Paint and sip diary: Art, wine and laughter
The boys share a light moment with their painting at Picinc Basement. PHOTO/DAPHINE NAKABIRI
What you need to know:
- If you ever get the opportunity to hold a paintbrush in one hand, a wine glass in the other, while your friends cheer you on as you attempt to turn a blank canvas into something remotely presentable, that is when you will discover what fun, magic and therapy feels like during any paint and sip experience.
Imagine laughing at your lopsided sunset, stained fingers in colours you cannot pronounce or raising a glass of sweet wine mid-brushstroke in an aura where everyone is a masterpiece in progress. The creativity on canvas and the sip of joy is exactly what it sounds like, painting as you sip, whether it is ice-cold water, a fancy cocktail, fresh juice or a glass of wine that makes you feel like an artist even before your first stroke.
Nevertheless, when I speak of painting, I mean painting what you understand and see what you want to come up with. It is fun and humbling, especially when you come up with a piece that everyone is laughing at. The idea of having a paint and sip experience was initially sparked by my cousin Harriet Nakato. We had thrown her a loud and lively birthday bash, just a weekend earlier at Matrix Lounge in Komamboga, complete with music, live band, dance and memories that still got us talking.
Getting on our marks
In return, she decided to invite us to what she called a simple lunch at her new hangout spot in Mpererwe. Spoiler alert, it was anything but simple. We were nine people from the same neighborhood. Overjoyed about the reunion, we each promised to make it for the luncheon, since she had scheduled it on a weekend. In the group we created, we kept the chat lively, by throwing back to the past days we used to play games such as hide and seek, football and dodge the ball. We also planned on wearing coordinated outfits; the boys shorts and black shirts, for the girls black dresses.
Setting off
With everyone making an effort to catch up on the scheduled 2pm lunch time. Hannah Mulungi came all the way from Mukono, Frank Kamulegeya from Bwaise, Ivan Kalagi dashed out of work in Ntinda and others from Kagoma, all to our designated pickup point, Maganjo stage. We then drove stopping by a mini supermarket to grab snacks, drinks, and of course some last-minute squad members. Being a Sunday, we opted for the main road in anticipation that the traffic gods would be kind to us.
Indeed they complied. We thus cruised down the Maganjo–Kawempe–Ttula road in record time. Like any other adventurous group, on our way, we started the day with content creation that included snapchat selfies, Tik Tok and Instagram-worthy videos with bluetooth music blaring amid the laughter that filled the car. Before long, we had arrived in Mpererwe. The driver took a left turn onto Gayaza Road driving ahead to the slope of Kizanyiro locally known as Taso Road opposite Queens Palace Arcade.
On the first left turn was a murram road that we followed. It is lined with kilns, homes and shops. In the shortest time we had arrived at our destination. Nakato was standing like a queen on the veranda of her beauty shop, waving dramatically like she had been waiting all day.
“I have been waiting for you since 10am, I thought you all would be here earlier, but you have come at 3pm,” she said while hugging and greeting each of us. We found two other friends just arriving and one who came later on.
The surprise
Across the road where Nakato welcomed us from was the paint and sip venue called Picnic Basement, a paradise disguised as a cozy residential compound. From the gate, a concrete path led us to a serene garden with trees and wrapped in fairy lights that keep the place well-lit in the evening and night. The fresh breeze was soothing. The playhouse (as we later called it) had a stunning outdoor setup. Think of white walls, lush green lawns, and a half-brick, half-metal fence offering just enough mystery from the outside world. At the entrance of the house is a camera placed strategically for security. When we entered the house, we were blown away. The first room was a mini feast with drinks and snacks perfectly arranged. However, the real jaw-dropper was the paint zone.
There were 10 canvases on a long floor wooden table, surrounded by white cloths for sitting, tiny glass paint jars, water cups, brushes, pencils, and flower decorations that made the whole thing look like an artsy bridal shower. Having each of us screaming in surprise, wondering about Nakato’s thoughtfulness, Mulungi said, “You have taken this onto the next level. When you said we would have lunch and after play games, you instead decided to surprise us with a whole Pinterest event of a paint and sip adventure! Wow, you are really amazing.” Nakato smiled like the humble genius she is. She had also covered the entire cost. At Picnic Basement, a paint and sip package without an instructor costs Shs40,000 per head and Shs55,000 with one. We were ready to be in our freestyle zone.
