A Nigerian-German-American Wedding

-->

The Jaiyeola-Von Der Linden Wedding, 24 x 30 inches, oil on canvas

Q: What do you get when a Nigerian-American Disney artist marries a German astrophysicist in Seattle? A: A ceremony and reception full of very, very different and interesting people, from everywhere imaginable.

Since I love painting people, this was a smorgasbord for me. I would have loved to paint individual portraits of so many of these guests.  But these wedding paintings are quick (usually about five hour) overviews of celebratory moments. The most detailed faces are the bride and groom, of course, and their time with me is short, as their attention is in demand throughout the event. I sketched their outlines as they made their rounds from table to table, greeting the guests. I added their faces later, when they had a moment to sand by my easel.

Detail of the couple

 In this case, one of my favorite details was of both the father of the bride and the father of the groom. Although they stood separately to give their toasts, they appear together in the painting. For this reason I often say that my event paintings are a time lapse of the party.

The couple's fathers

A Soldier’s Wedding at Newcastle Country Club

-->

Svore-Broemmel Wedding, Newcastle Country Club, Washington, oil on canvas, 24 x 24 inches, by Sam Day

I’ve done several wedding paintings at this venue, a tournament-caliber golf course and county club. Perched on a hilltop roughly a thousand feet above Puget Sound, the clubhouse has peerless views of Seattle, Lake Washington, Bellevue, and other suburbs. It’s a grand view, even on a windy, rainy winter night. The lights of the cities below glitter through the storm clouds as they rise up the hills.

Detail, Svore-Broemmel Wedding Painting by Sam Day

The lap of the 44,000 square foot clubhouse is called Prestwick Terrace, which is, of course, a terrace designed to showcase this magnificent view. And on that terrace is a capacious and permanent event tent, graciously pumped full of heat for this holiday fête.

 The décor was decidedly winter, with a towering Christmas tree and white lights.

The groom was a graduate of West Point, and a decorated Army Ranger. He wore his dress blues, and cut the cake with his saber. Although I pride myself on painting couples from life, this time I took a picture—a close up— of the decorations his chest, so I could represent them correctly. His equally accomplished bride had one request— the addition of her West Highland Terrier, who was not present. It was a small thing to ask, and a thing I’ve done before.

Other figures appear cryptic, but recognizable, and individuals were delighted to find that they had “made [it into] the painting.”

Rehearsal Dinner at The Ruins

Philips-Schweickert Rehearsal Dinner by Sam Day, 24 x 36 inches, oil on canvas

At the foot of Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, not far from the Space Needle, opera and ballet, there’s a old boxy warehouse with the elegance of Europe inside. The Ruins is a private dining club, where it seems we’ve entered the treasure hold of some keen-eyed collector’s rummaging trips to the continent. There are several comfortable sitting rooms for small parties, and a great dining room that feels like a trip to grandmas— if your grandma lived in a villa. And then there’s the ballroom.

The ceiling and walls of the ballroom are covered completely with murals of northwest scenes, by Jennifer Carrasco. All of her years of careful labor are loosely limned in about two hours’ work in my painting.

But that’s just backdrop to my client’s event.

This couple were married two days later at the Rainier Club. But this more intimate, unrushed evening was just for family and bridal party. The bride’s daughter, who spent a good deal of time serenading us at the piano, appears in the lower right with her flower girl friends, and her dog.

The couple

Canal Wedding

Johnson Wedding at The Canal, by Sam Day, 24 x 36 inches, oil on canvas

The Canal is a popular event venue overlooking the locks on the Lake Washington Ship Canal, which connects Lake Washington, Lake Union, and a sizable Alaskan fishing fleet to Puget Sound.  I’ve painted several weddings here, and my stepson and his wife had their reception here. The view from the dining hall is usually filled with boats queuing up to ascend the locks, and regularly includes both pleasure and commercial craft of many sizes. The view also includes a train bridge, and the sound of freight and Amtrak trains crossing adds ambience to the venue a couple of times an hour.

But the challenge for a wedding painter is to pair this amazing view with the one inside: the dance floor, the dinner, the spectacular bride and her lucky groom. So we have just a glimpse, at the right of the painting, out the south and west facing windows, to the bright, late sun reflecting on the water. The perspective is bent wide, more than 180 degrees, to the dinner on the far right. And, of course, the center of the painting focuses on the reason everyone came.

The couple — Wedding painting by Sam Day