Learn more about your favorite
CANVAS AND COCKTAILS INSTRUCTORS
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Did you know that Canvas and Cocktails is one of the very first paint and sip studios in the country? It all started with me wanting to prove to my father that I could make a living with my "Art Degree". I love people, I love painting and I love wine- How could mixing the three not be a successful business? Canvas and Cocktails was formed one night in 2008 over a bottle of wine with my girlfriends. I signed a lease in Cherry Creek North in January 2009 and our doors opened in March. Word spread fast about our entertaining art concept and within the next year we expanded our space and started consulting our business concept to studio owners across the country. A few years later we opened a second location and started partnering with bars and breweries to enhance our experience offsite. 10 years later I am still amazed at the fact that I am able to wake up every day absolutely loving what I am doing- and the fact that I proved my dad wrong? Even better!!
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click HERE FOR Q&A WITH DRE
What is your favorite painting to teach? I love teaching paintings that involve the mountains! Taking a little Colorado home- wherever that is. What is your favorite song to play to get the crowd involved during a class? I love to play "I will survive" when we have a detailed step. My classes get very quiet and focused on the step and then about half way through the song they are still painting- but if you look around the room everyone is singing along! Singing, dancing, painting and most importantly- not stressing! What is the sweetest thing a customer has ever said to you? Sometimes customers come in after a rough day and they are not particularly thrilled to be meeting their friends at a painting class- but by the end, they are in tears thanking me for one of the best nights they have ever had. That is what makes it all worth it. I also love when people say "I can't paint- I'm not creative" but by the end of class they are the ones taking photos with their masterpieces gushing about where they are going to hang their paintings when they get home. Name a moment that made you laugh out loud during a class? I had a woman set her palette on her chair and then she sat down on top of it. Luckily she was having such a ball she wasn't embarrassed or upset at all- instead she jumped on the stage and showed the class why you don't put your palette on your chair and if you do- you get yourself a new pair of painting pants! Who is your favorite artist? Salvador Dali, Tim Burton, Dr. Suess. I have so many "favorite" artists, picking just one is too hard! I love art that makes you think. I love art that makes you feel something- happy, sad, silly, confused. I also love art that looks like it came right out of a dream. What is the best advice you give to your classes? There is NO right and NO wrong. We get in the pattern of following "rules" and "routines" and I like to break that pattern and pose the question "What do you like?" |
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click here for Q&A with chelsey
What was your most embarrassing moment in a C&C class? Either when I fell jumping UP onto the stage or when I invited the birthday boy up on stage with me, he dipped me and almost dropped me! What do you enjoy most about teaching at C&C? Helping people realize that painting can make an impact on their life. I love knowing that when they leave, I made an impression on them! Art Therapy is real!! I love socializing and helping my fellow "Type A's" out there loosen up and have fun! What is the sweetest thing a customer has ever said to you? You are the best! Will you date my son? What was your favorite fundraiser? Dylan's Down with the Art. They have so much support and it showed through how much love there was in the room. What is the best advice you give to your classes? Remember you just have to step away from the canvas. Sometimes the further away you get the better it looks :) |
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click here for Q&A With elyse
What is your favorite painting to teach? I enjoy teaching any painting where there are plenty of "artist choices". I love when everyone can add small things to make the painting truly theirs! I also have a huge appreciation for our "tough" paintings because they foster great confidence when completed. What is your most memorable moment in a C&C class? I love watching the touching, bonding moments in class. I have had a proposal, multiple generations getting together, healing memorials to those we have lost, and celebrations of triumphant recoveries. What is your favorite song to get the crowd involved during a class? CALL ME MAYBE- It's my biggest guilty pleasure song. YMCA is a close runner up. What has been your favorite fundraiser to work with? The Adoption Exchange private party was the most touching class I have ever taught. Prospective parents and children hoping to be adopted participated in a "musical chairs" type class. Fostering an environment where the children possibly met the parents who would adopt them was out-of-this-world rewarding. Who is your favorite artist? Salvador Dali. His works of art are so dream-like and creative. I get whisked away to another place when I look at his work. What is the best advice you give to your classes? RELAX! It is so important to relax (exactly why we serve wine!) while you are painting. Your creativity can come from a more genuine place and not from a place of stress. I always find with my own artwork that the best pieces come when I'm not thinking too much about what I'm creating but I just paint. |
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click HERE FOR Q&A WITH Kazan
What do you enjoy most about teaching at C&C? I love it when people come in thinking that they can't paint and leave knowing that they can do anything and have fun at it too. It happens after every single class! What is your most memorable moment in a C&C class? A famous football player came in to paint and I was a bit awe struck. He turned the tables and made me feel like I was the Rockstar!!! What was your most embarrassing moment in a C&C class? I have a few. Mostly I get into trouble with my accent. Things I say can sometimes get misinterpreted in a naughty way ;) What is the sweetest thing a customer has ever said to you? Every time someone tells me that they loved my class and want to come back is the best feeling ever. It makes me feel like I am with friends that want to hang out again soon. I love that! What is the best advice you give to your classes? It's all about the experience, having fun and visiting with friends. Relax and enjoy a drinky-poo or 2! The bonus? You get to go home with a painting |
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click HERE FOR Q&A WITH Sarah
