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Dayton’s not Dead: Picture Perfect Paint Parties


Centrally located in downtown Dayton, Picture Perfect Paint Parties is the picture-perfect way to creatively destress before finals.

Purpose and challenges

Dana Calhoun, the owner of Picture Perfect Paint Parties, fostered her interest in business when volunteering at the Dayton Correctional Institution for over 15 years. There she assisted in an entrepreneurship program, helping inmates draft business plans for when they were released. 

After assisting at a painting fundraiser for her church, Calhoun knew opening a paint party business was what she wanted to do.

“We love to bring smiles to people and we’ve also helped people that maybe weren’t feeling happy. They were sad when they came in and so after they got ready to leave, they felt so much better,” Calhoun said.

Due to closing down for nine months during the pandemic, Picture Perfect Paint Parties adapted. They offer zoom paint parties where artists will guide you through making a painting online that would normally be done in their physical studio or take-home paint kits if you would like to work on a piece alone. The business has now transitioned back to walk-in paint parties, where groups can come in and paint during open hours.

Services and opinion

The business also offers off-site paint parties for larger groups such as universities, fraternities and sororities, fundraisers and corporate events. 

Prices typically run $35.99 per person but have been discounted to as low as $25 for large events such as these. 

“Dana led us through the class with so much energy and fun! We loved it and she incorporated some team building into the event as well,” Lyndsey Romantini, who attended a Starbucks corporate event at the studio, said on Picture Perfect Paint Party’s Facebook page.

Calhoun also hopes to branch out more into art therapy to help with grief and depression among university students.

“We do also know that sometimes when you go to college, what I found through studies, is that some young people get depressed in college. And so we’ve created a couple of parties or sessions where young people can purchase kits and things like that to be able to assist them,” Calhoun said.

According to Michigan State University, art therapy can help reduce pain, stress, anxiety and mental function in people with certain medical conditions such as cancer, asthma and Parkinson’s.

“I think that it is a great thing that they can do and it may have farther reaching effects that support their community and spreads awareness,” Kyle Hobbs, first-year accounting student, said.

To schedule a paint party or learn more, visit the Picture Perfect Paint Parties website.

Picture Perfect Paint Parties
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