Live Wedding Painting at Oakdene, Jeremy Batoff and Eric Goldie

Jeremy and Eric's Wedding at Oakdene, 30x40", painted by Patricia Bennett 

Featured in Town and Country Magazine and recounted by celebrity Carole Radziwell, this was an over the top wedding to paint.

Here is a link to Town and Country's article.  

This painting is a four dimensional depiction of their wedding day.  Meaning that this painting shows multiple scenes throughout the day knit into one piece.  Some notable scenes included in this painting are:

The Ceremony

Ceremony Excerpt from Jeremy and Eric's Wedding Painting, 30x40", painted by Patricia Bennett

Details include the musicians from Philadelphia, the chicken house and horses in the background, and their speaker, Carole Radziwell, in 6 inch heels on grass.  

It was raining and a tent had been erected over the ceremony space in preparation, so I arrived a day early and set up my easel on the edge of the tent to capture the view, then added Jeremy and Eric and the musicians and flowers from photos I took during their ceremony.  The tent was left out of the painting.

Guests Walking from the Main House to the Reception Tent 

Pre-Reception Excerpt from Jeremy and Eric's Wedding Painting, 30x40", painted by Patricia Bennett

Details include the acrobats, the champagne lady, individual guests, Jeremy and Eric with their vintage vehicle pre-ceremony.

The First Dance and Cake Cutting and Speeches

First Dance Excerpt from Jeremy and Eric's Wedding Painting, 30x40", painted by Patricia Bennett

Details include their first dance, family speeches, ladies on stilts with wings, the cake cutting, and Pippa their dog (Pippa was not actually there).

The Horah

Horah Excerpt from Jeremy and Eric's Wedding Painting, 30x40", painted by Patricia Bennett

The Tent Lit at Night under the Moon

Lit Tent Excerpt from Jeremy and Eric's Wedding Painting, 30x40", painted by Patricia Bennett

Details include the live event painter from behind.  

It is a challenge to comprehend this painting spatially because it is impossible.  The ceremony and view there is behind the Main House, and the reception tent was in front of the Main House, and inside the tent my view was the opposite direction.  The lit tent was seen from the house.  But it all works compositionally.  

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The Process:

Fortunately I live nearby, and the event planner is really wonderful and helpful, Kate Taylor, and I have painted at Oakdene many times, so I was able to visit the location a week in advance and learn the layout of the event.  Just based on my imagination, I did this sketch and showed it to the grooms before their wedding to get approval for my vision. 

pre-event sketch of Jeremy and Eric's Wedding Painting

Then I arrived a few days before the wedding and painted the background.  This was challenging because a giant tent was erected over the ceremony space the day before, blocking the view, and it was drizzling.  The father of the groom wisely counseled me to set up under the tent, near the front of it, so I did and it worked great.

Start of Jeremy and Eric's Wedding Painting, 30x40", painted by Patricia Bennett

Start of Jeremy and Eric's Wedding Painting under the Ceremony Tent

The painting as it was before the guests arrived in the reception tent:

Painting before guests arrived in the reception tent

Painting on view the next day at the Greenspring Valley Hunt Club Post Wedding Brunch

  

Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore Wedding and Reception Live Painting, June 4, 2016

Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore Wedding and Reception Live Painting, painted by Patricia Bennett

Congratulations to the Bride and Groom and to their families!

A stunning wedding and reception at the Four Seasons Baltimore, showing the view out of the windows of the Cobalt Room.  Organized by Stephanie Bradshaw, Rachel Avera, and team.  Vendors included Flowers and Fancies and many others.

I combined the ceremony and reception into one painting, even though they took place in the Cobalt Room and the Grand Ballroom respectively.

The wedding is featured in world famous blog Style Me Pretty.

Painted Wedding and Reception in Glyndon, Maryland, June 7, 2014

Wedding and Reception, Glyndon, Maryland

Patricia Bennett painting live in Glyndon, Maryland, photo by the Loop band

Congratulations to the couple!!  I had the privilege of painting their wedding June 7, 2014.  I think that the word fairy tale describes it.

Most of the painting was done on location and some was done in the studio.

How the painting was created: People like to know how this was done, and if it was prepared in advance.  So, I'll briefly describe the process.

I arrived at 3:30 pm with a blank 2x3' canvas, and saw the venue for the first time.  I met with the planner (Stephanie Bradshaw) and couple earlier and heard it described.

It was an enormous green lawn with one space for the wedding ceremony, and another lower space with an amazing tent, complete with 12 chandeliers and an grand entrance for the reception.  At the ceremony space, I chose a location that had shade.  Then, I walked to the tent and talked to the planners about where to set up there.  It was crucial that I have access to electricity b/c when the sun goes down I need light.  Luckily, there was a free 50 foot extension cord connected to the generator.  Next, I drew simple sketches in a notepad to design the painting.  Then I covered the canvas with the lovely view: the green grass, the blue sky, the clouds, the trees, purple flowers.  After this preparation, the event officially began, and it was an intense 30 minutes of capturing the ceremony...  This is my favorite part, and most importantly painted the beautiful bride as she stood next to her future husband.  After the ceremony ended, the guests moved to the pool house for cocktails, and I carried my easel, tables, etc... over to the reception tent to begin painting the tables and flowers and chandeliers.  The flowers were breathtaking, especially the blush peonies next to the blue hydrangeas.

How to combine both the reception and the ceremony into one painting, and indicate the amazing tent.  A few strips of drapery over the sky worked well.  Then, I painted the reception below the ceremony, scaling fairly accurately.  The closest tables got the most detail because I literally cannot see other tables when people are sitting down.  I made sure to add the fabulous band.  And the final part of the wedding, the sparklers at midnight, I put in the upper right corner.

There was a moment when the planner rescued me: it was dark, and the extension cord didn't work!  She tracked the cord over to the generator and plugged it back in.

The band, the Loop, was awesome.  Stephanie Bradshaw and her girls were fabulous, and the band was fabulous.  The catering staff was great, and they brought me coffee at the end when I was exhausted.  I make it through the last couple of hours on coffee:)  And I wish the couple every happiness, they are so charming and lovely:)

List of the Vendors mentioned:

Event Planner: Stephanie Bradshaw
Band: The Loop