Have a drink, unleash your inner artist at Sip and Gogh studio

When your drawing skills since kindergarten, which involved stick drawing and basic color shading, haven’t budged since, you have a good reason to balk at the thought of dabbling in the arts again. 

 

Your sketchpad, water colors and paintbrushes might have long been disposed of, but at the back of your head, you just can’t wash away the thought that if you reached deep enough, you could rediscover a long-forgotten gift.  

Fret not. Sip and Gogh, the first paint and sip studio in the Philippines, opened three months ago with the goal of unleashing everyone’s hidden “artist”. Contrary to the usual notion that the studio is a place for professionals, Sip and Gogh was actually created with amateurs in mind.

 

“We always tell people, there are no painting skills required here. As long as you know your colors and shapes, and follow instructions, definitely you can learn how to paint,” said Nyvee De Leon, one of the owners of Sip and Gogh. 

 

“Most of our guests are at first hesitant. But eventually in the middle of the painting, wala ka nang maririnig. Kina-career na nila.” 

 

True enough, on a Friday night, a motley crew arrived at Sip and Gogh: a couple on a surprise birthday “paint date”, office mates distressing and finding a creative outlet, a father and son tandem, and mothers and their kids. 

 

At first, nervous and excited chatter filled the colorful and vibrant studio. But as soon as they got settled in their workstations, sipped their favorite beverages, and munched on some snacks and appetizers, the vibe became more relaxed as the would be- artists started copying the assigned art work, and began their first brush strokes.

 

Over a bottle of wine, during habagat

 

There is already a handful of paint and sip studios in the US and two years ago, co-owner and graphic artist Carlo de Leon was able to attend a painting session there. 

 

He didn’t think much about it until one night, when he, his wife Nyvee and friend Omar were stranded in Marikina during last year’s habagat and were sharing a bottle of wine. 

 

Carlo and two of his long-time friends Omar and Topher were Tulong Dunong scholars from the Ateneo de Manila University and they were thinking of ways to raise funds to help the habagat victims. 

 

“Every time there’s a calamity, gumagawa kami ng fundraising for the Foundation. Nagpe-paint kami and we put it sa cards and sell them,” Carlo shared.

 

It was there that the idea sprung: what if they create a permanent place to create art for fund-raising, similar to the paint and sip studios abroad?

 

Nyvee continued, “So ang ending namin, besides raising funds for Tulong Dunong, why don’t we turn this into something else?”

 

Combining their love for both art and wine, the friends opened Sip and Gogh along Capitol Hills Drive in just over three months. 

 

At first, passersby didn’t know what to make of Sip and Gogh, the studio being sandwiched between popular restaurants. Is it an art gallery? A place for drinks? But soon enough, curious onlookers couldn’t resist inquiring and visiting the studio. 

 

“They really like the concept,” Nyvee said.

 

A session at Sip and Gogh ranges from P900 to P1200, inclusive of a drink of choice, snacks or appetizers, and all the art materials. There are also art instructors who facilitate the sessions and will guide the art students to finish their masterpieces. 

 

“And then at the end of the session, you bring home the painting. So it’s like buying a painting, but more than that, fulfilling for you since you painted it yourself, plus you were able to drink, eat, relax, bond with loved ones or meet new people,” Nyvee added.   

No frustrated artists 

 

Painting might be mostly a solitary activity for professional artists, but the owners want to make it as fun and as relaxing as possible at Sip and Gogh by making it a social activity. 

 

There have been debuts, kiddie parties and even family reunions held at the studio.

 

They also have “paint dates” for couples to paint together, with some drawing each other’s portrait, or the couple painting two canvasses that are joined as one artwork.

 

“He loves to draw so I thought of surprising him for his birthday para maiba naman,“ JD’s girlfriend Kristine Flores shared. 

 

Mother to eight-year-old twins Melody Castaneda brought her sons to nourish their interest in the arts. 

 

“It’s good for the kids kasi nga relaxing. They can sit for three hours, concentrating and not the iPad, not the computer,” she said. 

 

For colleagues Kathe Reyes and Ina Alcazar, who went all the way from their office in Greenhills, trying out painting is a step towards applying what they learned in "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" seminar they attended. 

 

“’Di ba you get dull with the day-to-day work? So you have to set aside some time to parang sharpen or tighten each aspect of your life – at work, family, with friends, and like this one is more of self-improvement,” Ina said. 

 

For first-timers like them, they may not draw and paint as well Van Gogh, but at least, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

 

Kathe said it well, “Parang I feel like you can’t go wrong w/ painting. It’s your work after all.” – KDM, GMA News 

Sip and Gogh Studio is located at # 1 Capitol Hills Drive, Quezon City, fronting Ayala Heights.