Hi, I'm Emily.
I took my first paint-and-sip class in 2013 and was hooked. What started as a fun night out turned into painting at home, taking more classes, and eventually teaching them myself.
I quickly realized that one of my favorite parts wasn’t just making the art — it was watching someone who didn’t think they were creative leave with a painting they were proud of.
In 2019, I started Evolve Paint & Sip in Colorado, first teaching around the Florence area before moving to Westcliffe in 2020. Evolve grew into a creative path I’m incredibly grateful for, and I still love teaching people how to make art in a relaxed, no-pressure way.
But somewhere along the way, a lot of my own painting became tied to Evolve — class samples, designs that needed to work for beginners, and paintings that had to fit into a two- or three-hour class. I stopped making as much art simply because I was curious to see what would happen.
Emily Prahl Art is my way of getting back to that.
The Story Behind the Rescue Project
Over the years, I've accumulated hundreds of paintings — class demos, experiments, unfinished ideas, and plenty I simply didn't know how to finish at the time.
I went through all of them and chose 50 to revisit. They come from different stages of my life and art journey, and many of them already have a story attached.
The goal isn't to completely reinvent every painting or suddenly turn it into “fine art.” My background has always been in fun art, not fine art. This time, though, there's no class clock and no pressure to make something a beginner can finish in two or three hours. I can experiment, change my mind, try something weird, or take the painting in a completely different direction.
I want to make art for myself again — just to play, experiment, and see what happens.
I originally considered doing the whole project privately, without recording any of it. But I decided I wanted to capture the journey — the original painting, the story behind it when there is one, my plan for rescuing it, and where it actually ends up. If the plan changes halfway through, that's part of the fun.
I've realized there's something special about the connection we make to art when there's a story behind it. I've collected plenty of those stories since 2013, and I'm excited to finally give them a place to live. At the end of the project, the finished collection will come together for my first art show, with many originals available to purchase.
Where I teach
Evolve Paint & Sip
Relaxed, no-pressure paint-and-sip classes in Westcliffe, Colorado — grab a drink, pick up a brush, and leave with a painting you're proud of. All skill levels welcome.
Evolve is where I teach. Emily Prahl Art is where I get to focus on my own work.
