Since 2013 the each San Antonio Stars player has paired with a buddy from the San Antonio Children's Hospital as part of the program Assists Against Kids Cancer. This program was created as an extension of the Rampage Face-Off Against Cancer which was first developed by Dan Weiss. The goal of the program is to help bring awareness to pediatric cancer in the San Antonio community, while creating relationship with our buddies and their families that hopefully go on long after the season is over. These young kids are usually battling various stages of pedriatric cancer, or are in remission. In other words we get paired up with some pretty tough and inspiring youngsters!
Throughout the season we have different meet ups with our buddies which include: game nights- where we can eat pizza and play board games, meet ups at the AT&T center after our games, and this year, gathering together for a fun night of painting at Pinot's Palette.
Pinot's Palette is a place where you can bring any size group together for a fun night of painting! As you all know, I love arts and crafts and relish any opportunity to be creative. So I was especially excited about this activity.
Pinot's palette studio is located at 7959 Broadway suite 402 in San Antonio, Texas. When I first arrived to the studio they had already set up each seat set with a canvas on an easel, all the paint colours we would need, three different sized paintbrushes, paper towels and a cup of water. They even had different size aprons hanging in the back that we could choose from.
Inside Pinot's Palette, on the walls are a number of paintings you could choose to create. There is a clean up station in the back to wash your hands, and aprons on the wall to protect your clothes.
The front of the studio where our instructor demonstrated each step for us!
The aftermath, all the work stations minus our final products which we all took home!
Once everyone was seated and ready to get started, our energetic instructor began explaining what we would be painting. At the front of the room she displayed a completed painting of two owls resting on a tree. Our goal for the evening would be to recreate that image. However, there was a twist. To make it a little bit more interesting each player along with their buddy would create one half of the image, so that when they were put side by side the image would be complete.
The image we would be trying to recreate!
The first step, creating the cool sky background!
Our instructor was funny, patient and great at breaking down each step for us so that we would be able to mimic her painting. Once she explained and demonstrated a step on her canvas, she would throw on some music and allow us more than enough time to paint without feeling rushed. It was a fun yet relaxed environment.
Making progress, now working on our owls!
A fun time in a great environment!
At one point, my buddy and I ran out of paint, which our instructor's assistant quickly restocked for us. Over the course of the next two hours we would paint, jam along to the music and converse with our buddies. Halfway through we even had a mini intermission that gave us time to grub on the food while we waited for the first few layers of paint to dry.
All of our owls are taking form! My buddy and I discussing how we want to decorate our owls!
When we had completed our final masterpieces, it was cool to see how we each added our own personal twist or flare to the painting. As Pinot's Palette says in their slogan: you don't need to have an artistic background or any artistic experience. We all have our own unique Picasso that is waiting to show itself on canvas!
Adding his signature to his masterpiece! On the right you can see we were mixing colors and trying to discover new ones.
Signature added, I think I will name her Lovey the Owl!
It was great being able to bond with our buddies in a new and creative environment. From my buddy, I learned that this was his first time ever painting and he certainly enjoyed himself. He loved mixing different colours together to see what new and cool colours he could create. Lastly, it was a great environment that allowed their families, and the SS&E staff to join in on the fun. Painting is an activity we can all delight in at any age!
Our final product side by side!
I had such a wonderful time at Pinot's Palette and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a different or new activity to try. Whether you need a girls night out with wine and painting, a date night, a kids birthday party or just want to fly solo, you are guaranteed to have a great time and discover the artist in you! Click on this link if you want to learn more about Pinot's Palette!
You can also click here to learn more about Assist Against Kids Cancer, or visit the stars website if you would like to buy tickets to our next home game!
Have you been to Pinot's Palette or experienced something similar? Do you know an inspirational kid who is fighting cancer? If so, please share your experiences in the comment section below, I would love to read all about it!
Thanks for stopping by and God bless!
-K