I completed the last wedding painting of the year just a couple of days ago. The next day, Klaire and Drew came by the studio to pick it up, and I had one of those moments that swells your heart. The first time a couple sees their painting in real life is magic. In this case it was a high-pitched "OHHHmygaaawwwwdddd", complete with eyes wide and hands to face. Yep, I think I nailed it.
The last time they had seen their painting was at their reception. I was packing up and they were about to head out the door for the sparkler run, but they came over to get one last look at it. They already loved it, even though I told them it was just a rough block-in. Here's how it looked then:
As a block-in, this is barely satisfactory. It establishes the basic composition and the couple's pose, but that's about it. The pose is roughed-in, the wedding party is just hinted at, and the crowd is nonexistent at this point. Time to get to work in the studio.
Over the next few weeks, I reworked every square inch of the canvas multiple times. Drew and Klaire were developed, the crowd added and changed, the wedding party developed, both sets of parents were included, the forest and arbor behind them were brought up to spec, and the two ferns on pedestals developed. And here's how it turned out:
Quite a change, isn't it? I feel pretty good about the end result. Apparently, so do they!
My next booking isn't until well into spring, so now I have a bit of a hiatus from wedding paintings. There are a lot of other works that I've had in mind for a long time, but haven't been able to get to them, so over the next few months they'll be tackled, one at a time.
If you'd like to know more about my wedding paintings and the whole process, check out the Asheville Event Paintings site.
The last time they had seen their painting was at their reception. I was packing up and they were about to head out the door for the sparkler run, but they came over to get one last look at it. They already loved it, even though I told them it was just a rough block-in. Here's how it looked then:
As a block-in, this is barely satisfactory. It establishes the basic composition and the couple's pose, but that's about it. The pose is roughed-in, the wedding party is just hinted at, and the crowd is nonexistent at this point. Time to get to work in the studio.
Over the next few weeks, I reworked every square inch of the canvas multiple times. Drew and Klaire were developed, the crowd added and changed, the wedding party developed, both sets of parents were included, the forest and arbor behind them were brought up to spec, and the two ferns on pedestals developed. And here's how it turned out:
Quite a change, isn't it? I feel pretty good about the end result. Apparently, so do they!
My next booking isn't until well into spring, so now I have a bit of a hiatus from wedding paintings. There are a lot of other works that I've had in mind for a long time, but haven't been able to get to them, so over the next few months they'll be tackled, one at a time.
If you'd like to know more about my wedding paintings and the whole process, check out the Asheville Event Paintings site.
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