From painting classes to wood and wine workshops, local art studio I Painted That! continues to spread joy and art in the El Paso community.

With four different locations, on the East side, West side, Northeast and one in Las Cruces, I Painted That! offers different classes from adult workshops to family sessions and children classes.

“The idea behind I Painted That! is not necessarily to come and be Picasso but it’s kind of like a creative outlet for the average person, we don’t aim our classes towards advanced artists we aim more towards beginners,” said Ebonie Adame, an artist at I Painted That!.

Besides the wood and wine workshops, the adults’ classes invite the guests to bring their own beer and wine to enjoy with their friends while painting.

The cost for the a two-hour painting session is $35 and the wood workshops range from $45 to $65 for three hours, all materials are provided by the studio.

Dates for classes are posted on their website two months in advance for people to take look at the different workshops the studio will be offering and to make a reservation with time.

Adame, who’s been working at the studio for two years, said one of her favorite parts is to see people who wouldn’t do art normally come to the studio to try something new.

“I’ve never done this, ever, so I’m here with my daughter, her friends, my husband and myself and it’s fabulous,” said 56-year-old Jeannie Aranda, internet manager at Pitre Kia in Las Cruces and attendee at ‘I Painted That!’ painting session.

Most of the painting classes have a theme where everyone paints the same image, however, I Painted That! also offers sessions where people are free to take an image they like and they will be instructed step-by-step on how to paint by freehand.

Other than providing the community with a space to create art and socialize, the art studio focuses on giving the community a place where people can take a break from their daily routine.

“It’s supposed to be more like a come and enjoy some time with your friends and loved ones and take a breather from your everyday,” Adame said. “With me, painting forces me to slow down and stop thinking so much. So for the person who works five days a week we think our classes are great to kind of  just get their mind off of the craziness of their everyday work.”

With El Paso being a creative community, Adame said that for the art studio it is important to keep bringing people in and help them to explore their creative and artistic abilities.

“Being a border town there is so much culture and so much life here and so much expression, if you drive around town you’ll see countless murals, we have a very colorful history and city,” Adame said. “I think just bringing anything like this anywhere is important so people can explore  that part of themselves they don’t really normally try to explore is really important.”

For more information and schedules visit ipaintedthat.com

Claudia Flores may be reached at [email protected].