Splatter Paints, West St. Paul

Have you ever had the urge to just throw something? Like a wine glass or a dinner plate or an entire computer monitor? (please say this isn’t just me.) Well, there is a less dangerous and far more beautiful solution that I recently discovered with my daughter and her friends – Splatter Paints in West St. Paul. This was just SUCH a fun way to create some art, get out some energy, and save your dinner plates and wine glasses.

The five of us had an absolute blast splattering paint on – not only our canvases – but on the floor, walls, ceiling, and each other at Splatter Paints. While the idea is obviously not to get out your rage (I was just kidding about throwing a computer monitor), the space is inviting to the simple idea of letting go of all reason and order. The rules go out the door when you’re handed your bottles of paint and your creative intuition takes over. Watching four little well-behaved tweens experience this sense of freedom and slowly embrace the chaos was awesome to see. They laughed, they splattered, they created unique art, and they immediately asked to do it again when our session was over. All signs of a great time!

What is Splatter Paints?

Splatter Paints is a small locally-owned business in West St. Paul. They host birthday parties and group outings, but they also allow individual small group fun nights like the one we experienced. The space is very small. You will walk in and see the cash register and the paint supplies all front and center. There is a space for your belongings to go (ditch the shoes and probably even the socks) and then a large black curtain. What’s behind the curtain? That is the question.

It’s a large room that has been painted from head to toe with splatter. No rhyme, no reason, no blank space anywhere. The floor is taped off with plastic and black light shines throughout the full space.

Then what? Then you grab your paint bottles or whatever tools you want to use to create your canvas, find a space to prop it up on the shelf, and you go to town splattering (whatever gets in your way). The session is 45 minutes long and that is plenty of time to finish your canvas and we filled our extra time with lots of additional mess (they painted their feet, my entire back, and the floor.)

What do you need to know about Splatter Paints?

Splatter Paints allows kids ages 2+ to participate. If you are immune to mess, this might not be the adventure for you, but I wouldn’t let that stop you. I am a very type A clean person and it took me a bit to get to the point of “OK, fine. We can always wash your hair later,” but I am SO glad I let them do it all! It was a wonderful messy memory (and the paint washes out of everything). Groups with kids ages 15 and under must include at least one adult participant.

Sessions are 45 minutes long and you book them online. Each individual ticket is $30 for that 45 minutes and you have the space to yourselves. You can purchase extras (another canvas, more paint, a t-shirt to paint), but our girls were just thrilled with what we got with the package, which was 5 bottles of paint and an 8×10 canvas (black or white).

Wear clothes you don’t mind getting destroyed and if you have any color that will light up under black light, that’s always a fun option too! The paint that is used comes out of everything if washed within 24 hours. I washed all of ours upon our arrival at home and the girls had to scrub their feet for about 15 minutes before getting in my car (I told you I was type A). But the nice part is, the company provides each person a poncho, a hair and foot covering, and goggles for eye protection. As an adult, I got a full body suit that made me look like I was going into a Breaking Bad war zone. None of us actually got too paint-covered but one girl did have to wear a new poncho on the car ride home because her shirt took a paint beating and it was either another poncho or a shirtless drive. Maybe bring a change of clothes as an option? I never thought about that. And consider wearing flip flops in case of foot paint.

When your time is up, you will box up your canvas and clean up with their on-site cleaning supplies. Depending on how much paint you apply to your canvas, it can take a few days to fully dry in its box. My daughter’s is now hanging in her bedroom and looks super cute!

Food and drink is not allowed in the building, but if you want to grab a sweet treat before or after your time, I suggest trying Micho Love ice cream shop nearby. There’s also a Dairy Queen, Culvers, and Baskin-Robbins right down the block. If you want to make a day of it, it is very close to Dodge Nature Center or tons of hiking trails along the Mississippi River. Or book a 1-hour tour at the Wabasha Caves (before painting, obviously) to learn about the history of or ghost stories from the old caves.

Birthday parties would be so much fun at Splatter Paints. They cost $350 for 2 hours and can accommodate up to 20 people (that’s a LOT of splatter!). Send them an email to learn more about birthday parties.

Don’t want to incur the mess yourself but know someone that would love this adventure? Gift cards would be a great gift idea and they sell them online.

Booking hours are:

Thu – Fri: 6 pm – 9 pm
Sat: 12 pm – 9 pm
Sun: 12 pm – 4 pm

Location:

1201 South Robert Street
West Saint Paul, MN 55118