Palm Coast artist Pam Bliss is having a blast.
Eight years after retiring from his job as a mortgage loan officer, Bliss is back at work, except this time he’s wearing a Paint Night apron instead of a business suit.
“It’s perfect,” she says. “I get to paint, I meet new people, and every day at work is literally a party. It’s more play than work.”
Bliss is partnered with a company called Paint Nightis a leader in the burgeoning “paint and sip” industry. Paint Night’s theme is “Drink Creatively,” encouraging people to stretch their creative muscles by painting under the direction of a professional artist while enjoying a few adult drinks at a local hotspot.
Bliss has loved drawing since she was a child.
“I’ve always painted anything that stands still,” she says, “and still do. Sometimes I paint a canvas, sometimes a wall or a door.”
However, she saw mathematics as a hobby and not a career, so she used her keen interest in mathematics to get a degree and start working in the “real” world.
After retiring from her job as a mortgage loan officer in 2008, Bliss had more time to devote to her art. A member of the Flagler County Arts Alliance, Bliss has exhibited her work in local galleries and art shows. She continues to paint “everything” and receives many commissions for decorative art pieces as well as paintings.
In fact, Bliss was introduced to Paint Nights last summer while working on a commissioned assignment in California, and she was instantly hooked.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” she says. “My brother and his wife saw it on Groupon and, although they’re not artists, thought it would be fun for the three of us to do it.
“When my brother said, ‘Pam, you can do this,’ I was already thinking the same thing,” she said with a laugh.
She was so intrigued by the concept that she contacted Paint Night organizers the very next day to see what it would take to bring Paint Night to her own backyard. The timing was perfect: the area was open, and Bliss became a licensee in the Daytona Beach area.
She is partnered as an instructor with local Ormond Beach artist Teri Jacques, who calls herself “the painter,” and together the two host paint night events at popular restaurants throughout Flagler and Volusia counties.
“I love it,” Jukes says, “I could do it any night of the week. It makes me happy to see people take pride in the art they create. It warms my heart to see the smiles on their faces when they leave.”
The Beachfront Grill in Flagler Beach has been hosting Paint Night parties since September.
“We have about 16 to 24 people come every other Tuesday, mostly women,” owner Jamie Baudot says. “They have a few drinks, have a great time, and leave with some art to put on their walls — and some of the art is pretty good.”
Portuguese Wine Bar & Grill in Palm Coast, the host of Paint Night, has only been open a few months. Manager Luis Alves says Paint Night events draw potential customers who might not have come otherwise. “Hosting a Paint Night brings attention and increases your reach,” he says. “People love it.”
Beachfront Grill customer and employee Wanda Diaz of Flagler Beach certainly thinks so, as she has become a regular at the beachfront’s Paint Night events.
“I have no art experience whatsoever, but seeing how much fun they were having, I just had to join in,” Diaz says. “They provide an apron, an easel, paints and brushes, and all I have to do is go, have a glass of wine, and these two women will teach me how to make really beautiful pieces of art.”
For more information on Flagler and Volusia County Paint Night events, click here. Paint Night.
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