Couple pair wine, art with business in Traverse City

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - Mix paint, wine, social time. Stir with some instruction. End up a couple of hours later with something to hang on your wall, and perhaps a new friend.

David and Nicole Leslie just opened a Painting With a Twist franchise in Traverse City. The business offers artist-led sessions during which customers paint a copy of a picture, imbibe if they like and have a bit of social time with others in the class.

"We went to Colorado Springs and went to (a session). We had a blast," David Leslie told the Traverse City Record-Eagle (http://bit.ly/1Be1ZCU ).

They researched Painting With a Twist and discovered the 8-year-old company has nearly 200 franchises in 28 states.

The concept revolves around the opportunity for anyone, even those with no painting experience, to create a painting from a blank canvas good enough to display at home.

The Leslies hired four local painters to lead various sessions.

Preparation for opening the new business was hectic, David Leslie said.

"I was sweating. I was losing sleep," he said. "Then sign-ups started rolling in. They're easing my worries. Everything has fallen into place."

Participants sign up on the franchise's website, www.PaintingWithaTwist.com/traverse-city. There, they choose from a selection of images in the company's repertoire. That choice determines the session date. Sessions currently are held on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. Another session is offered on Saturdays from 3 to 5 p.m. The Leslies also offer private parties in a separate room for groups from 10 to 35.

Each participant is provided with a canvas, brushes and paints. Participants may bring their own wine or beverage to sip during the experience.

This is not a paint-by-number endeavor. Each participant will paint from scratch. Most sessions begin with a completely blank canvas. Sessions featuring more complicated images may be provided with rough guide outlines on the canvas, David Leslie said.

David Leslie also works as a medical device representative. He said his main focus right now is on Painting With a Twist.

"It's a social gathering where you can meet people," he said.

Lisa Schulte, of Traverse City, is one of the artists who will lead sessions. She said she loves to paint and occasionally sells her artwork. The canvases participants create will look good in their creators' homes, she said.

"You'll come out of here with something to be proud of," she said.

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Information from: Traverse City Record-Eagle, http://www.record-eagle.com