We own this one. Paint Juicy is our business, we run the Cairns sessions ourselves, and we also write this website. So read the section about us with that in mind. We have named the other operators running paint and sip in Cairns further down, because a guide that only mentions its own business is an ad with a table of contents.
Here is what nobody tells you before your first one. You will not be quietly painting. Somewhere around the second chorus you will be singing, badly, in a room full of strangers doing exactly the same thing, holding a brush you have completely forgotten about. The painting is the excuse. The night is the point.
What a paint and sip actually is
Three hours, a blank canvas, an artist on a microphone calling every step, and a bar. You paint the background before the foreground, the light before the shadow, the outline before the detail, and because it is called out one instruction at a time you never sit there wondering whether that blob was meant to happen.
Everyone arrives saying the same sentence, “I cannot draw.” Everyone leaves saying a different one, “I cannot believe I made that.” The whole format is built around that gap. There is no teacher hovering at your shoulder waiting to tell you your sunset looks like a car park.
You take the canvas home wet. That is the part people underestimate. It ends up in the hallway and it stays there.
Why ours is the loud one
Most paint and sip runs on a playlist. Ours runs on a live singer with a microphone, full tunes, singalongs, karaoke and games through the session. That is the entire difference, and it changes the shape of the room. A playlist gets tolerated. A real voice gets joined.
The practical effect is that the room gets braver every round. By the third song people who came in insisting they do not sing are doing harmonies they have no business attempting, and the painting gets looser and better for it. If you want a quiet, contemplative art class, we are not it and we will not pretend otherwise.
What it costs in Cairns
A public seat is $59 a head. That covers the canvas, the paints, brushes, easel and apron, the host artist for the full three hours and the live vocals over the top. Drinks are not included. Our Cairns venues are licensed, so you buy at the bar rather than bringing your own.
Private bookings are $700 for the first ten guests and $65 a head after that, which is the number people want for a hens night, a milestone birthday or a work Christmas do.
Where they run in Cairns
We have been running sessions in Cairns for years. Most recently that has meant the Balaclava Hotel at Earlville, the Smithfield Tavern up on the highway corner, and the Trinity Beach Tavern.
That spread matters more here than people expect. Cairns runs a long way north and south, and the difference between a session twenty minutes away and one an hour away is the difference between going and meaning to go. Earlville covers the southern corridor, Woree through to Edmonton and Bentley Park. Smithfield and Trinity Beach cover the northern beaches, Trinity Park, Kewarra, Yorkeys Knob, Clifton and Palm Cove.
Do you need to be able to paint
No, and the people who worry about it most tend to have the best night. The step-by-step format means the room finishes within a whisker of each other, and if you want to change the colours to suit your lounge room, say so on the night. Nobody minds.
What to wear
Something forgiving. Aprons are supplied, but acrylic has never once respected a good top. If the session has a theme, and most of ours do, commit to it properly. Half a costume reads worse than none.
Who these nights actually suit
Hens nights, work dos, birthdays, and the group chat that has been saying “we should do something” since March. They suit people who still want a night out but do not want to end up in a sticky-floored club at 1am wondering where it went wrong.
They also work solo, which surprises people. You get seated with other people rather than parked at a table on your own, and you will talk to more strangers in three hours than you would in a normal month.
Two things to know before you book. Sessions are 18 plus, and tickets are online only, not sold at the door.
The other paint and sip options in Cairns
We are not the only way to do this here, and it would be a poor guide that pretended otherwise.
Spirit of Cairns runs a Sip, Paint and Cruise on Trinity Inlet, a daytime session on the water with the painting led by Kat Hadleigh of VIVID Paint Studio. If doing it in daylight on a catamaran appeals more than a tavern on a Friday night, that is the one to look at. VIVID also runs private sessions around Cairns at venues including Yorkeys Knob and Edge Hill, with a smaller minimum than most, which suits a group of six or eight rather than a room of thirty.
Beyond those two the field thins out quickly. Several operators that still show up in search results have moved away, stopped running public sessions or closed, so check for a dated, bookable session before you get your hopes up.
The bit about us, since we said we would
Paint Juicy is recognised as a Best of Queensland Experience by Tourism and Events Queensland, every year from 2022 to 2026. That program is reassessed annually and 60 per cent of the score comes from what real guests say on independent review platforms, which is why five years in a row says more than any single year would.
We are also an accredited tourism business under the Australian Tourism Accreditation Standard, meeting Sustainable Business Practices, registration 138138, current to 30 May 2027, and a member of the Queensland Tourism Industry Council for 2026 and 2027.
Is it the most fun paint and sip in Cairns? That is our opinion and we are hardly neutral about it. What we will say flatly is that it is the loudest, because we are the ones with a live singer on the microphone.
How to book
Cairns dates go up as venues are locked in, so the live list is the place to look rather than any date we could print here. It is on the Paint Juicy Cairns sessions page. Tickets are online only, seats go to groups who book together if you leave a note at checkout, and gift cards do not expire.
Make a night of it
Earlville and Smithfield both sit next to a kitchen, so dinner before or after is the easy version. If you would rather eat in town first and drive out after, our guide to where to eat in Cairns has the tables we actually send people to. For everything else worth doing while you are here, start at the things to do in Cairns guide, and if it is a date night rather than a group night, Cairns for couples covers the rest of the evening.
FAQs
How much is a paint and sip in Cairns?
$59 a head for a public Paint Juicy session, which includes the canvas, all the art gear and the artist for three hours. Drinks are extra. Private bookings start at $700 for ten guests.
Do I need any painting experience?
None at all. Every step is called out on the microphone before anyone touches paint to canvas.
How long does a session run?
Three hours. Painting starts at 6pm and brushes are down around 9pm.
Can I bring my own drinks?
Not at the Cairns venues. They are licensed, so you buy at the bar.
Where are paint and sip sessions held in Cairns?
Recent Paint Juicy sessions have run at the Balaclava Hotel at Earlville, the Smithfield Tavern and the Trinity Beach Tavern. Spirit of Cairns runs a painting cruise on Trinity Inlet.
Are they 18 plus?
Public sessions are. Private bookings can be arranged differently.
Can I come on my own?
Yes, and plenty do. You are seated with other people, not left at a table by yourself.
Disclosure: Paint Juicy is owned by the same people who write this site. Photos supplied by Paint Juicy. Prices and inclusions were correct at 15 September 2026.
