Thirtieth Birthday Party Live Painting at Oakdene in Baltimore County, September 10, 2016

Thirtieth Birthday Party Live Painting at Oakdene in Baltimore County, September 10, 2016, painted by Patricia Bennett

I was really thrilled to paint this, honored to be hired.  If you look closely you can see a horse on the right.

A lovely dinner with Beck n Call servers, Beck n Call is owned by Tammie Monaco, who is in the painting on the right.  And the food and wine were provided by Wit and Wisdom, who are located at the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore, with their Sommelier present to explain the wines and spirits.

Linens provided by Dulaney Noble's Gala Cloths, and flowers organized by Stiles Colwill, owner of Halcyon Antiques.

Process: Before the event I visited the space to determine with the host where the best place for me to set up would be.  I needed to be out of the way of the dozen servers and wanted to center the focus on the star of the event.  Centering the mantle seemed like the best option.  I chose to leave out several feet of the room so that the view outside could be seen; Oakdene has a stunning view.

After the event I placed a missing important guest on the left of the host and added their dog, Pippa.

Park Savoy Wedding Reception Live Painting

Park Savoy Wedding Reception Painting, November 19, 2016, painted by Patricia Bennett

Congratulations to the Bride and Groom and to their families!

The Park Savoy is https://www.theparksavoy.com/ located in Florham Park, New Jersey.

Television appearance Live Painting, July 3, 2016, WBAL-TV with Janelle Diamond, Managing Editor of Baltimore Bride

Thank you to Janelle Diamond, Managing Editor of Baltimore Bride magazine for inviting me to be part of her segment on WBAL-television Sunday, July 3, 2016.  Lacee Griffith was news anchor.

Live Painting on WBAL-TV with Janelle Diamond and Lacee Griffith, painting by Patricia Bennett, 24x24"

 I arrived a couple of hours early to begin the painting.

Patricia Bennett painting before painting on live television WBAL-TV

 Then we moved the painting behind the table so it could be in the camera shot and I painted Lacee Griffith and Janelle Diamond in while the segment on Maryland Weddings was being filmed.  They were behind me, which made it extra-challenging!

Patricia Bennett painting just before live WBAL-TV segment with Janelle Diamond and Lacee Griffith, Photo by Janelle Diamond

The next segment was with Chef Ben Lefenfeld of La Cuchara Restaurant, and the producer decided to leave my painting on display.

WBAL-TV news anchors Kai Reed, Jennifer Franciotti, Lacee Griffith and La Cuchara chef Ben Lefenfeld on air in front of Patricia Bennett's Live Painting

Thank you to Janelle Diamond, Gayle Economos, Lisa Davis, the camera man, Jennifer Franciotti, and the assistant to Chef Ben Lefenfeld.  Also, thanks to Chef Ben Lefenfeld for the great omelette!

American Visionary Art Museum Wedding and Reception April 16, 2016

Congratulations to the Bride and Groom and to their families!

American Visionary Art Museum Wedding and Reception April 16, 2016, painted by Patricia Bennett

Painting of the Gulf Stream Golf Club Member Art show, Gulfstream, Florida, March 15, 2016

Gulf Stream Golf Club Member Art Show 2016 Live Painting, by Patricia Bennett

Thanks to my art friend from the Schuler School of Fine Arts, who herself is a great artist, I got to paint the Members only Art Show at the Gulf Stream Golf Club in Gulf Stream, Florida.

I appreciated the hospitality of the Members and the Club Staff and was impressed by their love for art.

My friend pointed out that these are some of the prettiest colors that I've used in a painting.  Mostly that's due to her picking them out, there were many blues and cobalt green, and partly that's just due to the nature of Florida, it has a bright colorful feeling.

Gulf Stream, Florida is really lovely, I hope to visit again someday!

Four Seasons Baltimore Hotel Wedding Reception, December 19, 2015, painted by Patricia Bennett

Congratulations to the bride and groom and to their families and friends!

