Wendell is an up and coming area located about 20 minutes east of Raleigh. My parents actually live right in downtown Wendell, so we spend quite a bit of time out that way. We’re always looking for new activities to do with the kids while we’re out there. Some of my Knightdale friends have become regulars at The Art of Giving Family Friday Paint Special and told me how fun it was! When they scheduled a Valentine’s Day class I knew it was a perfect outing for our family love day celebration!
Art of Giving Gallery, Studio, and Gift Show
The Art of Giving is an art gallery, studio, and gift shop in the heart of downtown Wendell. They offer classes in fine art, painting, drawing, and stained glass, plus host paint parties for adults and kids. You can purchase a month of art classes, schedule your own private paint party, or participate in some of their drop-in events, like the Family Friday Paint Special that we attended.
The gallery is located within the Wendell Woman’s Club at 10 S Cypress St. I had some trouble finding it at first because my GPS didn’t take me far enough down the street. The building is located directly across from the wooden pavilion and it’s the same parking lot used for the Lake Myra Christmas Light Show.
Family Friday Paint Special
On the second Friday of every month, the gallery hosts a family friendly drop-in paint night where all ages are welcome to come out and paint together! For $5 per person you get your own 8×10 canvas and all of the supplies needed to create your masterpiece. You can pick from 7 different painting templates, and they are all usually based on a theme of the month. We were there at Valentine’s day so there were lots of cute animals with hearts! Next month will have lots of green shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day! Be sure to check their Facebook Page for other events as well!
Paint on your own with a sample painting as a guide
This isn’t like Wine and Design where an instructor guides you through the painting. Your canvas comes with a basic outline of the image you choose and there is a sample painting hung on the wall as a guideline. You are given the same color palate used in the sample painting, but it’s totally up to you how you want to fill it in. It’s a bit like an using a coloring book, but there’s a finished sample if you need some inspiration.
My only complaint is that the sample paintings are not easily visible from where you actually paint. They are displayed up front where you pay, but once you sit down you can’t really see them. I’m a follow-the-sample picture kind of painter, so I kept having to get up to see the painting. I tried to take a picture of the painting and display it on my phone, but it drained my battery. I guess this means that I should just use my own creativity and fill in the canvas on my own, but I’m just not that good! 😆
Perfect for kids!
Overall, my kids had a great time and I loved that I didn’t have to clean up the mess! My 5 year old painted the owl all by herself, but she was hardcore about following the sample painting. My 3 year old had some help from daddy to paint the elephant, and I had the joy of painting the gray blob with the 2 year old. You can see I tried to get some of the lion’s mane on there, but he just wasn’t having it!
The studio offered old t-shirts to protect the kids clothes, and they had a bathroom in the back to wash up once we were finished (or mommy called it quits!). It was perfect for the kids since they could paint whatever they want, and we could come and go as we please. We didn’t stay very long since the kids finished quickly and the small space got crowded fast. It’s a popular event so get there early!
If you need to burn some energy before or after, head on over to the Wendell Park!