Paint Cabin Toronto-A Coffeehouse by Day, An Art Bar at Night

Paint Cabin Toronto-A Coffeehouse by Day, An Art Bar at Night

It is not very often that one gets to sip wine while being tutored in watercolour, acrylic painting or wood cutting, so FE was quite excited to be able to attend the opening of Paint Cabin.

Located in Toronto’s Leslieville neighbourhood, Paint Cabin is a combination of a coffeehouse by day, and an art bar at night, where one can take art classes and create a masterpiece the very same evening.

Paint Cabin

Paint Cabin has a fun, relaxed atmosphere with the wooden floors, the canoe hanging from the ceiling, eclectic artwork hanging on the walls and lots of space for creativity. There is a huge communal table for working on watercolours and several easels for the acrylics.

Owner Gord Wong said he took his first painting class two summers ago, fell in love with the concept and has spent a whole year renovating Paint Cabin to make it perfect. As he explained, “People can be intimidated by art, and here we break it down and make it easy.” His plans for 2016 include launching art programs for tweens and children.

We had the chance to create our own watercolour pieces, and it was a lot of fun. After getting instructions on how to trace the map of the world, we then chose our own colours and painted away.

Our instructor gave us more tips on how to apply the paint; it is best to use fine brushes for the edges. The option of adding salt to the painting creates a more textured look.

We drank lattes and sampled the delicious baked goods available at Paint Cabin like vegan mint chocolate macarons, skor brownies and cheesecake brownies. Their treats are from Wanda’s Pie in the Sky and Earth & City.

Once we completed painting, we let our works dry and then added our signatures. It was a great feeling of accomplishment to have completed artwork in a relatively short period of time. There are also frames available for purchase to make it easier to hang up one’s work right away.

Paint Cabin also is available for private functions and also works with caterers like The Food Dudes.

Paint Cabin Toronto-A Coffeehouse by Day, An Art Bar at Night