By Kat Fitzpatrick
The arts scene in Glens Falls has expanded to include and surprise people.
Following in the wave of trending social art, Amanda and Trevor Westcott, proprietors of The Art Bucket, opened Sip & Canvas on Maple Street in the multi-use Rogers Building.
The storefront offers classes in acrylic painting that, while not paint-by-number, require no more knowledge than that. For the art-leary, it should be instructional. For the art-wary, the “sipping” option could be a boon. The participants are able to purchase wine to sip during the class.
This aspect of the experience–which also includes coffee and soft drinks–implies a laid back atmosphere that will allow participants to be more focused on having a good time than on striving for Da Vinci-like perfection.
“People that don’t know how to paint have the most fun. It’s step by step so you don’t have to know anything,” Amanda Wescott said. “It’s the most fulfilling for them–they benefit the most from it.”
The Wescotts are building on the success of The Art Bucket, a business that offers airbrush tattoos, custom airbrushing, face painting and hair wraps. This venture has grown so much since its 2007 inception that Trevor left his day job in environmental consulting to work full time with it. He takes care of much of the construction of the interior as well as myriad background needs.
“I’m the crazy idea person, but he is very imaginative and creative, too. Mostly, he’s the technical guy and I’m in the front of the house,” Amanda said.
She has a thorough art background with a degree in fine arts and a track record of indulging in art over her entire life. “I’ve dabbled in pretty much everything. I love the entertainment business and I love the art business,” she said and so it was natural to think of combining them.
“Every year we just try to expand,” she said and a store like Sip & Canvas seemed a natural choice, being that the entertainment value is arts-based, hands-on and practical. “It is a perfect way to socialize and relax for the night, and be home by midnight, or even by 10.”
She imagines a visit to Sip & Canvas as just one part of an evening out.
“It is like a whole package: have dinner, see us, go shopping,” she said. “We are hoping to promote other places where they might go. Glens Falls has a lot to offer. Even if people haven’t been to Glens Falls we hope they will come. Maybe we’ll give them a reason to.”
The search for a location began last fall. “For the business concept in general, I think it fits in a city. Location is what you think about first. We had a lot of options, we could have gone to a lot of places. Glens Falls in general seems to have so many things coming to the area, it is clean and growing. The building itself is gorgeous.”
The presence of an anchor business was definitely a plus, she said. “The Sushi restaurant [Siam Thai Sushi] is very busy and that helped with our decision.”
Choosing the wine for the store has become quite the task. “We are still working it. A rep handed me a book that is 800 pages long. That is overwhelming. We would like to have some good local wine but not too many to pick from. We don’t want it to detract from the time for painting,” she said.
The classes will be at 7 p.m. and last about two to two-and-a half hours. She said that they are going to let the interest in classes determine the schedule. “Initially, we will have six classes a week and see what the demand is and what we would like to fill.”
Three local artists with degrees in teaching and art were hired to teach the classes. “We have also had a ton of calls already about parties, birthdays, corporate events,” Amanda said. “It appeals to a lot of age groups. You could come in with your grandmother and daughter on a Saturday morning.”
The business can be found on Facebook and at sipandcanvas.com. The phone number is 791-4888.
Photo Lisa Balschunat Photo