Have you seen or heard of live event painting before? For one of our 2016 weddings, artist Andrea Jackson was hired to paint the event. The couple commissioned Andrea to paint anything that inspired her and she made sure to draw on the couple's passions to complete her final piece of art (above). What a treat and such a unique element of a wedding!
More about Andrea: Andrea Jackson spent her childhood in the great woods of Northern Minnesota. Some of her earliest memories were of trees and natural landscapes. These experiences formed the foundations of her deep spiritual love for all natural forms, rhythms, and cycles. After wandering the earth in her 20's and obtaining her BFA in painting, drawing, and design from the University of Iowa, she found herself in Oakland, California. She currently paints from a studio at the Firehouse Art Collective in Berkeley.
Her work focuses on landscapes and experiences from memory to create an intriguing visual space to reconnect the viewer with natural forms. The colorful scenes strive to be meditative with each natural aspect relating to abstract religious and spiritual notions. The mountains are gods, water is life, and the night sky is the realm of the unknown. Van Gogh, Klimt, and many of the Dutch Old Masters inspire her work and techniques.
More about the wedding, from the artist: Jeremy and Talia posted an ad for someone to paint their wedding, and I responded. I've never really heard of live painting before, and was very intrigued by the idea. Since their wedding was an outdoor wedding, and I'm very comfortable with landscapes, I thought I would give it a shot!
They were very open ended and lose in what they wanted which is important for a painter to be able to create a great painting comfortably. We emailed back and forth on what paintings of mine they liked, colors, and their story. I tried to synthesize all this information when I arrived at the venue. While painting many guests came to visit, brought me wine, and was intrigued by the whole process. Many people haven't seen a painting created before. One guest commented it added a creative warmth to the reception.
It worked out fantastic, and is by far one of my favorite paintings! The scene is not a direct representation of what I saw, but a compilation of elements from the venue. I knew Jeremy and Talia cherished mountains and outdoors - he proposed to her on a mountain hike - so I focused on the natural elements around. Because of the time sensitive nature, I had to work quick and lose. This energy is captured in the work and brings it a life and vibrancy that is missed sometimes when I'm working for days in a studio.
I really enjoyed painting their wedding and immortalizing in it paint. I would love to paint other weddings, especially outdoor! Painting an indoor or church wedding would be exciting also to see what would happen.
