A franchise that can change the world (yes, really)

People who just want to get away from it all can rediscover joy and connection at our artistic painting franchise. Franchisees are helping them make the world a better place, one canvas at a time.

Painting With a Twist, the original artistic painting franchise, was born out of a desire to create a safe haven from some very dark times. Founders Renee Maloney and Cathy Deano joined forces right after Hurricane Katrina because they needed to make a difference. They wanted to find something to lift people’s spirits.

They couldn’t save southern Louisiana from flooding and heartache, but they could find a way to bring neighbors together, make them smile and remind them of what it felt like to let go and have fun.

“Our town was destroyed, our city was underwater, Cathy’s house was flooded,” Maloney says. “The businesses here in the city that my husband owned were underwater. What I did every day was kind of gone… We looked at each other and said, ‘What are we going to do?’ We can cry and feel bad, or we can step up and say, ‘What can we do to make a difference?’”

Painting a canvas with friends under an artist’s direction — with a glass of wine in hand — turned out to be the perfect distraction from a world that had turned upside down.

One canvas at a time

We are a creative painting franchise, but guests don’t come here for art lessons. A fun or beautiful painting they can display when they leave is definitely a bonus, but it’s not the main reason they come to our studios.

When Deano and Maloney were coming up with how to construct their new business, they knew what they wanted was the social connection. “It wouldn’t be an art class, it wouldn’t be a six-week commitment where we had to figure out where to put the kids,” she says. “It was just an idea of a social interaction where you could drink wine, you could have some friends with you and you could create something.”

How we’re changing the world

Over the 15 years we’ve been in business, our guests have created over 12 million paintings, and counting. That’s at least 12 million smiles, at least 12 million laughs, at least 12 million hours of goodness and happiness spread in the world.

So, can owning a Painting With A Twist franchise really change the world one canvas, one person at a time? We believe so. As sociologist and author Margaret Mead once said, never doubt that a small, committed group of people can change the world. “Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Learn more

If you’d like to learn more about how you can reclaim your joy and help others do the same, we’d love to talk to you about our business opportunities. You can explore more about our brand on our website, or download the form on this page to start a conversation.