Paint & Sip in Melbourne's Inner South

Everything to Know About Paint & Sip

Two quite different rooms host paint and sip parties across Melbourne's inner south. In Elsternwick, Sossy and Canvas is a working gallery where abstract painter Sossy Kinderman guides each party in person. In South Melbourne, Champainting South Melbourne runs a BYO studio where the studio's artists take beginners through a canvas stroke by stroke.

The gallery leans towards smaller, more crafted sessions; the Clarendon Street studio takes a bigger crowd.

Weighing up the two:

Group size – Sossy and Canvas takes 5 to 35, while Champainting seats 10 to 42.
Pricing – the gallery prices packages by group size, from $490 per group; the studio charges from $50 per person.
Styles – Elsternwick offers abstract, textured and spray-painted graffiti pieces; South Melbourne works from its own gallery of designs or a custom one.
Drinks – both are BYO with glassware supplied, and the Elsternwick gallery can add its own catering.
Kids – the Elsternwick gallery hosts paint parties for children and teens, and mixed family groups from age eight.

Each guest at either venue can leave with their own canvas, though the Elsternwick gallery also offers one large shared piece instead.

Hens and bridal showers: Champainting lists these among its private bookings, with up to 42 at long tables.
Team building and Christmas parties: also taken as private bookings at the Clarendon Street studio.
A smaller birthday with a hands-on artist: Sossy moves around the room, brush in hand, for groups from five.
A long afternoon: the Elsternwick package runs three hours of venue hire, with 60 to 80 minutes of painting.

Snacks, glasses and the finished canvas

Gallery catering at Sossy and Canvas: grazing boards of cheese, gravlax and canapés, or sushi, grilled dishes and rice paper rolls.
At Champainting, guests bring snacks or a grazing box and the studio has tapas plates ready.
Adult BYO parties at the gallery are 18-plus only.
Graffiti sessions move outdoors, under cover behind the gallery, for the spray-paint layers.

Before You Book: Paint & Sip FAQs

Which inner south paint and sip takes the bigger group?

Champainting South Melbourne seats up to 42, against 35 at Sossy and Canvas in Elsternwick.

Can we bring our own wine to either studio?

Yes. Both are BYO and both supply glasses – flutes and wine glasses at the gallery, plus tumblers and a fridge at Champainting.

Is there a paint party option for kids in the inner south?

Sossy and Canvas hosts child and teen paint parties at its Glen Huntly Rd gallery, and families with children from eight can join a textured workshop.

How is pricing worked out for an inner south paint party?

The Elsternwick gallery prices packages by group size, from $490 per group. Champainting South Melbourne is from $50 per person, with minimum spends that vary by date and group size.

Paint & Sip in Inner South

Compare Inner South's Paint & Sip Suppliers