Dabble on the canvas
Steve Merkley, co-owner of Raw Canvas, created a restaurant that inspires through painting.
byPhylicia Torrevillas
Yaletown hotspot Raw Canvas promises to revolutionize Vancouverites’ way of socializing and dining by combining food and art.
The tapas lounge welcomes its patrons with colorful paintings, a Paris meets Yaletown décor, and luxe, lush chaises. It’s a mix of café, wine bar and a paint-on-canvas art studio.
“You just buy a blank canvas,” said owner Steve Merkley. “We have nine different kinds of canvases. You just choose a size and a shape and we give you all the paint, brushes and everything you need. You just hang out, paint and drink wine and that’s it.”
Inspired by art jam sessions in Hong Kong, Merkley and co-owner Paige Faraci decided to bring the concept to Vancouver to promote art and community building.
“Community building is important to us and to have a place for people to gather, share ideas, create art, work, have fun, eat food and drink wine together,” Merkley said.
The art studio is unique and everything on the menu is organic.
“It’s a big thing for us,” he said. “If it’s not organic, then at least it’s farmed locally and I’ll always buy from small family-run farms so there’s nothing processed. We’d like to support those kind of values and ethics.”
He added that they get all types of customers but mostly ‘creatives’— people in marketing, advertising and video game designers.
Geordie Milne, a loyal customer, said he enjoys the sense of community at Raw Canvas.
“I love coming here,” Milne said. “It’s like a family. It’s like home. I’ve painted quite a lot. Raw Canvas has kind of started my painting career. I’ve sold a couple paintings from here.”
Stephanie Harper, art therapist at Alchemy & Elixir Health Group, thinks the idea of having an art space in a dining place is a “fabulous idea.”
“We aren’t creative enough in our daily lives, I believe,” Harper said. “I think if we can access that creativity in a fun, social setting, it makes us more creative in our decision-making and our work life. It brings energy and connection with other people and it’s playful. I think being playful is really important.”
“As long as people feel comfortable being spontaneous and creative in front of other people and not worrying about being judged, I think that’s great. We have to let go of our fear of putting ourselves out there,” she said.
Raw Canvas is located at 1046 Hamilton Street.