Chances are that if you’re working on a painting at home, you’re going to have a glass of wine. But in most art classes, that kind of imbibing is frowned upon. Kimberly Godinho is out to fix that injustice with Painted Cork, which opened in Santa Cruz in mid-January. She opened the first Painted Cork in Folsom in 2010, and then one in Sacramento—but for her third location, Godinho is bringing the painting-and-drinking business to her hometown. She spoke to us about why it’s a good idea to raise a glass and a paintbrush at the same time (or alternately).
How do your ‘Paint and Sip’ classes work?
KIMBERLY GODINHO: We teach acrylic painting classes. We have a professional artist that gets up on stage and walks you through the whole painting of the night, whether it’s a sunflower or beach scene. You’re more than welcome to bring in a bottle of wine or your favorite beer. No hard alcohol—we don’t have a hard alcohol license. And any kind of food. It’s bring your own, it’s very casual. Sometimes people don’t want to drink, and they just bring a latte and that’s totally fine. Some people even bring beer they’ve made themselves, or the favorite bottle that they’ve saved for a long time. We also supply the studio with all of the surrounding restaurants’ menus. We’re laminating them and putting them in a book.
Why combine alcohol and painting?
It takes the edge off with certain people that are nervous, but it gives it a social element, too, which is really fun. People have birthday parties, family reunions, bachelorette parties and everything in-between. Team building is huge, too. There’s no experience necessary in our classes. It’s taught step-by-step all the way through: which brush to pick up, which colors to mix where to put it on the canvas. I like to call it a little sampler version of painting. It’s not like the standard workshop where you pay hundreds of dollars and you go in all weekend and you have to go buy all your art supplies. The classes run $35 to $45 a piece. All the supplies are included in the class. People can walk in and have their little fun social time. They can also experience painting without a big huge commitment and having to buy all the supplies and not even know if you like or what have you. It’s like a little baby step version of trying out painting.
1129 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 471-8939.
