North Carolina Wish Upon A Wedding, Live Event painting. 22x28. Oil on linen. Live event artist - Tesh Parekh
It was quite an honor doing a live event painting for the launch of North Carolina Wish Upon A Wedding. The launch party was held at Top of the Hill restaurant in Chapel Hill (the Great Room). WUW supports such an amazing cause! I met so many wonderful people at this event (I had the privilege of knowing many of them prior to this event). I thank the NC chapter of WUW for giving me the opportunity to participate. I look forward to working with this non-profit- for live painting as well as for photography.
This was a large live painting- 22×28. Oil on linen. I paint live in watercolors as well. The event was from 6 PM – 9 PM. I arrived at the venue an hour early to setup. Deciding what to paint and how much to paint are two of the most important decisions. Most weddings have a window of 5-8 hours during which I paint either ceremony or reception. The size of the painting is one of the factors that decides the amount of time needed. Bigger painting in shorter time meant that I would be working quickly. Here is my setup:
My setup for live event oil painting at the Top of Hill restaurant in Chapel Hill. Live event painter - Tesh Parekh
I toned the linen and then started blocking in major shapes and tones. Live painting is an alla prima painting. So, all the concepts of all prima apply when you are painting live. This is similar to painting en plain air. The difference is that many of the weddings and events are indoors (you almost always have to carry your own light for the easel). Also, most plein air paintings are landscapes or cityscapes, with human subjects being of lesser importance. Wedding paintings (at least the ones I paint) are focused on the bride & groom. Events are different. Some of the events do not have a well-defined subject. So, having the event program was a big help (one of the benefits of working with wedding planning professionals!).
I painted some of the background before event guests started to arrive. Once the attendance was full, I made pencil sketches for my reference. I make quick pencil sketches when I paint live. I use some of those in the finished painting. When the chapter president Veronica Foster spoke briefly, I captured that in the painting. I enjoyed talking to many event guests and fellow wedding professionals while I painted. The photographers and videographers of the event have captured my painting progress- I look forward to seeing those images and video clips. I tightened up and finished the painting before end of the event. Here is the finished painting on the easel:
Finished live event painting on the easel. Notice how the ambient light has changed. Wedding and Event painter - Tesh Parekh
The painting is now with NC WUW. I look forward to donating my live wedding paintings to WUW.
I used variety of artist oil colors and brushes for this painting. I currently do not use any chemicals or additivies when I paint live. This keeps the painting process odor-free, toxin-free and the paintings chemically sound. I know some artists use paint thinners like OMS. Just because OMS is odor-free does not make it less toxic! And while it is possible to create giant paintings quickly by thinning the paint, the long-term stability of such paintings is doubtful (not to mention that the paint will look flat soon). I want my patrons to enjoy their commissions for a very long time as heirlooms. So, I strive to use the best materials. That is one of the reasons I use quality linen as a support.
My next project is to create painting for a competition…
- Tesh Parekh
Artist & Photographer
Be a fan of my work: facebook.com/weddingpainter
919-622-5399
