YouTube vid: 25 Event Paintings

This new YouTube video has a short narrative about how I got started doing wedding paintings, and showcases more than two dozen paintings over the last five years.

New Video: Tutta Bella Painting

I blogged about this event earlier, but the YouTube video is new.

Thanks to the Tarantellas, who let me use their recording of Godfather's Tarantella. They appear in the lower left of the painting, and are regulars at Tutta Bella, which serves authentic neapolitan pizza the way its done in Italy.

Time Lapse Photography, Lake Las Vegas Wedding

Time lapse photography of me painting a wedding at Lake Las Vegas, courtesy of Jason Roberts at Digs Studio, LasVegas. The first video shows me painting the landscape background before the wedding, which took place on the beach at Reflection Bay. The second video is in the ballroom for the reception that evening— two paintings in one day! Thanks to Digs for excellent work, and for letting me share this.

Sam Day Timelapse 1 from Digs Studio- Jason Roberts on Vimeo.

Sam Day Time Lapse 2 from Digs Studio- Jason Roberts on Vimeo.

Painting a Lake Las Vegas Wedding

Vegas is the epicenter for destination weddings. Most of those happen on or near The Strip, but this one was on a beautiful choral sand beach in a golf resort southeast of town, just a stone’s throw from Lake Mead.

The bride had carefully orchestrated a fantasy wedding, and the planners at Green Orchid Events made sure it all happened with precision and grace. There were so many elements in the event, a little editing had to determine what would end up in the painting. Could I paint fast enough when the bride and bridesmaids arrived on the yacht, and paraded around Reflection Bay to the waiting groomsmen? What about the gondola that picked up the couple after the ceremony? Neither vessel made it to into my composition. But I got the gospel choir and one of the ribbon dancers.

The landscape was the easy part. Just as when I’m painting an event in a room, I showed up early enough to have the background done before the guests arrived.

This was a first for me. Not only was it the first time I painted a wedding ceremony, but also the first time I painted two canvases at the same event. It was an afternoon wedding, and the whole evening was ahead of us. So as the couple embarked on their gondola cruise and the guests migrated into the clubhouse for cocktails, I moved my easel into the ballroom to paint the reception.

The photography and cinema professionals at Digs have beautiful pix on their blog.

Six Foot Painting at Tutta Bella - Wallingford

On April 26, 2009, my client rented out the restaurant Tutta Bella in Wallingford, Seattle, Washington, for a 60^th birthday bash. This was my greatest challenge to date, because of the enormous size. At six feet wide and four feet high, the canvas is nearly eight times the size of my regular 24” x 30” event paintings. But I had to complete the painting in the same amount of time— a four hour party, plus three hours of set up.

I actually spent days preparing. I stretched the canvas myself, because I’m rarely pleased with off-the shelf products this size. I also built a special carrying case to transport the painting when wet.

I arrived at 8 am to set up for an 11:30 event. After about an hour of set up and mixing paint, I began painting the background.

I was trying to include about a 150 degree view, so I had to visually bend the architecture like a fisheye lens. As with all these paintings, lot of quick brush work has to be done in the beginning. Even very thin washes still take a lot of paint at this size. Everything is umber and ochre at first. Areas I want lighter are altered by lifting out paint with citrus thinner. Detail is added later in thicker layers.

After lunch, core family members stayed til nearly 4 pm. The clients' grandchildren stood for their portraits in the foreground.

Music to paint by! Richard Sclafani and Peter Cicero, of the italian folk duo the Tarantellas, serenaded the finishing touches.

The excellent planning was orchestrated by Jesse Brix and Travis McBurney of True Colors Events. The event was photographed by the talented staff at Imigri, and all the photos I have of me at this event are copyrighted by them.

Video: Time Lapse of 5th Avenue Theater Painting

On April 18, 2009 I made my 5th Avenue debut at their annual gala auction. My painting from that evening will be reproduced in promotional materials for next years’ gala, and the painting will be sold at that auction (2010)—while I’m painting the image for the 2011 auction. It’s nice to be asked to start a tradition!
Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theater hosts Broadway musicals, often featuring world premieres, such as the upcoming Catch Me if You Can.

Thanks to ProMotion Arts for the video. http://www.ProMotionArts.com
http://www.5thavenue.org/

December Art Walk

Galleries in Pioneer Square, Seattle, have long held the openings of new shows on the first Thursday of each month. The First Thursday Art Walk ties the galleries together with crafts for sale in Occidental Park, open studios in buildings where artists rent studios, and occasional street performers. This month I decided to pay the $10 to the City and set up my easel in the park. It was a chilly evening, there were roving carolers, and the crowd was light. But there was this delightful group of high school art students from Auburn, which is nigh to Tacoma. They gathered around and craned their necks as I scribbled as many of them into the painting as possible before they were summoned back to the school bus.