challenge less, well, challenging.  To take the experience deeper, he challenged us to consider memories evoked by the flavors.  With my cream ale as my muse, I happily doodled and described on the brown paper covering my work space.  I daydreamed of youthful frivolities inspired by the light and fresh flavors of my craft beer.

With the perfect blend of self-deprecating humor and deep understanding of art, Chris led the class through basics of art.  In addition to a table filled with supplies nearby, the instructor equipped us with additional knowledge of composition which would be helpful when arranging and creating our pieces.   He followed by sharing an example of his own work.  He quizzed us to identify the elements like symmetry, negative/positive space, and the “Rule of Three.”  We looked at inspiration from other artists’, noting what called to us.  “Monochromatic choas,” I wrote down.  Then he challenged us to flip it and be open to trying something completely opposite of that.  Would that be rainbow order?

As we emptied our beverages, he went on to explain the materials available.  Magazines, newspapers, stencils, brushes of all shapes and sizes, paint (it is a paint night, after all), and a glue concoction.  He gave instructions to get us started, but walked the room throughout the evening to share more insignt.  It was until this point I wasn’t quite sure what I would make since my safety net of pre-selected supplies were at home.  But he held up a stack of beer newspapers, and “it” hit.  You can call “it” inspiration, but I’ll pretend it’s genius and move forward.

I started to flush out a concept for my piece.  As a kid, we all went to shows to see bands.  That’s actually how I met my husband.  Chain Reaction, the Hub, even the Troubadour were where we’d all meet up, hang out, and bob our heads to let the band know we were enjoying ourselves but not with so much excitement that we might seem uncool.  Those youthful nights at shows are a bit nostalgic now.  But as I noted the aroma of my beverage selection and contemplated the memories it jogged, I realized that those nights have transformed but were still here.

Now, the craft beer scene has filled that space.  The feelings of community have shifted as I’ve gotten older, but it’s still a feeling I seek.  Thankfully, I’ve got a great group of friends and neighbors who will meet up for a happy hour at one of the many craft breweries in Orange County.  It’s the local breweries that serve as our destinations for reconnecting, sharing stories, and making new memories.  I used a listing of local OC breweries as the backdrop for my piece to pay homage to them in a way.  Here are the places where we’re spending our 30’s, and it’s downright tasty.  Sure the breweries are the backdrop, but it’s largely about the community.

To Melanie it up, I pink-washed the newspaper.  I hoped it was pink-washed, the brewery was dark.  I added a vintage RV as a symbolic ice cream truck, bringing orange 50/50 bars to a childhood version of myself.  But in my art piece it was a beer truck with a hodge podge of people cut from Sunset magazines lined up.

I used stencils to cover a road-like section with two shades of orange spelling out “OC.” I learned something new, but knew from past craftiness that my eye yearns for repetition in art pieces.  I was taking some risks from my traditional projects, but still adding things that felt like me.  When I got stuck, not knowing how to define the people and the beer truck against the negative pink space, Chris spent time helping me walk through ideas.  He suggested outlining.  I tried something; it looked dumb.  He came back and, totally getting my vision despite it being pink and so far from his own, suggested my line were not a line, but instead a collection of stick figures.  The crowd from a show would be messy horizon of round heads and limbs when you looked from a distance.  The line look I was trying to achieve would have the same feel.  Up close, you’d make out stick figures.  From a distance, it looked more like an irregular border.

It’s not often I get hours to myself to create, so I ended up a bit in my zone. Although the course listed as being hosted from 7-9 PM, we were given extra time to continue.  Like the two friends who had spent the evening creating, I realized this is a paint night I could do monthly.  Choose a different beer or a different memory to inspire your piece.  Come in and make a complimentary piece or something entirely new.

This is not your average paint night.  It’s a night for creatives to try something new.  It’s a night for those who aren’t crafty to prove themselves more capable than they imagine.  It’s a night for enjoying craft beer, art, friends. It’s a night for a mama to get a little time to reconnect with the happy memories of youth and realize she’s still having a whole lot of fun.

Looking to unlock the creative process, create your own unique piece, and have a great time hanging with friends?  Check here for the next Craft and Arts Night.  You can also follow the creator, Chris Kent, and his students beer-inspired pieces on Instagram.