Number 1: Live Wedding Painting of The Newlyweds of Canvas

This is probably the one you’ve seen the most on social media, as it’s a real showstopper! This is where a Live Wedding Painter comes to your wedding day, sets up their easel and paints a masterpiece of you and your partner on canvas. The main draws of having this type of Live Painting are that you as a couple receive a stunning painting that depicts the best day of your life, your friends and family also get to enjoy an amazing form of entertainment and you are able watch your painting come to life before your eyes.

If you were thinking that a painting on canvas is the type of Live Wedding Painting for you, there are two main variations to consider:

- Live Painters that finish the whole piece on the day

- Live Painters who finish the piece after your wedding day and send it to you

If your Live Wedding Painter finishes your painting on the wedding day it is likely that the piece is painted with acrylic paint. This paint is plastic based, so it can dry quickly and be completely ready in the same day, which is a big pro. Something to keep in mind however with this type of Live Wedding Painting, is that the piece may not be able to feature a lot of details, as the Live Painter has to prioritise speed and have the painting completely finished by the end of the night. The Live Wedding Painters who finish on the day often have to use larger and more abstract brushstrokes, which means you will see the overall shapes, figures and colours of the scene, but maybe not the intricate details of the dress or expressions on the faces of the people featured.

If your Wedding Painter takes your painting back to their studio to do touch ups, they can work in either oil paint or in acrylic. As a Live Wedding Painter, I work in oil paint as I feel this type of paint has an amazing colour payoff and allows the painting to have a real ‘wow factor’! Oil paint does not dry quickly, so after the wedding day I take the painting back to my home studio. This allows me to add in further details and do any extra touch ups that I may have missed while painting at the wedding. When the piece is fully dry, I package it up and send it via courier to the couple. This is usually a lovely thing for them to look forward to after their honeymoon!

Number 2: Live Guest Illustrations by a Live Wedding Painter

If you fancy having a form of wedding or event entertainment that leans more  towards your friends and family, then Live Guest Illustrations are perfect for you! This type of Live Wedding Painting focuses on creating individual small paintings or drawings of your guests. The guests can watch the painting process happen live, see all of the other paintings being displayed in the pop-up gallery, and then take their illustration home with them as a wedding favour at the end of the night! The Live Guest Illustrations are usually painted using watercolour paint, as it has a very quick drying time, or with pen and markers. 

The two variations of this type of Live Wedding Painting are:

• Painting guests from a photograph
• Painting guests as they pose for the artist

If your Live Wedding Painter takes a photo of your guests and works from the image, it allows your guests to go away and enjoy the wedding while they are waiting. This is the way that I prefer to do my Live Guest Illustrations, as it gives the guests a choice to either watch their painting unfold as they watch over my shoulder, or they can go off and dance and come back later when the painting is finished. I finish my guest paintings in around 7 mins per person, so it’s a quick turnaround! 

Some Wedding Painters paint guests as they pose for them. This means that guests will stand in front of the painter and will hold a pose of their choice, while the Live Wedding Painter sketches out and paints the person in real time. This is a fun option for guests who want a more immersive experience and don’t mind having to stand still for a prolonged amount of time. 

With either choice, your guests will get a special wedding favour to remember your big day by. Many of the couples I work with say that their guests have had their Live Guest Illustration framed, so this is definitely not a wedding favour that people will toss out and forget about! 

I hope this article helped you find out some of the key differences between the types of Live Wedding Paintings and that you’ll be booking a Live Wedding Painting with me for your special day soon. 

To book Chloe for Live Wedding Painting or Live Guest Illustrations you can go to her contact page below!