Paint and sip at Painting with a Twist

One of the first things customers will notice about the new Painting with a Twist in Lewes is the squeaking of their shoes as they move across the floor.

“We want to be able to clean the paint off the floors,” said owner Lania Peterson, smiling while describing the 14-hour, five-coat floor finishing process. “There’s a fair amount of spillage.”

Painting with a Twist falls under a relatively new business category of paint and sip – a step-by-step painting class, with wine. The company is a New Orleans-based franchise with more than 200 locations nationwide. The Lewes studio is on the northbound side of Route 1 in Ocean One Plaza next to PNC Bank, 17723 Coastal Highway.

It’s something fun for people to do, said Lania, who co-owns the store with her husband John. In the end, she continued, people go home with something they created from their time at the beach.

“It’s an opportunity for people to paint, who otherwise would say they have no artistic capabilities,” Lania said.

The 2,400-square-foot space has two painting studios – one that holds 50 people and one that holds 24. There are two large televisions on opposite sides of the walls so all the customers can easily see what the teacher is doing in the front of the class.

Lania said there’s a library of 7,000 prints available for customers to work from and a few dozen of the most popular already line the walls.

Painting with a Twist offers public and private classes, office parties, birthdays, date nights, corporate team building, showers and bachelorette parties.

John, retired from Prudential after 28 years, and Lania, a retired nurse, moved to the Cape Region from Bucks County, Pa., in December after visiting the area for many years. Their daughter is a teacher in the Indian River School District and their son-in-law works at Dover Air Force Base.

This is kind of a second act for us, John said.

“This gives us a chance to be with family and bring something of value to the community,” he said.

The couple said they had no experience in painting before going to a Painting with a Twist event in Pittsburgh a few years ago.

“We just thought it was such a blast,” said Lania.

John said there was some trepidation, but the painting turned out like it was supposed to.

“Even if you can’t draw, the teacher walks you through the process,” he said. “It was a good bonding experience.”

The Petersons have hired seven local artists – Franna Baldari, Julie Borden, Claudia Cianci, Loretta Ellingsworth, Kim Hanna, Karen Letonoff and Brooke Pikolas – to teach the classes. Each artist has a full biography on the Painting with a Twist website.

“Artists can have trouble finding steady work unless they are school teachers,” said Lania. “It’s great to be able to provide these women with another alternative.”

A typical painting experience lasts a couple of hours with a couple of breaks. The Petersons recommend customers come 15 to 20 minutes early to get aproned up and ready to go, and to get in the mood while sipping that first glass of wine.

The grand opening for Painting with a Twist begins at 4:15 p.m., April 6, with Lewes Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting, which will be followed by an open house, 5 – 7 p.m.

For more information on Painting with a Twist go to paintingwithatwist.com/lewes, call 302-313-5769, email at studio190@paintingwithatwist.com, or on Facebook at facebook.com/pwatlewesde.