Live Guest Painting

Looking for a memorable and personalized art experience to add to your celebration? Look no further.

Painted guest portraits are an exciting, interactive keepsake that your loved ones will keep as a cherished memory for years to come.

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What is the Guest Portrait Painting experience? Here's how it works: I will travel to your event venue, setup my workstation, and your guests will get to watch a live artist paint portraits for the duration of my booking. 

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You can expect around 20-30 portraits to be completed during your wedding for guests to take home. The remaining guest portraits, which will be completed in my studio in the following days, will be mailed to the bride and groom to distribute to guests.

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My goal is to make sure that, on your big day, you don't have to worry about anything. That's why I  bring everything that I use to paint with, including my own collapsible 2' x 4' table, tablecloth, drawing and painting supplies, and a place to display the paintings as I finish them. Your guests will be able to take the paintings as they are completed. I'll cover the table with a white tablecloth unless otherwise requested.

My table setup will likely include:

- my 2" x 4" foldable table with a white linen tablecloth (I can also use any other tablecloth color you provide!)

- my drawing supplies, including pencils, erasers and pencil sharpener

- my painting supplies, including a white ceramic mixing palette, a sponge, a white ceramic water cup, 5" x 7" watercolor papers, my finest watercolor brushes and my premium watercolor paints. I will even bring my own water to paint with!

- a small, gold, battery-powered lamp that is dimmable to ensure I can see my paper in any environment and won't be disruptive to the event's lighting

- a tabletop photo display tree to fill with paintings as I finish them

- a tabletop sign that tells guests what I'm doing and how they can be involved

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For weddings, I will begin taking guest photos and painting at the beginning of cocktail hour. For other events, the start time is up to you. When a guest visits my station, I will let them know what I'm doing and, ff they'd like to participate, I'll take their photo so I can reference it for painting. I will paint as many of the photos as possible during my contracted time. There will also be a framed sign on my table that says "Live Watercolor Guest Paintings" and another sign that explains the process to your guests. 

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For table placement, I can place my workstation anywhere you would like. However, I have found it is best to place the table in a place where people will be congregating. This will encourage guests to visit and give them a better view of me as I work. At weddings, most guests will have their photo taken at cocktail hour and check back in with me sometime during the reception. If possible, it's also best to place me somewhere with light, although if this is not possible, I also bring my own tabletop lamp. 

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Typically, I take about 10 minutes to draw and paint each person or 15 minutes for two people. This means I can usually paint between 4-6 paintings per hour. 

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When a painting is completed, I will wrap the painting in a 5" x 7" plastic sleeve for protection. Each painting will be ready for framing or displaying immediately. 

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Please note that the majority of guest paintings will not be completed by the end of my contracted time; however, I will complete the remaining paintings at my studio in the following days and mail them to the bride and groom for distribution. These can make a great surprise to include in your wedding thank you notes! 

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Since the bride and groom may not have seen what each guest was wearing (or, if it was a large event, they may not have even seen who was there!), I will also email the bride and groom the photographs I took to match the guests with their painting. 

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Guest portrait paintings are a romantic and glamorous addition to any event, but are especially unique keepsakes for weddings. I'd love to help you leave your guests with a beautiful piece of art to remember your big day for years to come. 

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