News / Clark County News

Paint, pinot flow at vineyard

Lesson, wine keeps budding artists focus on fun, creativity

By Andy Matarrese, Columbian environment and transportation reporter

Published: January 14, 2018, 10:00pm

Marci Waldkirch sips a red blend Sunday afternoon between filling in the early touches of what would become the Northern Lights over a mountain range.

BATTLE GROUND — Everyone, Mykell Sloan regularly tells her painting class guests, can create art.

Whether or not it’s “good” or looks one way or another doesn’t matter.

“All you need,” she said Sunday, “is a little paintbrush, some paint –”

“And some wine,” a guest interjected.

Sloan is the instructor at Rusty Grape Vineyard’s regular Pinot and Paint events, where guests can sip wine and grab food as they get guided painting lessons.

At the vineyard and tasting room Sunday, the roughly 40 guests started simple with a black, jagged line to make the outline of a mountain range.

The lesson includes a canvas, small easel, paint and drink. Sloan starts each session with a finished painting for reference, then guides students through the process of creating it themselves.

After they made their mountain ranges, Sloan took them through painting the base of the range, adding depth and texture with different colors, reminding them the idea was to relax, enjoy and stop pursuing perfection.

“Don’t fix your happy accidents,” she faux-scolded painters. “You wouldn’t fix your children would you?”

Her advice for the students having trouble letting go, or finding their muse? Have more wine.

Alyssa Hayden, the vineyard’s wine club manager and Sloan’s sister, said Rusty Grape started pairing painting with wine about three years ago.

Hayden and Jeremy Brown, who co-owns Rusty Grape Vineyard with his wife, Heather, said interest in the events spiked last year, as the business brought in Sloan as a regular and set up a big tent for classes.

Hayden said they’ll sometimes squeeze as many as four wine and painting events into a weekend, and are booked out for events through February.

Hayden said she’s seeing multiple repeat visitors, along with many fresh faces, each weekend.

They’re starting to get requests to take the event off-site.

It’s a fun diversion, she said, and she’d probably join in if she had a bit more spare time.

“It’s like $25 and you get to hang out and eat, if you want, and paint a fun painting with your girlfriends.”

Brown said they started the painting and pinot classes to “try to create memorable experiences for people.”

The class is popular with couples, but also frequently draws groups of women who come to have fun with their friends, he said.

“There’s a little bit of wine tasting so you get to enjoy that, and the wine helps you so you’re maybe not so critical of your painting,” he said.

Irene Murray of Milwaukie, Ore., came Sunday with her sister- and mother-in-law.

Murray been to several similar events, and said it helps her work her creative muscles.

“I want to be artistic, but I can’t do it on my own, so I like that it’s guided here and they kind of help you out,” she said. “And it’s fun to drink wine while you paint.”

John Hill contributed reporting.

Andy Matarrese

Columbian environment and transportation reporter

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