Painting and sipping
After recording the whole concept that was set before us, with ten of us around the table, we all took our places. By this time, I was so eager to paint. Our boards had black ribbons tied on them and peeling them off felt like unwrapping an intimidating blank, good-luck-with that gift. At each painting space was a white colour pallete, three brushes, a paint board, art pencil and two or three small glass tins of paint. I had two colours, blue and yellow in front of me, and I had no clue where to start from. However, we were encouraged to share colours. Since our package had no instructor, we were asked to come up with our own ideas to paint. Thankfully, we had four friends who had studied Art in A-level and were more than willing to guide us through what I would call, chaos. With inspiration from Pinterest, I chose a calming riverside sunset. Nakato and Mulungi opted for floral themes, Kamulegeya went full-on with birds in flight, Hillary Kanakulya with his ode to nature, a mountainous scenery and others. Step one was sketching. It was like being back in class. This eased the painting work because it not only helped us create lines to follow but also gave you a sense of direction especially for beginners. After sketching, then came the fun part. We were told to grab our wine glasses that had been placed behind our canvases. It was time to sip. We rose and clinked our glasses filled with a refreshing blend of Sprite soda and Royalty Saphire, a non-alcoholic blueberry cocktail, took photos for our socials and back to our stations.
The struggles and the beauty of creation
Painting, as it turns out, does not come off easy. Even Kanakulya, who had done art before, initially had a hard time with the brushes. He said, “To be honest, I have never used brushes in art. I did not know they are not as easy to use as the art pencil, but I will push through.” On my side, I was already quaking. I began with pouring a few drops of blue color on the paint plate and then got my brush to start painting the dark blue at the bottom of the board. Gradually, I picked up and was already having fun. I had to create four blue tones. On the second, I dipped my painting brush into the water that was in the plastic glass, adding only a few drops of water to the concentrated blue colour I had on the plate and there I had tone two. I realised that painting is a step by step process which requires thoughtful planning, thinking and patience to come up with the next step especially if you really want to create something beautiful and meaningful. It is also therapy, because while I painted, I became more relaxed with each stroke of brush on the canvas. The experience relieves stress and give one a more calm mood. Moving on to the other two blues upwards, I continued to add more drops of water to come up with a kind of lighter blue tone and on the fourth, I mixed some blue with white paint and more drops to give me a lighter one like the sky.
To understand the trick, I moved around to the other side and found that Kalagi, who is an expert, had painted a blue sky with different tones. When I asked him how he had come up with the sky blue, he told me he had mixed the blue with some white. This opened my mind, and I had the light blue tone ready. The sun was the easiest thing to do. With the yellow paint I had, I added a few drops of water to the plate and started painting the semi-circle which I had sketched over the sky-blue paint. It was starting to look like Christmas, even though I was getting tired. I even forgot that I had to sip. The panic however came with the clock ticking and warning that daylight was fading, yet we still had to take group photos, eat, and finish painting. Since I still had two more colours to add to my paint board, and I did not want to see any white on it, I rushed to create the sun rays by adding orange rays and a peach-back backdrop in the lines I had sketched, and I was done, just in time for the photo moment.
Wrapping up in style
Once our mini masterpieces were done, we dashed out to pose for photos in the golden hour light. During this time, we had time to rank our painting from the best to the worst, and the most exciting painting was Gorretti Nakabba’s which she painted like one a primary three child’s. While most of us laughed at it, all she did was paint her daughter’s name and a cartoon-like little girl in free lines I should say. Everyone was laughing. After the session, we then feasted on a dinner. As some used this time to polish their paint work, others had karaoke, followed by dance-offs, board games, and one another surprise, cake. Nakato’s cake-cutting moment wrapped up the evening with pure joy. We ended the night with a road trip to Akamwesi Mall for ice cream, popcorn, and a late movie, with each of us carrying our painting home, which are now part of the home decor.