What is your favorite painting to teach? My favorite painting is Teal Sunflower because everyone's painting always turns out amazing! Always turn your face towards the sun, that's what sunflowers do! What was your most embarrassing moment in a C&C class? It would have to be the first class I ever taught. I took a step back and tripped right off of the stage! I tried to salvage not falling off by running over the paper roll a couple of times like a log roller. I ended up in the laps of the front row patrons. Definitely my finest moment, but look for more to come!! What is your most memorable moment in a C&C class? I wasn't actually working there yet, and it was my first time in, but my now brother-in-law proposed to my sister there. Everyone was in on it except her, and the staff did a huge toast. It was so much fun! (She said yes, just so you don't wonder) What is your favorite song to get the crowd involved during a class? Any of the songs that people sing along with, such as You're So Vain, or Wild Ones! I call it Canvas and Karaoke. What is the sweetest thing a customer has ever said to you? Some awesome women said if she ever had a daughter, she wanted a daughter just like me. I thought that was so touching, and thoughtful. I'm sure I cried! What is the best advice you give to your classes? Just RELAX! Nobody will judge your talent level and if you have that extra drink it will only make your picture look better! |
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CLICK HERE FOR Q&A WITH HEATHER
What is your favorite painting to teach? I really don't have one favorite painting. I guess that's the beauty of it...the variety makes it so much fun! What do you enjoy most about teaching at C&C? I love all the different people and the common ground we meet on in front of a white canvas! What is your favorite song to get the crowd involved during a class? I love starting out our mellow Friday morning with U2's "Beautiful Day"! What is the sweetest thing a customer has ever said to you? "I really thought you were crazy when you said I could paint this painting but now that we're done I see that you were right! I really can't believe I did something that looks this good!" What is the best advice you give to your classes? Relax, sip your mimosa and trust the process! |
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click here for q&a With Emma
What do you like most about teaching at C&C? Everything! The environment is so positive and upbeat. I love meeting new people, hearing their stories and sharing in their joy. I love that everyone is getting the same set of instructions, but each painting turns out differently- that's the beauty of the world, the uniqueness in each person and the beauty within. What is the best advice to give your classes? Have fun! Have a drink, with good company and good music. The painting will follow suit and turn out great as long as you enjoy yourself! What is your favorite painting to teach? Chubby Owl! They are so darn cute, and people always come up with different color combinations and even add a second owl, or baby owls- it's just adorable and so much fun! What is your favorite song to get the crowd involved during a class? Toward the middle of class I love to pick everybody back up and give them a confidence boost with Journey's "Don't Stop Believing". It really gets people excited and they always sing along! Who is your favorite artist? Gustav Klimt - his use of shape and line are astounding and his color palette is so unique! |
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click here for q&A with Rachel
What is your most memorable moment in a C & C class? I was staffing a class where someone was about to propose. Only the instructor and I knew it was about to happen. We played the couple's song "Mess is Mine" and I was recording the whole thing - I think I may have been more excited than the guy! What is your favorite song to get the crowd involved during a class? Wobble baby, wobble baby, wobble baby, wobble. What is your favorite fundraiser? I love that our fundraiser classes can be open to the public and that everyone can to donate to any organization of their choice. One of my favorites has been the Dumb Friends League. Who is your favorite artist? Gustav Klimt What is the best advice you give to your classes? Relax, take a break, come visit me at the bar! :) |
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click here FOR Q&A WITH Mandy
What was your most embarrassing moment in a C&C class? I was helping someone with their painting and mid-sentence I got a dry throat and started coughing uncontrollably. I had to run and get my water and by the time I got back I had tears streaming down my face. Don't we all love when that happens? What is the best advice you give to your classes? Make it your OWN painting! Changing it up makes it unique. I love when people go a little rogue and add their own style. What do you enjoy most about teaching at C&C? The people I meet! I love starting the night with a room full of strangers and ending it with a room full of new friends. People come in from many different places and I love hearing their stories. I've even had people take me out to dinner after class!! What is your favorite song to play to get the crowd involved during a class? The Cupid shuffle usually gets everyone up on their feet :) What is your most memorable moment in a C&C class? We had Robert Downey Jr's doppelgänger in class one time. I'll admit we even had to google pictures to figure out if it was him...it definitely was not. What is your favorite painting to teach? I love paintings with trees. I always try to show people different ways to do them and then we end up with different trees everywhere! |
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click here for Q&A with claire
What is your favorite painting to teach? Any painting where the class can be creative and put their own spin on the original. I love the little additions like a Batman signal in a Denver skyline, or a Loch Ness monster in an island sunset! What is your most memorable moment in a C&C class? It was my first class I had ever been to. The place was packed and there was an incredible atmosphere unlike anywhere else I had ever been. I knew from then on I was here to stay! What is your favorite song to get the crowd involved during a class? My favorite song to play in class is Walkin' on the Sun by Smashmouth. Everybody loves a good throwback, and there is something about the beat that always puts the class into a good mood! Who is your favorite artist? Jenny Morgan. She is a local artist and her work is so inspiring! I love her color palette and unique way of handling the paint. What is the best advice you give to your classes? RELAX! Everyone's painting will turn out different and that's part of the fun. If you come in with an open mind then you will surprise yourself! What is the best advice you give to your classes? Trust the process and never give up. Appreciate your own individual style and embrace your differences! |