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Van Gogh & Merlot, a relatively new Spokane-based business venture, is taking a more grown-up approach to painting by the numbers.
Instead of apple juice and finger painting, participants of Ulysses Mireles' painting classes are most likely to be sipping on a glass of chardonnay or cabernet sauvignon while creating their own version of Claude Monet's famous "Water Lilies."
Having had a passion for the arts throughout his life, Mireles says he started his painting-class business here in mid-March with the goal of encouraging its participants to explore self-expression through any form of art, not just painting.
Mireles says that many of the people who've attended one of his classes so farhe offers privately-hosted events and open-attendance classes that are held once monthlymight not have picked up a paintbrush since childhood. Prior to the last two painting sessions he's held, Mireles estimates that about 90 percent of class attendees were first-time artists and had never picked up a paint brush.
That's where the wine (or beer) comes in handy, he says.
"For people who might be nervous, that helps" them to ease up a little bit, he adds.
Participants of his acrylic-painting class are encouraged to bring beverages to sip on while they work, whether that's beer, wine, or a nonalcoholic drink. Because Mireles doesn't have an actual storefront space for the business, andbecause it helps to keep class fees lowbeverages are the responsibility of the attendees, he says.
Refreshments aside, all of the painting supplies, including paint, brushes, easels, canvases, aprons, and other tools, are available for participants to use as part of the class fee.
That per-person fee is $30 for someone who's attending one of his open-enrollment courses, which are offered on the second Sunday of each month and are taught in the clubhouse at Pasadena Ridge Apartments and golf course in Spokane Valley, located at 4710 N. Pasadena Lane.
For a private course, the cost is $35 per person, and Mireles will travel within the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene area to teach at a location requested by the event's host.
Those classes can be scheduled in the evenings or on the weekends and can be held for any type of event for a group ranging between five and 20 people, Mireles says.
The largest class he says he's taught so far consisted of 18 people.
For those interested in taking one of his classes, no prior experience is needed, he says. From start to finish, Mireles guides the class through a step-by-step painting process and breaks up the painting canvas into sections of work so that participants also can focus on the social atmosphere of the class, he says.
"That way they can paint and enjoy themselves," he says. "It's funny to watch their faces because they look (at the sample image) and wonder how to do that, but at the end people are really excited that they created a painting."
The inspiration for the paintings Mireles teaches usually is based on one of three things, he says. Many of his past courses have taught how to create a painting that's based off a photograph or another artist's work. For example, he says he taught a class in which students painted their own rendition of Vincent van Gogh's famous masterpiece "Starry Night."
While he hasn't yet taught a class using a live model, Mireles says that is an option if the class participants wanted to try it, although the class fee would be raised to $50 a person since Mireles would have to pay a model for his or her time there as well.
The third painting technique Mireles teaches is called "en plein air," which is a French expression that means to paint a live setting outdoors, such as a landscape.
So far, he says the most popular techniques requested by his students have been how to paint a scene that's based off of a photograph, or to create a rendition of a famous work of art.
For a private class session, Mireles says the host of the event gets to choose the painting's theme. For his open-enrollment classes, however, he usually picks the image he'll teach and posts it on the business's Facebook page to let class attendees see it before the event.
"I prefer not to do the really simple pictures because I feel like they get cheated; I want people to be able to take on any picture," he says.
The overall painting process usually ranges between 2 1/2 and 3 hours, Mireles says.
"We start with the under-painting and the coat for the background, and then break up the canvas into sections so it's proportionally accurate," he says. "It's up to the person's overall interpretation, but I help simplify it as much as possible."
He says there are short breaks in between various sections of work so that the coats of paint can dry before the next step, which also allows the students to socialize while they wait.
"It's a methodical process for me, but it's easier to teach like this in a group setting," Mireles says. "I also encourage people to sit next to new people, and so they can help each other and work together."
Mireles says he has always loved art and creating it, and while he doesn't have a formal training in the subject, he says he has considered attending art school in the past, but chose not to pursue it professionally because of the minimal job pool in the field.
"I always had a talent for art as a kid for basic drawing and building and creating things," he says.
In addition to oil and acrylic painting, Mireles says he enjoys colored pencil drawing and sculpting.
The southern Texas native says he moved to Spokane last year after finishing physical therapy school. In addition to the painting venture, Mireles has a full-time job as a physical therapist at B&B Physical Therapy and Sports Rehabilitation, at 6415 N. Monroe on Spokane's North Side.
"I decided I wanted to try living somewhere else, and Spokane was a place I'd been to and really liked," he says.
He'd decided to start Van Gogh & Merlot to share his love of art with others here, and as a way to meet new people in the area who came to his classes.
Having taught painting before, and also having seen similar successful ventures pairing art classes and wine in the San Antonio area, Mireles says he hopes his business continues to grow from what it is now as just a side operation on the weekends.
"My mission statement, so to speak, is to create a social environment in which the individual can participate, share, and express themselves artistically and that ultimately every person and groupand the communityis left inspired to perpetuate artistic expression," he says.
Eventually Mireles says he'd like to operate the business out of a permanent location where people could come to him to take classes.
He says he'd also like to be able to sell beer and wine at such a space, and possibly pair up with other local restaurants, caterers, or wineries to provide food and beverages for his classes or private events.
"Whatever it takes to get to that, that is my ultimate goal," he says. "With me being one of the few people doing this here, I can make it whatever I want it to be."
Another wine-and-painting operation here that's similar to Mireles' is based in Coeur d'Alene, and is called Tipsy Muse, formerly known as Painting with Spirits LLC.
Mireles says people have learned about his business's services mostly through word of mouth, and he's had several repeat customers attend his recent classes at Pasadena Ridge.
The business also has a Facebook page, he says, on which he posts pictures of his classes and of his students holding their finished painting, and a website for the business is in the works.
Having moved to Spokane from the much larger San Antonio metro area, which has a sizable art community, Mireles says he would like to see Spokane's appreciation and awareness for all forms of art someday grow to the thriving level that it is there.
"The art community is huge down there," he says. "I felt that I could contribute on a larger scale here in Spokane and could get people excited about going out and expressing themselves."