The Paint Club: Llama

The Paint Club is back at The Dark Arts Potions and Puzzles Bar on Wednesday 23 September, and this month's subject is an adorable llama. It's a sip and paint night, so the plan is simple: you paint a llama while you drink. It's their monthly session, and if you've never done one before, that's exactly how it works — you get a canvas, some paint, and a drink in hand, and you spend the evening working your way through the painting. Whether you're actually any good at it doesn't really matter; the point is the process, not the finished piece.

It helps to know where you're doing it. The Dark Arts is an immersive, magical-themed venue on High Street, and it's not your usual pub. The whole place is built around a world of witches and wizards, so you can make your own potions, crack puzzle boxes, and sip magical-themed cocktails alongside parlour games. It's a bit of a departure from the usual night out, and the sip and paint fits right into that. You're not just sitting in a room with a canvas; you're doing it inside a venue that's leaning hard into the fantasy theme.

It's also worth keeping in mind where it sits in the city. Southampton frames itself as a vibrant cultural hub with a year-round calendar of theatre, performance and art, much of it centred on the Cultural Quarter. That includes the Mayflower Theatre, the largest on the south coast, which stages major musicals, ballet, opera and stand-up comedy; the Mayflower Studios in Guildhall Square, which champions local talent and contemporary voices; the Southampton City Art Gallery, with over 5,000 works and a strong focus on modern British art; God's House Tower, a restored 13th-century gatehouse turned arts and heritage venue; and the John Hansard Gallery, one of the UK's leading contemporary art galleries. The Paint Club is a more casual, hands-on end of that spectrum, but it's part of the same scene.

Walk-ins are welcome, though reservations are recommended, especially for larger groups. It's on Wednesday 23 September at The Dark Arts Potions and Puzzles Bar on High Street, and the subject is a llama.