Last Updated on March 30, 2024
Channel your inner Van Gogh at London Art Bar
After running social painting and wine experiences in bars and restaurants across the UK for almost a decade, PopUp Painting finally sets up a permanent base at the London Art Bar. PopUp Painting was launched in April 2013 with the mission to bring art out of the classroom or gallery and into the places people meet on an everyday basis. Currently, London Art Bar hosts multiple Painting and Prosecco sessions a week featuring various art styles, artists or themes, allowing you to pick one that calls out to you.
We were invited along to experience a session which centred around trying to paint a version of Van Gogh’s Starry Night led by professional artist Annie Dalton. Upon entry, you are served a glass of Prosecco or Nosecco. I loved the inclusion of Nosecco as an option as this means people who don’t consume alcohol get a very similar experience to the ones who do.
The venue was also decorated according to the theme of the evening. As you can see in the picture above, there were a lot of blue and sunflowers for a Van Gogh atmosphere.
Seats come in pairs and are first come first serve so I chose one close to the front together with my companion. Each seat comes set up with an easel, canvas, paintbrushes, a cup of water for cleaning brushes and a palette. Before the session started, participants were also given an apron and some fast-drying acrylic paint which dries within 10-15 minutes. We were also instructed that spillages should ideally be cleaned up within 5 minutes or you might never get it off.
Aside from the usual basic colours of white, black, red, yellow and blue, we were also given light blue since it featured prominently in the painting. I appreciated this because it meant that we didn’t have to spend a lot of time mixing paint.
The session was divided into two 45-minute blocks, with a break in between to get some drinks and snacks. The first block was spent concentrating on the top part of the painting. Meanwhile, the speakers played Vincent by Don McLean and other songs related to stars and sunflowers to get us in a Van Gogh mood. Our instructor stood at the front with her canvas and gave quite detailed instructions, from which brush to pick up (small, medium or large) to what colour to use, while she demonstrated what to do. It’s important to note that while the instructions are detailed, you are at full liberty to paint whatever you feel like on your canvas.
During the break, our brushes were cleaned and our water was replaced with a clean cup. The second 45-minute block was spent doing the bottom half of the painting and it was at this point that I decided to deviate quite a lot from the instructions. When I accidentally got a bit of white paint on my hands, I was told that I could easily wash off the paint from my hands afterwards (it did wash off) so all I needed to do was wipe it off with tissue in the meantime. I got through the rest of the session unscathed spillage-wise and there were no paint marks on my clothes, bag or shoes.
At the end of the session, everyone had painted various interpretations of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. My companion had never painted before and she told me that her painting turned out to be better than expected. I was also quite happy with my painting (see picture above) and it now sits in my living room.
PopUp Painting is a socially creative way to spend an afternoon or an evening both for people who have never picked up a paintbrush before and for those who want to paint in a social setting.
The London Art Bar
300 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7JH
Tickets from £39.99 (including art supplies + 1 glass of Prosecco)
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