FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Add one more interesting and entertaining thing to do on an Eastern Shore date night. Fairhope’s newest hands-on adventure, Palette Parties, combines a social event with an art lesson. Artist Eugenia Westbrook created this unique way to get your creative juices flowing while having fun at the same time.

She has transformed the attic at Page and Palette Bookstore (the Artists in the Attic entrance is on De La Mare Avenue) into a studio for art lovers, where during daytime and evening sessions, amateur Picassos and Rembrandts are led through the techniques needed to accurately replicate in acrylic paint on canvas one of Westbrook’s original paintings.

“Everybody I have — no one has ever painted before,” she said. “Everyone brings a bottle of wine, and we do a painting step by step. We do really slow, incremental steps. I do it and then they do it. I go around and help everybody individually.”

When asked whether the wine helps those who can barely draw a straight line, she laughed and said bringing out one’s inner artist is not difficult.

The paintings in Westbrook’s portfolio that are used as “models” include subjects such as flowers, bay life, wildlife and landscapes. Although they are used as a starting point, the masterpieces created by participants are actually personal expressions of the original works.

She said, “I break things down in small enough steps where everyone is successful. We did an Impressionistic-style painting (April 25) of a little girl at the beach. Impressionism is hard to teach. It’s random, but everyone did well.”

The regular sessions take place Fridays, from 6-9:30 p.m., and others are scheduled earlier in the week. Each is informal and very laid-back, she said. Wearing old clothes is advised. The schedule, including an image of the painting to be “reproduced,” is online at www.westbrookartevents.com.

“It’s easier than I thought it would be,” Westbrook said. “I’ve been teaching children at Page & Palette for a year and a half, and you learn a lot teaching children — how to break things down, begin with basic steps and go from there. We’re not painting stick figures. We’re doing paintings. It’s not simple looking when it’s finished.”

The sessions are $40 each, per person, and the cost includes all supplies needed to complete the paintings, which you can take home.

Individuals, friends, dates and couples are welcome. A whole session may be booked for birthdays, wedding parties, clubs, churches, fund-raisers or any other event.

Westbrook said, “I started playing with (the idea) and doing it word of mouth since December. I wanted to grow it because it’s lots of fun.”

The proof is in the photos she takes after each session. The new artists bring new meaning to the “grip and grin photo” as they display their work.

“I feel a sense of accomplishment when someone who had never picked up a paintbrush walks out with a painting I would put on my wall,” she said.

Folks from all walks of life take part in Palette Parties. Westbrook said, “My brother is a doctor, and a group of his friends have been taking classes for a couple of months. They hang the paintings in the hospital (Mobile Infirmary Medical Center). I think there are a lot of us who want to be creative, but we don’t have the opportunity.”

Born to parents interested in the arts, “Genia” has natural talent fused in her DNA because several of her ancestors on both sides of the family were fine art painters.

Westbrook earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from Auburn University. She became a certified Yoga instructor in California. She was also art director of an art center where she taught watercolor, acrylic, oil and sculpture to adults and children.

She became a white water kayak instructor for the American Canoe Association, and it was while kayaking on rivers she would occasionally have the chance to see a great blue heron. Her fascination with them and all wildlife led her to begin photographing subject matter for her paintings as she traveled to the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon, Ecuador, Europe, the Greek isles, Turkey, Hawaii, the Caribbean, Scandinavia, the Baltics and Russia.

In addition to the Palette Parties, the Alabama native teaches after-school art classes to children at Page & Palette, and creates commissioned artwork. She has also been a graphic artist and book cover designer with more than 300,000 copies to her credit. Her paintings are currently displayed at Page & Palette.

Westbrook lives in Fairhope with her young son, Matthew, a big Labrador retriever named Belle and a cat. They all love living and playing along Mobile Bay.

To reserve a spot at a future Palette Party, call Eugenia Westbrook at (251) 752-7545, or e-mail paletteparties@gmail.com.