My older son has always loved arts & crafts. When he was little we busied ourselves with at-home activities like modeling clay and colored pencils and water colors. But as he’s gotten older, we’ve started venturing out to destinations that offer various types of artistic projects–from woodworking to sculpture to pottery. So it’s been particularly upsetting to him that during the pandemic we’ve had to cut waaaaaay back on those types of activities.
That’s why I was SO EXCITED when Darcee from Picasso Parties reached out to us earlier this year about the virtual offerings at her West Haven, CT studio. And she was kind enough to invite us to be her guest at one of the KIDS VIRTUAL PAINT NIGHTS that she hosts via Zoom monthly. I wish I had taken a picture of the enormous smile on my son’s face when I told him about it 🙂
Kids Virtual Paint Night is held on (at least) one Friday each month at 6:00pm. The project for our event was this adorable puppy in celebration of Valentine’s Day.
The supplies for Virtual Paint Night were shipped to us (there’s also an option to pick them up if you live nearby), including the canvas, paint, paintbrushes and a paper plate to use as a palette. The only thing you need to provide yourself is a cup of water to rinse your brush in (and some paper towels to dry it off).
We got everything set up and at 6:00pm we logged on using the Zoom link that had been emailed to us.
This session was taught by Darcee herself, and it started out with a lively bingo game (bingo cards were emailed to us prior to the event–winner received FREE admission to the next Virtual Paint Night!).
And then it was right into painting on the canvas!
We started by mixing our paint colors.
Then Darcee started to walk us through the steps to create the painting as she painted along with us!
Although it’s not necessary, we did find it convenient to dig out a few of our own paint brushes to cut down on brush washing and also to take advantage of different thicknesses for painting large areas. So if you have some paint brushes kicking around, you might want to dig those out.
While the kids were painting, Darcee encouraged them to say hi to each other and chat a little if they wanted. There are a lot of regulars for these virtual paint nights so in addition to being a fun activity, it’s an opportunity for them to “see” friends they might not otherwise be able to spend time with these days. At several points throughout the session she also asked the kids to hold up their paintings to show the group.
The whole session including bingo and painting lasted about an hour and a half (we were having so much fun I forgot to check the time!).
Before signing off, each participant got a chance to hold up their picture and have Darcee put it on the screen for all to see. It was really neat to be able to see all the different versions– each child’s canvas was a little different and everyone put their own spin on it!
I won’t pretend like we didn’t make a little bit of a mess 🙂
But it was sooooo worth it to see the smile on my son’s face as he enjoyed one of his favorite pre-pandemic activities.
Picasso Parties has two upcoming Kids Virtual Paint Nights
This one to get you in the St. Patty’s Day spirit:
And a bunny-themed one just in time for Easter:
Check out all the upcoming events on the Picasso Parties website. You can also follow them on Facebook where they post their events as well, and sign up for their email list to stay up to date with the latest offerings.
You can sign up and pay for virtual paint nights right on their website. To be safe, you’ll want to allow up to a week for shipping of materials (so sign up right now for the Lucky Gnome Virtual Paint Night!), two weeks if you’re outside of Connecticut–a perk of virtual events; anyone, anywhere can participate! There’s no shipping charge for residents of West Haven and Milford. All others will need to add a $10 shipping fee for up to three canvases. (Be sure to see the Facebook event pages for additional details!)
Right now, Picasso Parties intends to keep offering their virtual programming at least until the summer months. Although they are starting to once again offer small private in-person paint nights, offering this kids’ class virtually means that they can include more kids than they would be able to safely accommodate in the studio (given the current Covid protocols). That’s good news for all of us!
Kids Virtual Paint Night is recommended for kids ages 6 and up. But you could totally do it with your littler ones if you want to do some of the painting too!
Hope you get a chance to enjoy a Kids Virtual Paint Night with Picasso Parties! It’s a delightful activity and a testament to the power of art to help keep us all connected even when we are forced to be apart 🙂
Picasso Parties
944 Ocean Avenue, West Haven, CT 06516
(203)623-7173
Picassopaintparty360@gmail.com
Find them on Facebook and Instagram!
Hours:
In-person hours based off bookings, please call or e-mail to set up a time.
Kids Virtual Paint Night @ 6pm on select Fridays.
Pricing:
Kids Virtual Paint Night $20–includes canvas, paint, and brushes. Extra shipping charges may apply. Pay online.
Check out their website for other offerings!
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