Any holiday party is worth a painting, I think, but this was a special one for this company. Their founder was retiring, and his associates commissioned a painting as a parting gift. The cozy ballroom at the Alexis was perfect for the family-like intimacy of these coworkers. And it was a short walk from my studio!
I always love a party, even if it’s in an orthodontist’s office in a suburban strip mall. Jesse and Travis, the talented duo at True Colors Events, handily conjured a night club atmosphere in a space already funkier than your average doctor’s office. With catering by SAM Taste, this was definitely the way to do a marketing fete for referring dentists. The hosts were as colorful in person as they look in paint, illustrating the international diversity of the Eastside: Chinese, East Indian, Israeli. As a caricaturist, portraitist or event painter, my first and last interest in art is the people in the picture.
For their anniversary, Teatro Zinzanni held an auction in their Spiegel Tent to benefit the Zinzanni Institute of Circus Arts, with performances by Ann Wilson of Heart, El Vez, Francine Reed, and the great cast that regularly serves up Love, Chaos and Dinner at this wild and wacky place. (The Tom Douglas designed five course meal is as good as the show.) I painted the cocktail hour and silent auction in the lounge. The gentleman in the hat bought the painting.
Urban Unveiled is a high-end wedding show created by über wedding planners Jesse Brix and Travis McBurney of True Colors Events. With a limited number of exclusive vendors and a fabulous couture fashion show in the grand hall at Benaroya, the home of the Seattle Symphony, this show had more of a party atmosphere than the feel of some marketing event. This painting now belongs to Jesse and Travis, who appear in the lower left. A few steps toward the center is their lovely friend, the couture designer Luly Yang. It was a delight to meet Ms. Yang (who just opened a new boutique in Beijing), and have her stand in front of me for five minutes to put her into this painting.
I love New York. I really, truly love New York. But I didn’t get to go into the city; I stayed near JFK airport, and had my canvas and citrus thinner delivered to my hotel from an art store in Manhattan.
As my Trinidadian livery driver carried me east out onto Long Island, the neighborhoods gentrified almost from one block to the next. Rows of working class houses gave way to lawns and comfortable homes, then mansions with water access to Hewlett Bay.
Tucked away behind these shrub-lined gardens, the Seawane Country Club could pass for another stately home. But its magnificent ballroom looks out over the greens and fairways that stretch down to the bay. A salt breeze wafted in over the patio, decked this day with a chuppah, or marriage canopy, and white flowers. A larger white tent covered the guests from the predicted rain.
Inside, tables were set and the band tested their sound system while I mixed paint and prepared to depict the room. After cocktails were served in an adjacent room, a white curtain was swept aside, the band got funky, and the dance floor filled with celebrants before dinner.
And what a band it was. They played everything from klezmer to jazz and funk. They finished the evening with 80s rock.
As for my part, I knocked this painting out in four hours.
I’m delighted that I’m getting requests to paint weddings in beautiful and exciting places. I’ve recently been contacted by brides and grooms in San Francisco, Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, and Rhode Island. I’ll be doing my first New York wedding next month.
As even the most lavish weddings have to carefully manage costs, the second question I’m asked is always about price. (The first is “do you travel to ______?”) To be fair to my local clients, I charge for travel costs separate from the price of the painting. Painting prices are as follows:
2009 Prices
24 x 30 $2000
24 x 36 $2300
24 x 40 $2650
30 x 40 $3750
36 x 48 $5000
48 x 60 $6000
48 x 72 $7500
For out of state clients in North America, I charge for air fare and lodging, and car rental if necessary. There is an additional fee of $1000, which covers two working days of travel time. If you would like me to travel out of the country, I’ll need to know more about your specific location before I can quote a final price.
As is common in the wedding industry, I need a non refundable deposit of 50% to reserve your date. If you contract this year for a date next year, you get this year’s price.
