Sipping and Painting with LibbyAyres Art

This time last week I was off on a rather special outing to Manchester - to an evening of Sip and Paint with my daughter. As LibbyAyres Art, she's been holding these events every couple of months or so for about the last year but I haven't had the opportunity to go along till now.

The event was held at Grub, an independent street food venue, in an upstairs room decorated with fairy lights and candles, with food available from the vendors in the courtyard.  There was a range of options but I had pork and cabbage dumplings with noodles, and very nice they were too. And for the sipping part of the evening I had a citrusy sour ale.

Then we got down to the serious business of the evening, with my daughter explaining about her synaesthesia, and talking us through what we'd be doing that evening. The music she'd be painting along to was You're the One that I Want from Grease, which came up every third track on the playlist, and we could either copy her exactly, paint our own interpretation of the music, or create something totally different. I went for a sort of middle route.

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This (above) is my daughter's version but although I started off trying to follow her with a swirly blue background, as I progressed, and the music played over and over, I felt I wanted to make my painting a little different, with curly flicks of red. So this (below) is mine. 

One thing I loved was that there was no pressure to create a masterpiece (I've been along to have-a-go art events where there definitely was!). Everyone was free to do as they like, to sit and paint all evening or wander off for food and drinks. Libby wandered among the tables, offering encouragement or answering questions about her synaesthesia.

It was definitely a fun evening, and I feel that I understand synaesthesia a little better now. 

You can find out more about LibbyAyresArt, and her upcoming events here on her Instagram account

and Grub here 

The next Sip and Paint event is 31st March