Paint Along Nashville

Too much power has been given to first-grade art teachers. Or so the instructors and organizers of Paint Along Nashville think. On their website, these leaders of BYOB painting workshops encourage adults to "unleash [their] creative spirit from time to time," even if once, in an era before college-admissions exams included a finger-painting section, their elementary critique d'art "failed to recognize [their] 'Picasso potential.'"

During workshops, an encouraging instructor, a convivial group of fellow aspiring artists, and an uncorked bottle of vino foster creativity. In each workshop, groups paint the same template picture, which could be a landscape of an autumn afternoon or a still life of wine and cheese. As wine sloshes into glasses, and as brushes layer paint on canvases, students usually find themselves enjoying a BYOB evening and later taking home their creations.