Setting up a paint night for six people
A paint night fails on logistics rather than on talent. Nobody stops painting because they lacked ability; they stop because there were not enough brushes, or the water was filthy, or there was nowhere to put a wet canvas. Here is the setup that avoids all three.
What each person needs
Per painter: one canvas, one easel, a palette, at least three brushes, a water pot and something to dry on. The brush count is where kits vary most and where evenings go wrong — one brush per person means constant rinsing and muddy colour.
Three is the working minimum: a broad brush for backgrounds, a medium round for shapes and a small one for detail. Where a kit lists its brush count, dividing it by the number of painters is the first check to make.
Canvas size
An 8×10 is the standard paint-night size and it is standard for good reason. It is large enough to feel like a painting and small enough to finish in an evening. Anything bigger and people leave with something unfinished, which is a worse ending than a small completed piece.
Paint quantity and colour range
Six people working for two hours use far less paint than expected — a tube goes a long way when it is being brushed rather than poured. What matters more is the range.
A limited palette produces better results for beginners than a wide one, because everything mixed from the same few colours automatically harmonises. Twelve colours is generous; six plus a large white is plenty and produces a more coherent set of paintings.
White always runs out first. Whatever the set includes, having a spare white is the single most useful extra purchase.
Table layout
Set each place with the easel towards the back, the palette to the dominant hand, water to the same side and a cloth in front. Keep the shared paint in the middle of the table rather than distributing everything, which halves the amount used and gives people a reason to talk.
Cover the table. Acrylic is water-based and easy to wipe while wet, and effectively permanent once it has dried on a fabric surface. A cheap plastic cloth removes the entire problem.
Water
Two pots per person is better than one — one for the first rinse and one for the second. If that is too many, one pot each plus a jug for refilling works. What does not work is a shared central pot, which turns grey within twenty minutes and takes every colour with it.
Timing an evening
A workable two-hour shape: fifteen minutes of setup and settling, twenty minutes of background, an hour of main work, fifteen minutes of detail, ten minutes of clearing.
The important structural point is doing the background first and all at once, while brushes are clean and everyone is at the same stage. Backgrounds painted around a finished subject look painted around.
Drying and getting canvases home
Acrylic is touch dry quickly and not fully cured for considerably longer. Canvases stacked face to face at the end of an evening stick together.
Lay them flat and separate somewhere out of the way, and if people are carrying them home, a sheet of paper taped to the stretcher corners — not to the painted surface — keeps them apart in a bag.
A short setup list
- One canvas, one easel, a palette and at least three brushes per person.
- Two water pots per person, or one plus a refill jug.
- A limited shared palette in the middle of the table, plus a spare white.
- A wipeable table covering.
- A flat, separated space for wet canvases.
- Do backgrounds first, together.
The multi-person kits on this site are counted against exactly this list, and the number of painters each one covers is on the listing.
Where this sits in the shop
Everything discussed above comes back to one part of the shop: Acrylic Paint Sets, which currently holds 5 listings between $9.99 and $99.95. The whole of it is picked and packed at PaintBox SoHo, 105 Thompson St, New York, NY, during Mon–Sat 11am–8pm, Sun 12pm–6pm — so anything written here can be checked by phoning the counter on ((212) 226-1300.
From our shelves
- ESRICH 26 PCS Acrylic Paint Set with 12 Colors Acrylic Paints — $9.99
- ESRICH 4 Set Acrylic Painting Kits for Adults and Couples — $29.99
- 149Pcs Deluxe Artist Painting Set with Aluminum and Beech Wood Easel, 48 Colors Acrylic & — $99.95
What we get asked about this
Do you ship outside the United States?
Not at present. We ship to US addresses only, including Alaska, Hawaii and territories the carrier serves.
Can I pick my order up at the shop?
Web orders are shipped, not held for collection. If you want to buy in person, come to 105 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012, United States during opening hours (Monday–Saturday 11:00–20:00 · Sunday 12:00–18:00) and buy across the counter instead.
Read next
- Student and artist grade acrylics: what actually differs
- Choosing canvas: panels, boards or stretched
- Brush shapes and what each one is actually for
Ordering from PaintBox SoHo
Orders of $49.00 or more ship free anywhere in the United States, and a flat $5.99 covers everything below that. Handling takes 1–2 business days and carrier transit is normally 3–7 business days. Unused items can go back within 30 days, and if the mistake was ours we pay the return postage.
Questions about anything above go to [email protected], answered within 1 business day, or call (212) 226-1300. Full detail is on the Shipping Policy and Refund and Returns pages.
