Activity · Create Together
Painting parties in Paris, in English
A paint and sip where the canvases keep changing hands.
Paint your own canvas on a theme that’s a little about you, then the canvases start moving and everyone adds to each other’s work. Vote and secret prize at the end. Paint provided, no experience needed.
In Paris
A paint and sip, except the canvases move
A paint and sip in Paris usually means an easel each, one subject for the whole room to copy, a glass of something, and about two hours. We kept the drink and the canvas and changed what happens in between. You start on your own canvas, on a theme that’s a little about you, and then the canvases begin moving around the table and other people work on yours. Almost nobody goes home with the painting they started.
Search for one of these in English and what comes back is mostly a booking product for visitors: an atelier session with an artist, aimed at people passing through, listed twice over on the tour sites. This is a different thing. It’s a recurring night for people who live here, hosted in English the whole way through, and the talk around the table is in English too. Plenty of paint and sip nights in the city run in French, which is lovely if you speak it and a tiring way to spend an evening if you don’t.
Recent parties have been at Bistrot Lucien on rue Lucien Sampaix, in the 10th, a few minutes from the Canal Saint-Martin. Doors around 19h00, and roughly two hours from there. The night of the week moves. The last few landed on a Wednesday, a Tuesday and a Thursday, so go by the calendar rather than by habit, and check the event page for the address before you set off.
Beginners are the default here rather than the exception, and the swap rounds are why. Once three other people have added something to your canvas, whether you can paint stops being the interesting question. There’s a drawing version too: same room, pencils and paper instead of brushes.
The Format
What to expect
- Step 1
Warm-up and colour play
Doors open, you get a drink and a canvas, and we ease in with colour games while the room fills up. Arriving a bit late is fine.
- Step 2
Your own canvas
A solo round on the night’s theme. The themes tend to be about you: your comfort food, your red flag, the place you’d rather be right now.
- Step 3
Swap, vote, prize
Canvases move around the table and people add to each other’s work. At the end everyone shares, the room votes, and there’s a secret prize.
Upcoming
Next painting & drawing parties
Straight from our live calendar. New events go up every week, and the email list hears about them first.
None scheduled right now.
The next one is usually a couple of weeks out. Sign up below and you'll be first in line.
Practical Info
Before you show up
- Materials
- Canvas, paints, brushes and an apron are provided. You just bring yourself.
- Language
- English, for the hosting and the table talk. You don’t need any French.
- Skill level
- Beginners are the norm here. Nobody is grading anything, and the group rounds make sure no canvas stays too precious.
- Coming alone
- Around 60% of people do. You’ll be painting next to someone within minutes.
- Where
- Recent ones have been at Bistrot Lucien in the 10th, near the Canal Saint-Martin. The next address is on the event page.
- How long
- About two hours in the evening, with doors around 19h00.
Questions
Painting & Drawing Parties FAQ
Do I need to know how to paint?
No. About 70% of attendees have never painted before, and the evening is built for that.
Is the event in English?
Yes, all hosting and conversation. Most attendees are internationals living in or visiting Paris.
What do I need to bring?
Nothing. Canvas, paints, brushes and an apron are all provided. Ticket details are on each event page.
Can I take my painting home?
Yes, it’s yours. Fair warning: after the group rounds it may have a few other people’s brushstrokes on it, which is usually the best part.
Is this a paint and sip night?
Close cousin. There are drinks and canvases like any paint and sip in Paris, but ours is more social: the canvases swap around the room, everyone adds to each other’s work, and the night runs in English.
Where in Paris are the painting parties held?
The recent run has been at Bistrot Lucien on rue Lucien Sampaix, in the 10th, a short walk from the Canal Saint-Martin. Venues do change, so the address on the event page is the one to trust.
Which night of the week is it on?
It moves. The last few landed on a Wednesday, a Tuesday and a Thursday, always in the evening with doors around 19h00. The calendar has the real dates.
Is there a drawing version?
Yes. Drawing parties run as their own night in the same room, with pencils and paper instead of paint, and the same round where the work starts changing hands.
More From HMC
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Same idea every time: come for the thing, stay for the people.
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