Moonlit blossom, cocktails and fourteen of us with a paintbrush in West Bridgford

Fourteen of us took over the private area at the back of The Botanist in West Bridgford, put the usual round of drinks to one side for an hour or two, and had a go at painting a moonlit blossom tree.

Sip & Paint has turned into one of our most popular evenings and this one filled up quickly again. It is easy to see why. You walk in, there is an easel, a lamp, a palette and a blank canvas, and all you have to do is follow along and enjoy.

Allie, our art teacher, took everyone through it step by step, starting with the night sky and the moon and building up to the blossom. Nobody needs any experience for this, which is the whole point. There were people at the table who paint regularly and people who had not picked up a brush since school, and by the end of the night you could not really tell which was which.

What always makes these evenings is that no two paintings come out the same. Same tutor, same instructions, same colours, fourteen completely different moons. Some went deep and dramatic, some went soft and pale, and a few people quietly decided the brief was more of a suggestion. All of them looked great lined up along the table at the end.

The room helps too. The back of The Botanist is all wooden beams, fairy lights and hanging greenery, so it feels like a proper little studio for the night rather than a corner of a bar. A few of us started earlier with the pre-event meal at six, which is well worth doing if you fancy making a full evening of it.

Thank you to Claire, Terry and Tünde for hosting, and to Allie for her patience with fourteen people all asking the same question at the same time!

One of the group summed the night up neatly afterwards with, "Amazing night." Hard to argue with that.

Meeting new people, sharing great moments and creating memories is what these evenings are all about, and Thursday had all three, plus a canvas to take home.

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