Live Wedding Paintings
By Leah Seaman
The wedding day. It’s a momentous occasion in a couple’s life that often creates overwhelm at the prospect of deciding how to capture every moment and feeling. Fortunately, live wedding painters are available across the nation to create masterpieces within a few hours that tell the story of this important day for decades to come. Whether couples are looking for a one-of-a-kind memento that will last long after they are gone or wish to invest in highly engaging and exciting entertainment for family and friends during the reception, live wedding artists are in high demand, especially here in the heart of Appalachia.
‘My name is Leah Seaman, and I am the owner of ArtaBella Gallery. As a professional artist and live event painter with more than 10 years of artistic experience, I am going to share with you what a live wedding is, how one is created and how to choose the right artist for you.
What is live event painting?
Live event painting is an incredibly unique entertainment service in which an artist creates a fully rendered painting in real time in front of a live audience. Live artists most frequently use acrylics, watercolors and oil paints in their paintings and are most often asked to depict scenes such as a couple’s first kiss, first walk down the aisle or first dance. Live wedding painters are not only tasked with bringing their clients’ preferred moments to life on canvas but also in engaging guests and attendees directly into the artistic process as it happens. Typical live painting prices for a skilled artist are between $1,500-$4,000 per painting. To ensure the piece created is one they will absolutely love, couples are encouraged to check out the portfolio of any prospective painter to understand the style the artist will be bringing to their live painting before they invest in this vendor.
What happens the day of the event?
The artist typically arrives at the venue two to three hours prior to the ceremony to get their station set up and start on the background of the scene. When the chosen moment occurs, the artist takes a reference photo on their phone and then moves to the reception to paint the primary focus of the piece: the couple. As the artist paints, guests are encouraged to come watch the process unfold, take photos and videos, ask questions and even assist in the painting itself. Toward the end of the evening, the artist brings their painting to either a temporary stopping point with the intention of finishing later in a studio setting or finishes it completely, leaving it with the couple.
Having professionally painted artwork done during the most important day of your life is an incredible investment not only in the wedding itself but also in the long-term preservation of the memories from that day for generations to come.
Live wedding paintings are an incredible addition to any home and quickly become a cherished decorative focal point. The only other question couples should be asking themselves is this: who is the artist we’d like to work with and how soon can we book them?
