We Did A Virtual Painting with a Twist Event. This is How It Went

In the spirit of getting the whole team together, GPO decided to participate in a virtual painting event with Painting with a Twist. Here’s how it went!

With our employees’ safety in mind, GPO decided to transition into a full-time work-from-home situation earlier this year. And as the days turned into weeks, we quickly realized we had to implement extra measures to stay connected. Simple activities like a weekly virtual happy hour, team member-led learning sessions, and morning coffee talks have helped our team stay connected while remaining (far over) 6-ft apart.

But something was still missing — a good, old-fashioned all-team gathering! So, in the spirit of togetherness, the GPO team came together once again to participate in a virtual painting event with the folks at Painting with a Twist! Here’s how it went.

First, what is a virtual painting event?

With studios all over the country, Painting with a Twist invites everyone from novices to expert painters to participate in fun painting events — and most events allow you to bring your own booze, snacks, and party favors. Once you arrive at the studio, an instructor will provide you with all the materials you need and guide you step-by-step through the selected piece of artwork while you enjoy some drinks and conversation with friends.

A virtual painting event, however, combines all of these elements in a virtual space. With a mailed box of painting supplies and a Zoom link, Painting with a Twist delivers their fun painting experience to the comfort of your home. And while this may seem like it defeats the purpose of a Painting with a Twist party, you’d be pleasantly surprised!

We made sure to get all-team buy-in.

When coordinating an all-team event, it’s especially important to make sure the whole team buys into the idea. For us, we knew not everyone considered themselves an artist, much less a casual painter. Regardless of this, we recognized a virtual painting event as an opportunity to all connect at once, yell over each other, share our hilarious anecdotes, and, most importantly, squeeze some extra fun into the workday. So, we set a date, submitted our info for our painting kits, and stocked up on our “twists” for the big day.

It went off without a hitch.

Joining the event was easy! Everyone was able to click into the Zoom meeting through a link provided by the Painting with a Twist studio that we booked through. Once in, our instructor was present, courteous, and gave everyone enough time to get set up and situated. The materials were clearly labeled, and the instructions were simple. Despite all the ways this could have gone poorly, it absolutely went off without a hitch.

We’re not painters, but we had fun!

If the purpose of our virtual painting event was to create a beautiful work of art, you could say that we weren’t entirely successful — though some were better than others. But if the purpose was to find an excuse to get together as a team, we succeeded in every way.

We talked about our personal lives, laughed about our mediocre painting skills, invited our kids to paint along, and even got some hilarious quarantine jokes from our instructor. When you hear Painting with a Twist’s message of “fun art, not fine art,” we are proud to say we embodied that philosophy down to the initials we scribbled on our finished paintings.

Our verdict? 10/10 – Would paint again.

Despite being separated by vast distances, our virtual painting event showed us that time zones and hundreds of miles of distance are no excuse for being disconnected from each other. And while it’s easy to feel isolated as we continue our company-wide WFH situation, it’s moments like these that remind us that staying connected is just as important as ever.