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THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO CAPTURE SPECIAL MOMENTS There are many ways to capture special moments at your wedding for posterity. A professional photographer will take care of posed and candid moments of your big day, sending the best ones to you to languish in boxes or digital storage until you have time to put together that scrapbook. (It's only been 15 years. I'll get to it soon.) You can try counting on your guests, their phones and varied skills to document everything you didn't know was happening while you were focused on your betrothed. Or, how about setting out disposable cameras on all the tables that result in a pile of blurry shots with no context and questionable content? It seems like a fun way to include the guests in the festivities but may be more work than it's worth.
Photos and videos are an important part of documenting your big day and should always be planned for. Embracing the communal aspect of the shared experience of a wedding is also worthwhile. There's a recent trend for a creative and impactful way to capture everything such a momentous event means: live wedding painting, an artist creating a portrait of the couple live on site.
"I first heard about it from a friend I was visiting on the East Coast," says Sasha Lyth, local artist and art educator. She was enchanted by the idea and decided to bring it to the Redwood Coast. As a life-long artist with a BA in studio art and an MA in education, both from Humboldt State University, who has been teaching art to local youth, she certainly has the skill set for her new endeavor. Last year, she offered to do a live painting for a friend who was getting married. The experience went well, and she's been booking events ever since.
A client starts by filling out the contact form on Lyth's website. They will have a consultation before the wedding day to determine details. That's when Lyth gets a "vibe" for her client and the kind of aesthetic the ceremony will have. She and the client will decide on the background and what moment they want to capture. In this way, the portrait can capture more than a snapshot, representing the whole event and what it means to the people getting married. Lyth will come two to four hours early on the wedding day to set up somewhere guests can watch her work without being disruptive. Then she gets the background started. Guests are encouraged to watch her and ask questions. Children especially seem entranced by watching someone painting. She is happy to talk and explain the process, having had years of experience as the art teacher at Redwood Coast Montessori School. As guests arrive, she's noting special little details to add to the portrait.
When the agreed-upon moment happens, Lyth will take a snapshot to refer to, then continue to paint. This way lovely details, such as a pet or falling flower petals, can be added. Sometimes guests influence the painting in some way, like the time the children were allowed to add a few brush strokes of their own. Lyth will continue her live painting performance until the end of the reception. The portrait won't be completely done at that point, so she takes it back to her studio for finishing touches. After about two weeks, the finished, ready-to-hang, one-of-a-kind piece will be ready for the clients.
Weddings are a communal event where precious memories are made for everyone involved. A live wedding painting by Lyth enhances the moment and the memory of it for the guests and the couple. She captures not just the people and place, but the spirit and emotion of a very important day.
Lyth is having a great time with her new endeavor, and the opportunity to be a practicing artist as well as an art educator. "I love to work with the couples and get to know people," she says. Her painting captures a special moment in a way no other medium can, by becoming a part of the important, communal experience that is a wedding.
