Afternoon Art at The Paint Place
by Waverly W., Jasmine S., Ahiri, Ale P., Nico B., Jackson R., Matthew R., and TJ R.
Manhattan
Waverly, The Kiditor here! I love drawing and painting! When mom told me that Kids’ News was going to an after school art class with a group of Kid Reporters and we were all going to paint the same picture, I was sooooooooo excited. I couldn’t wait! Usually I just go home and do homework and math practice but this was going to be waaaaaay more fun! 
The Mom here! I was, too! I am always looking for new places to take her, and with the weather getting colder, I thought that The Paint Place would be a perfect spot to spend an afternoon. I was right, as usual! 🙂 Read on….back to Waverly.
We went upstairs and opened the door and there were so many paintings all over the walls! It was so cool! We met our really cool painting teacher Cary, who got us all together to pick from a few paintings, one of them was Starry Night by Van Gogh, but we decided on the New York City Skyline, because this is, after all, Kids’ News NYC! We sat in front of blank canvases and we were ready to create our masterpieces. It was so much fun right from the start!
We started painting the background with long brush strokes of orange, yellow and blue. Cary gave us some great tips on how to use the brush and blend the colors. Soon we were painting the buildings and it was so cool to see how all my friends were painting the same thing but in different ways. Cary talked about layering while we worked on our paintings and then we learned about how to make waves, with “short, choppy strokes.” 
This was fun and learning at the same time, our favorite kind of learning! Cary said, “Every painting has different lessons” and this one taught us so much – gradient, texture, blending!
Ale here! The paint place was so great! All the pictures on the wall were cool. Cary taught us a few new words like gradient and silhouette. I loved working with all the colors! This place would be really fun for a party, but are we allowed to bring sodas next time? (The Mom here! I think so…)
Jackson: I like how Cary taught us to blend in the colors, starting from red to orange to golden yellow.
Matthew: I like how he taught us to make the reflection in the water!
TJ: I loved my beautiful sky!
Jackson, Matthew and TJ’s mom here! I love that they had so much patience. It’s a wonderful environment and I see myself there soon creating my own masterpiece. We are already planning our next mom night there!
Waverly here again! After we added the finishing touches like lights onto our paintings, we all got together for a group picture with our fabulous teacher Cary — see for yourself how well we did, even little TJ! Even if you think you can’t paint, you’re wrong, you can! If we can do it, so can you. We all love our paintings and were so surprised at what we could do. I will definitely come back here for after school classes…and I want my birthday party here, mom!
Mom here: Consider it a plan, Wave! Right from the second we walked in, I could feel the “heart” of the place, from the friendly and welcoming nature of its people to the great music that was playing in the background. It’s exactly what makes NYC special and authentic. Owner Marci (a single mom, like me!) met Cary while working in corporate jobs and the two of them followed their passion and here they are, living their dream and adding to the richness of the NYC experience. This is a rare find for me – a place I want to take my kid, AND take myself! Check out their website: www.thepaintplaceny.com to see all the different fun things they have going on, like “Paint Your Pet,” “Girls’ Night Out,” and “Family Paint Day,” and of course those after-school kids’ classes! Also follow them on social media @thepaintplaceny to keep up with all their happenings! And if you happen to live in Queens, you’re in luck, they have an Astoria location too. I don’t say this about too many places, but….I’d cross town for The Paint Place! See you there!
