Create Your Own Canvas

It was my first time at one of these painting places. Went on a Friday night and I have to say, it’s a great way to get together with your friends! Painting instructor was very patient and friendly and the setting was very calm and unpretentious! She showed us how to use different colors for shadowing and give your painting illusion of depth. One thing I really liked was how everyone can pick their own painting instead of everyone painting the same thing. We could pick whatever we wanted to paint from their collection of paintings or pay a little extra and send them a picture of what you wanted to paint (so they can sketch it out for you). (Tip: check website first to pick out your painting, prior to scheduling your date and time.) You can even get creative and use any colors they have on hand that you desire and add touches here and there!
It was also great that we could BYOB; they provided cups and bottle/​wine opener. Need to get there early for good parking, otherwise there is none, due to the Funky Buddha and food trucks. After painting, we went to hang out at the Funky Buddha Brewery across the street for drinks, food and light entertainment. There were food trucks in the area, but by the time we were done painting, the food trucks were done for the night (at 10pm).
Have to say, two hours flew by VERY quickly! I would definitely do this again!

Great place… very chill, & owner, Dawn, is wonderful with the kids! She is super flexible with her kids’ classes & we have been many, many times! Highly recommend!!!

Wine and painting?! What could be better? I love wine and I love crafts. To be fair, this is the only place of type I have ever been to, but I’ve been so spoiled here, I don’t think I could ever go to one of those places where everyone paints the same picture. I came in probably about two years ago when they were in a different location. It was a group of us and we had a great time! We all had living social deals at the time and were able to chose our pictures online and set up an appointment to come in an paint. When we arrived all our chosen pictures were pencil drawn for us and the staff is great about helping you make exactly what you want. Keep in mind that what is on the website to chose from is flexible in terms of the colors you want to use, so you can make adjustments based on your décor. Believe me they come out so great, you’ll definitely want to hang up you picture at home a brag about it.
Now a few years has passed and we decided to do a girls night here. They have moved to a larger location which just so happens to be across the street from Funky Buddha. If you’re not one for wine you could go get a growler there and bring it in, or a snack from the food truck to enjoy while painting. The interior of this location is larger and a little newer, so overall it’s a great upgrade.
The website had a two for one deal, so it was just as good as the living social deal I had done previously. My first time here I painted a shoe, but this time I wanted to be a little more abstract, and chose a swirly design that I painted in colors that would go well in my house. I had questioned my choice thinking that maybe the swirl would be too easy and I would be done and everyone else would still be having fun painting. I was wrong. It turns out the more abstract the picture the more difficult it is, there are so many more options and so much more to consider. The staff was super helpful though, and gave me tips to get my swirl looking perfect.
We had an amazing time painting and laughing, and the three hours flew by. I highly recommend Create Your Own Canvas for anyone. It would be a really cute date night, and it’s a perfect girls night for sure, and definitely budget friendly with the deals offered on the website, and the fact that you bring your own wine and snacks.

My second time here, so an update is needed, not that I’m changing stars or anything, but it’s worth noting the company’s changes.
First up, they’ve moved. Which is great. The new space is much larger, easier to navigate around (when getting up to blow dry etc) and easier to find! The old location was a bit hard to find, but this one is diagonally across the road from Funky Buddha brewery and I’m pretty sure everyone knows where that is by now ;)
Classes run about 3 hours, and we probably went a bit over that, but neither the owner or the other artist seemed to mind… plus they may have shared a bit of our wine with us lol.
As mentioned before, the best thing about this BYOB painting place is you get to pick your own picture. When reserving your spot ahead of time just let them know which of the ~100 designs you’d like to paint and they’ll have it sketched out for you before you arrive. Also, added bonus, if you really have your heart set on something they don’t offer, they’ll draw up your custom creation!
This visit was again a birthday party, and of course we came from happy hour, so there may have been some imbibing beforehand. Once there, we cracked open our wine, and light snacks and got to work creating our masterpieces.
The staff was quick to bring over suggested paint colors and brush sizes, as well as walking around and giving us helpful hints to really perfect our pictures. And in the end I was VERY pleased with my latest creation.
Perfect for the special occasion or as something different to do, you can bet I’ll be back at Create Your Own Canvas again soon!

Create Your Own Canvas is such a great concept. As Savanna wrote, the best thing about it is that you get to select what you will be painting. They have over 90 images to select from in a few different categories (kids, animals etc). You do need to let business people know at least a week in advance which painting you’d like to do so that they have enough time to roughly sketch it out.
As you’re painting, the ladies will come around offering advice on what to do and how to approach certain aspects of your picture. This is the only part of the night I feel negatively about. We were there for a little over 2 hrs painting and the ladies only stopped by 3x to advise me. Now maybe my natural artistic ability was magically flourishing all of a sudden but it would’ve been nice to hear that I was doing well like they were telling everyone else around me. Maybe I’m just needy but the whole effect left me feeling like I was so bad that I was a hopeless case.
Thankfully a good friend sitting next to me gave me the moral support I needed to finish. That and the wine and yummy treats we were able to bring for the night helped. In the end you’re going to have a good time here. Why? Because you obviously came with awesome people to drink and paint the night away.