Showing People What's Right in Front of Them
The calculated hours before any wedding event is spent packing my art supplies into my car as if I’m trying to beat the next level of Tetris.
“Do I have my lamp?”
“Nicole, don’t forget your favorite pen.”
“Did you pack your extra pencil since you always seem to misplace the original pencil and find it later in your purse.”
“Why was it in my purse?”
“Wait, here’s three pencils at the bottom of the purse. Awesome!”
Now that I’ve been live painting at weddings and corporate events for a couple years now, I feel like I’ve got a rhythm. I have learned the art, pun intended, of how to compact a photo worthy art station for the venue that will make me and my clients happy.
One thing that I have been doing more recently is finding a scene at the venue that has been untouched and perfectly placed for me to paint. A few weekends ago, I painted a flower arrangement at the Leo Ballroom that really inspired me. The vibrant reds and oranges of the flowers against the white blank canvas of the ballroom really stood out to me.
When I saw the photo in my mind, I seized the moment, snapped a photo and returned to my table. It was the first painting I made for the night and for the rest of the evening people were stopping to see the first sneak peek of the room whose doors hadn’t even been opened yet for the beautiful reveal.
Connecting with guests and strangers through art is all I’ve ever really wanted to do. Whenever I’m waiting in line at a coffee shop to order my much needed Americano, I’m looking around to see what’s waiting to be put on paper. Showing people what’s right in front of them is so fun to share and I’m so thankful I am invited to such special moments to celebrate through paint.
Now, back to packing my car to the perfect brim. I’m always looking for the best ways to be as prepared as possible but then minutes before every event I congratulate myself at a job well done. And thennnn realize I didn’t pack my second pencil.
Godspeed that I don’t lose this one.
