When Marquita Evans opened Intentions Juice and Smoothie Bar in Tacoma, her goal was to create a healthy alternative to fast food and a space for community to come together.

“We opened our doors for the community to host other events and to come in and network,” Evans said.

That vision has been realized through various community events, including Art Walks, Spoken Word, and of course weekly Paint and Sip. Evans partnered with Kay Burnett, owner of Kay’s Paint Joint. Burnett hosts Paint and Sip classes around the community, which she says she began when she wanted to take her art career in a new direction.

“I had to come up with a new plan, which was to teach people how to paint,” Burnett said.

That decision has paid off for Burnett, as she now is known as ‘The Paint Lady’ and is expanding her operation to include new teachers and spaces, including the juice bar. The teacher on Saturday was Devona Roy, owner of Art Deity. Roy is a multi-media painter who says ‘if paint can hold on it, i’m painting it’. Roy curated the painting, music and vibes for the evening.

“The vibe for the entire night is slow jams including the artwork itself,” Roy said. “I like to highlight melanated people and our natural features. So we have a huge Afro going on wearing earphones to kind of represent the slowdown portion of the night.”

Community members enjoyed the atmosphere as they created their artwork. Juice bar owner Evans, who moved to Tacoma from Seattle, says she’s grateful for the people she’s found.

“I was thankful to come into a place where they actually welcome you in and support you,” Evans said. “Regardless of where you're from, you're part of their community.”

Burnett, a Lousiana native, said that she also enjoys creating a community through art, wine and music.

“That's the main thing for me,” Burnett said. “Black people are meeting Black people.”

Roy is grateful for the role she’s able to play in the community and the lives of the painters in the room. She hopes that people are proud of what they’ve created, and also make some new friends.

“We want them to put this art on their walls,” Roy said. “When their friends and company come over, they can be like ‘yes, I did that’.”

You can learn more about Intentions Juice and Smoothie Bar here

Follow Kay Burnett and Kay’s Paint Joint @KaysPaintJoint on Instagram and Facebook

Keep up with Devona Roy at artdeity.com and @artistdeity on Instagram