Bottle & Bottega by Painting with a Twist — Attraction in Belmont

I was trying to decide if I would leave a review or not, they were all such nice people. But then they sent me an email asking for me to leave a review so here we go:

It was fun to do a partner activity for Valentine's Day. The space is nice, they sell beverages and you coule order ahead snacks.

This was my first time at a "paint & sip" event, but I have always wanted to go. However my image of sipping wine, nibbling on our charcuterie box, laughter, and relaxation while painting only existed in my imagination. The painting was extremely rushed. It's more of a "follow the leader" type of style, and the instructor only walked around the room, very quickly, maybe 3 times in 2 hours. You are really just following along. Okay, fine, so it's not an art class, I guess. Having said that, as someone who does not consider themselves a perfectionist or particularly wrapped up and the outcome of my art work instead enjoys the journey, it was borderline stressful trying to keep up. I found myself two to three steps behind the entire time. Since ours was a partner activity you kind of wanted them to match somewhat and there was a point where I looked over and realized I'd missed a step and couldn't go back so there's a huge difference between my side and my partner's side of the painting. Also I am not an artist but there was a lot of using your brush for dark paints but then going back and using it for light paints, but it really wasn't getting clean enough in the water so the colors weren't quite right but there's not time to really clean it better you just have to rush on. I just kept saying to my partner "How is he using that brush for white after black?" I think there were some basic painting tips it would have been good to know.

So I want to say it was a fun evening, and it kind of was. It was a unique thing to do on Valentine's day. But I definitely had to talk myself down from getting too stressed out several times during the event, which rather defeats the purpose. I would think if they had something simpler to paint, or maybe another 30-60 minutes, it would make the difference to a more relaxing...

Toed the line of type 2 fun due to the speed of the event. I attended a public event, so I don't know if private events are different. We started a little after 7 and wrapped up around 9:30. I could have used another 30 minutes to finish up some details the artist added but I didn't get to because I was working through some beginner mistakes like not mixing enough of one color, running out, and making more. We started the evening pretty calmly and got some early advice from the artist, but at a certain point the gas pedal was thrown down and we were on our own. I like the painting I made, but I feel like everyone in the room would have had an elevated experience if the event was extended 6-9 pm or 7-10 pm, and if there was actual instruction given by the artist. Happy I didn't buy wine because I wouldn't have had time...

The experience was below average for what I expected. The instructor didn’t show any tips on technique and went lightening fast. Multiple people asked him to slow down. There was frustration in the room and only 1-2 people went away with a nice painting. It was a fun date event to do with friends but I’d probably look for another business that does the same concept. The attendant also wasn’t very helpful she sat on her phone most of the time even when people needed water change, paint refill or...