Paint for Fun Cochrane’s Paint a Memory event on May 7 was a success.
“We had 49 people come in and paint between three in the afternoon and nine o’clock at night – we painted three different subjects, which is challenging. Roy paints them all himself first so he knows what the process is going to be,” explained Mary Lou Davis-Eckmeier, event co-ordinator for Paint for Fun Cochrane.
The event, which was held at the Heritage House Coffee Co., raised $1,470 through painter registration. The proceeds from the event will go toward putting a memorial bench for Lamont Murphy, a Cochrane teen who died in the summer of 2015.
There is also a silent auction for the event running on Facebook on the Lamont Murphy Memorial Bench page. The auction will open on May 13 and the page features photos of the items available to bid on.
The goal for the fundraiser is $3,500, which will cover the cost of the bench and its memorial plaque as well as its placement. Murphy’s family is also fundraising by selling wristbands.
“Anything we raise over and above the fundraising amount we’re actually starting a bank account and it will be for any parent who loses a child and needs assistance with a memorial – whether it’s a headstone or a bench or they’d like to plant a tree somewhere. We will hold the event every year for it,” Davis-Eckmeir said.
Davis-Eckmeir and her husband, Roy Eckmeier, founded Paint for Fun Cochrane near the end of 2015 and offers group events such as corporate team building, paint night socials, private functions, birthday parties, and family events.
“My husband is a self-discovered artist – about 15 years ago when his daughter was a teenager and he wanted something to do with her, they went to a craft fair and he’d thought they’d paint a birdhouse. And then she wanted to take art lessons and he took them with her and that’s when he realized he could do this,” Davis-Eckmeir explained.
Art is a passion for Davis-Eckmeir as well since she took art in school and considered pursuing it as a career.
“This has been nice because I’ve been able to reignite that passion for myself as well,” Davis-Eckmeir explained.
The idea to turn their craft into a company came from inviting friends over for a night of painting.
“The response was ,‘You should be teaching this.’ So we thought we’d give it a try and ever since we’ve been doing two or three events a month,” Davis-Eckmeir said.
How the events work is Eckmeir chooses the painting selection for the group to paint and then throughout a two-hour session he instructs participants.
“He gives them one-on-one guidance so they all actually go away learning something about painting. And they all have a good time… Everyone comes in and says ‘Oh my gosh I’ll never be able to do that.’ and two hours later they walk out and say ‘I can’t believe I did that,’” Davis-Eckmeiru said.
The classes welcome all experience levels and encourage people with no painting experience to come out and try.
“Most people come in and say they can’t even draw a stickman – so it’s all fun. He’s a good coach and good teacher,” Davis-Eckmeir said with a laugh.
The cost for an event is $30 per participant and all supplies are provided.