Four Seasons Baltimore Hotel Wedding Reception and First Dance, December 19, 2015, painted by Patricia Bennett

End of the night...

Four Seasons Wedding Reception, December 19, 2015, painted by Patricia Bennett

This is a preparatory sketch for adding the first dance, also the sunset view:

Little Sketch for First Dance to add to Live Painting, by Patricia Bennett

Process: We were unsure which room to set the painting in, as the view from the Cobalt room is spectacular but the Grand Ballroom was to be the focus of Victoria's Floral Creations.  It was decided that I would paint the view from the Cobalt room and incorporate it into the Grand Ballroom, then return to the Cobalt Room after dinner to paint the dancing.  I painted the view (which will be sunset after I add some rose tints to it and the Domino's Sugar highlighted sign) until 3pm in the Cobalt Room, then returned to the Grand Ballroom until 10:30pm, then returned to the Cobalt room until 1am.

Kate Taylor was event coordinator, Victoria Clausen and her team created the amazing florals, the band was from Atlanta.

Walters Art Museum Live Painting Wedding Ceremony

Painted a magical wedding and reception at the Walters Art Museum in the sculpture court, June 6, 2015.

Patricia Bennett painting in the sculpture court at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, June 6, 2015, photo taken by Robert Mintz

Walters Art Museum Live Wedding Painting by Patricia Bennett, copyright Patricia Bennett 2015

Jessica Maskell, of JEM Events, calmly organized the event, and lovely florals were provided by Amanda Schlissler of Stylish Occasions.  The bride designed a lovely sea-green layered cloth effect on a frame to stand in front of the central fountain.  Stylish Occasions created an A-frame garland to drape over it, filled with pale pink peonies and pale orange roses.  Pastor Michael Belt officiated.

D.J. Mark Maskell did a wonderful job entertaining guests on the dance floor.

It has been at least a decade since an artist painted in the sculpture court, if ever, so the Walters Art Museum, at the initiative of their event coordinator Heather Poff, arranged for me to meet with several key museum staff, including the head of security, to describe my materials and technique.  Luckily, my materials satisfied them, and after I signed an agreement, I had permission to paint in the stunning and unique space.  Stanchions were placed around me for further security.

In order to capture the architecture of the space, I visited a week earlier to sketch and take photos and began the painting in my studio.  To fit the vertical space onto the horizontal canvas, I compressed the second floor by 50%, but included the ceiling.  No one even notices!

Wedding and Reception at the Engineers Club, painted by Patricia Bennett May 25, 2014

Wedding and Reception at the Engineers Club, painted by Patricia Bennett May 25, 2014

Congratulations to the Bride and Groom!

I arrived at noon to begin painting.  The mother of the bride showed me where the ceremony would be and explained the set-up for the reception: the wedding and reception were in adjoining rooms, so I could paint both, I just needed to move my easel about 50 feet.  The bride wanted the focus to be on the celebration, so I placed the ceremony on the far right, rather than centering it.  We found a nook in the courtyard where I could set-up to paint the ceremony and the coordinator quickly moved a giant potted plant for me.

Next, I did a few sketches in my notebook to decide on composition: how to combine the wedding with the reception space, and how to make the rectangular room fit on the canvas.  Then I began with the reception room: absolutely gorgeous and covered with gold leaf.  An hour before the wedding ceremony, I moved my easel into the courtyard, also stunning, and painted the Chuppah.  After painting the ceremony, I moved my easel back into the reception room and painted through the rest of the evening.

Really really great party and celebration, very joyous, great food.  The Event Planner was Mango Productions, Rachel Fineberg did a great job.  The coordinator for the Engineers Club was also great: very helpful, very efficient, friendly.

The Engineers Club is stunning and used to be someone's house/palace.  The House of Cards TV show is filmed there sometimes.  It has to be seen to be believed!