- May 12, 2024
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‘It’s not fine art, it’s fun art,” owner says.
Thomas McDonnell, of Ormond Beach, remembers the night his interest in wine and art started.
About a year ago, his girlfriend said she wanted to surprise him for his birthday. She was driving him somewhere in St. Augustine, with the only hint being that she had a bottle of wine.
She pulled into a strip mall and said, “We’re here,” pointing over to a sign that said, “Painting with a Twist.” It was a business where you create art while enjoying a glass of wine.
He turned to her and said, “You didn’t pay for this did you?”
He said he could see the tears welling up in her eyes.
“I had hurt her feelings when she was trying to give me a nice present,” he said.
So he gave it a try, and that night had an “epiphany,” discovering his creative side.
“When I went I couldn’t draw a stick figure,” he said. “Now my house is full of art.”
He continued driving up to St. Augustine to paint, and decided to change careers from bank manager to Painting with a Twist franchise owner.
“I figured I had to get my own studio so I wouldn’t have to drive so far,” he said.
McDonnell has opened a Painting with a Twist at 1808 W. International Speedway Blvd, with a grand opening planned for Oct. 9.
It’s the only franchise in Volusia County, and he has made 300 reservations and booked a dozen pages because of his Facebook page. He gained 4,000 followers in three months.
“It’s filling a huge void,” he said.
He said the customers are overwhelmingly women.
People get a choice of white or red wine, or a craft beer, and then create art following the instructions of one of the staff artists.
McDonnell is quick to point out that it’s not “fine art,” it’s “fun art.”
“We don’t want Xerox copies of the art,” he said. “Everyone’s personality will show through. It’s not about the method, it’s about the experience.”
He said it will be a fun, entertaining night out.
He said a staff artist will lead the class, but also go around the room to give individual pointers.
“It’s a very interactive experience,” he said.
Being a franchise, he gets to share the ideas from the corporate office in Louisiana, as well as other franchises. One thing they offer is corporate get-togethers, where each person paints a section of a painting and then they put it all together for a team-building exercise.
He also offers birthday parties, office parties, etc., and will travel off site. Alcohol may or may not be incorporated.
Some Painting with a Twist franchises have a bring your own bottle policy, but McDonnell said the city of Daytona Beach did not want to issue another bottle club license, so he got an alcohol license and sells the wine and beer on site.
Once a month, he will have an event for a nonprofit and donate half of the proceeds, in a night called Painting with a Purpose. The two women who started the company in Louisiana were survivors of Hurricane Katrina, and they used Painting with a Twist to raise money for victims.
He has had a big response from local nonprofits. He said he only books one per month and is now already to the middle of 2015.
On Facebook, search for Painting with a Twist-Daytona Beach.
