I wish I could have given more stars to this event, because I was so looking forward to painting with, and learning from Alana but I just can't. There are pros and cons, regarding this event and it depends on what you actually want to get out of their version of "paint and sip" to decide if it's right for you.
Pros: We had our class at the Taft Winery in Sebastopol and it is lovely. What a really cool winery, it's absolutely worth visiting. The owner is not only incredibly personable but knowledgeable. The rose was delicious.
Alana and her family are all welcoming and just really nice people. Alana is a fine painter, and incredibly talented. You could feel the love as she introduced us to her mom and twin sister. If you want a nice time and place to be for a few hours drinking a flight of delicious wine and not really there to paint then this IS the event for you, absolutely. If you want to learn how to paint in a new way, and come home with a complete painting, it is not.
Cons: One of my problems was that the event was advertised to go to 2:30 and my friend and I were asked to leave at 2:00 Everyone else had left by 1:30 by their own volition. Perhaps is was the heat, I don't know. But since we were still working on our paintings I think they should have honored their word and let us stay until the designated time. I got the feeling that some people were really there for the wine and mini pancakes, but we were there for the art, and art tutorial.
If you want to compare this to a Yaymaker event, or Paint and Sip type class this is not for you. The paint was prepared so early, and on mini baking sheets so the paint literally baked onto the sheet of metal. This made the paint unusable except for what you could get out from under the 'skin' on top. When asked for more paint, we got push back. "We're trying to conserve paint." Yikes. For $75 sign up and given unusable paint, that kind of sucked. The other problem was that there was a 15 minute paint mixing tutorial but not how to actually create the painting. We received the beginning of the painting (flowers in vase), ie the basics for the flowers but no further teaching on the vase or greenery, or even Alana's cutting in technique for her abstract look of the roses. The answer was "look at the vase" when asked how to finish the painting and get the right look of the vase but I feel that I was not there not to observe the vase, but learn how to paint it (including the water inside, which is what I was actually looking forward to the most). In person is so much more valuable than you tube videos.
Alana is one of a kind. Watching her is inspirational, I just wish she had taught us more technique, as an artist because that is what I personally signed up to receive. Therefore, it could have been better, and 2 stars. I also suggest some type of video or screen situation where the class can see and watch Alana paint and paint along.
Sidenote: I didn't eat them (because food allergy, quality looked great), but I heard from everyone who could that the mini pancakes were outstanding. If you get them, go first thing because they were packed up and gone within the first hour and a half of the event. read more