At the Big Run Kava Bar on Monday, eight people filed into the lounge and cozied themselves into their chairs, giving their full attention to local artist Alyssa Lee as she guided them through painting their own unique pieces. The Big Run Kava bar often hosts these Paint & Sip sessions with Lee for locals to dip into their creative selves for an evening.
The Big Run Kava bar has been hosting these events with Lee since January 2025, and the experience costs $30 per person, which includes a drink and all materials needed for the event, such as paintbrushes, paint, a canvas and an easel. On Monday night, Lee showed the participants step-by-step how to paint a scene of two cats sitting on a tree, with heart-shaped blossoming branches and a purple sky.
The Big Run Kava Bar opened in 2024 and immediately began hosting events for the community, such as Mario Kart tournaments and open mic nights. Lee originally got involved with Big Run through its music nights as the bassist in the band Mothdom.
“I talked to Shaylee about events she wanted to host here, because she knows that I’m an artist in my day job,” Lee said. “She was like, ‘Let's do a Paint & Sip.’”
Shaylee Tucker, the owner of Big Run, said Lee not only hosts the Paint & Sips, but she also painted the murals on the walls and created the mushroom tote bags on display in the bar. She hangs the previous Paint & Sip paintings on the wall, available to purchase.
Lee currently works remotely from Athens, creating and animating scenes for Flashgitz, a YouTube channel with over 4.9 million subscribers, producing the action-packed, colorful series “Space King,” along with other animated stories and comedy skits. Lee also works with Disney Lorcana, creating and designing cards for the popular trading card game.
Lee’s website has a portfolio of her work, organized by project and style. Along with Disney Lorcana, she has also worked on “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” creating backgrounds and various scenes. She said it is often hard as an artist to maintain artistic style and identity while working for different companies, but “Monster Girl” is her favorite personal creation, a character she created in college while struggling with sleep.
Lee said working remotely from Athens is affordable for her, and working these events with locals is great to connect with those in her area. Lee said these events, combined with her day job, are what help her grow as an artist.
“I just really like connecting with people in Athens, and I think Kava’s a great place to do it, because they just give me a space to create this community,” Lee said.
Tucker said Big Run’s Paint & Sip events are a great way for anyone to discover the bar while partaking in a crafty activity. She also said supporting local artists and selling their art with no commission fee is her way of helping her community.
“It's very craft-like for people that maybe want to start painting, or in that direction, kind of give them an open opportunity to look into that,” Tucker said. “I think it's just a way to help the community, and hopefully it's coming back around.”
Two locals, Sue Conrath and Donna Culaison, attended the Paint & Sip together and enjoyed the evening of chatting and painting. Culaison said she works at Larry’s Dawg House and heard about the event from a co-worker.
“It’s nice to be able to see everyone and meet different people,” Conrath said. “(Lee) was easy to follow, great instructions. She was very prepared for everybody.”
Almost every Paint & Sip event sold out, and Tucker hopes to see the same kind of turnout at the bar’s upcoming events, a cake decorating class and a plant education class, where people can learn how to pot their own plants. Visit Big Run Kava Bar’s website for more information on upcoming events.
