The , which started out offering art classes at the on Bank Street, has now seen enough success to upgrade its operation and open up its own studio. The new location on State Street is called TDP Art Studio.
Finding the right space, for the right price, prompted Drunken Palette owner Felicia Stevens to make the move now, but it will also allow her to expand the services offered. In addition to instructional art classes for adults, Stevens now plans to offer classes for kids, and she's offering open art hours for anyone with an insatiable itch to paint.
TDP Art Studio will be available for private painting parties for you and all of your friends, private lessons if you want to expand your skills at your own pace, fundraising parties to support a cause, and mobile art parties that will bring the paint to you.
Along with all of these new possibilities for art creation, the Drunken Palette Studio is now able to have regular hours and a space better equipped to serve the art needs of its patrons. The studio is decorated with supplies, with a full color spectrum of paints lining one wall and brushes on a section of another. The rest of the space is adorned with hand-painted custom framed replicas of famous artwork.
The custom frames are made of 80 percent recycled material, which falls in line with one of the main values of the Drunken Palette, “reduce, reuse, create.” Much of the paint and canvas materials are also recycled. Even the colorful light panels suspended above the space are made of recycled and repurposed canvas frames.
The grand opening on December 12 drew a good crowd that included members of New London's City Council and the Chamber of Commerce. New London Mayor Daryl Finizio did the honors and cut the ceremonial ribbon.
“I challenge you to challenge yourself. You may be surprised by what you can create,” said Stevens.
After the ceremony, Stevens invited everyone to participate in a free demonstration of a Drunken Palette painting class, based on a “Winter Wonderland” theme. A handful of people accepted the challenge to create, delighted to try their hand at something new.
“We really just want to get more people in the process of art,” Stevens said, “rather than just looking at it.”
To learn more about TDP Studio, you can go to the studio's web site at TheDrunkenPalette.com or visit the new studio at 259 State Street Tuesday - Wednesday Noon – 8 p.m., Thursday – Saturday Noon – 10 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
