When bride Marianne contacted me about doing a live painting at their reception, I was thrilled. After last month’s trial run, I was eager to keep going.
This one took place at the very beautiful Maison Lafitte in old Mandeville. I started setting up at about five o’clock. A light rain was failing as I unfolded my easel inside the outdoor tent.
This was one of the most fun receptions I’ve been to, and I enjoyed every moment. But it did present a few challenges I’d never really considered.
1. It literally changed from day to night. When I started painting, everything was green and rain-kissed. By the end of the night it was quite dark.
2. Termites. Who knew. They attacked not only me but my painting as well. I had to keep pulling them out of the paint, and eventually had to turn off my spotlight to keep them from swarming. By the end of the evening, guests were coming over to look at the painting, and it became an interesting game of finding the termites. There’s even a few streaks in the painting where a few tried to escape their oily doom.
3. Rain. Oil and water don’t exactly mix. It was an interesting challenge keeping everything dry throughout set-up and tear down.
Despite these unforeseen challenges, I’m LOVING live painting and can’t wait to do more. Last night I got to chat with a teenager who is in the talented art program at my alma mater. He was so interested in what I was doing, that I gave him a brush and let him do a few strokes on the painting. The best part was being able to talk to him about art as a very real career path. I was always told art was an on-the-side gig. But the truth I have found is that when it’s on the side, it just doesn’t happen, and if it does happen, it doesn’t happen well. I was excited to talk to a young person about art in a way that was different from what I’d always heard.
Check out the live painting section of my site for more information on wedding painting. My prices are considerably lower than other live event painters since I’m just getting started. They’ll be going up soon, so now’s the time to book.
May 17, 2015
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