Am I Cheating?

I love all types of art, but I have always been drawn to anything that depicts realism. For me, I love zooming in to the tiny details that the artist has captured, a small swipe of paint for a highlight, a tiny square of a shadow, all those seemingly insignificant parts that bring the painting the life.

So it’s no surprise that that’s where I sit in my pocket of the art world. My style of live wedding painting is highly realistic and I pride myself on creating something that truly reflects my subjects and this is something I am continuously working on to improve and perfect.

Sketching out

But here’s the question – does it matter how I get to the final result? Does it matter that I use a grid to sketch out my portraits?

Now, some artists (and this is based on real life conversations I have had) would say that using a grid to sketch out your portrait is cheating. It doesn’t count. A true artist would be able to draw the portrait free hand.

And for a long time, I hung on to these words and definitely felt less worthy of the title of ‘artist’ because I didn’t draw my portraits freehand. But, with the more weddings I’ve done, I come to realise that it’s the end product that my couples fall in love with – not how I got there.

So here are 3 things I like to remind myself of:

Firstly, my couples are buying my service as a ‘live’ wedding painter. This means I have to be able to paint live at their wedding. I wouldn’t be able to that, or would certainly do less of it, if I was spending hours capturing the proportion, perspective and a likeness all free hand. My couples want the experience of a painter for them and their guests on their day. They want to see me paint, and for their painting to be largely created on the day.

Capturing the painting.

Secondly, my couples are buying my services as a live wedding ‘painter’. They are wanting a painting at the end of this. 80% of what I create is with paint, and I believe that’s where my skill set really comes alive. My understanding of colour, how to mix different hues, how light and shadow work together to create form, how to change my brush strokes to create depth – these are things my couples hire me for.

An end of the night reveal of a painting.

Thirdly, my couples buy into my service because of the realistic style I offer. There are plenty of different styles of painting out there, but all the couples that have booked me, have done so because they want something realistic. Therefore, I need to be able to capture that.

So yes, I will continue to use a grid.

Not because I’m lazy. Or because I can’t draw.

But because I want to offer my couples the best experience on the day and the best representation of them in their finished portrait.

If you are interested in booking me as your live wedding artist, please visit my website to complete an enquiry form at www.theliveweddingpainter.co.uk or contact me directly at info@theliveweddingpainter.co.uk