New Wedding Paintings

An intimate wedding at the Northwoods Resort in Big Bear, CA gave me the pleasure of driving up on a very beautiful day, with crystal blue skies and even patches of snow! The room had a nice "rustic elegance" and the wedding theme & decor tied-in perfectly with the forest setting. That's the bride's father playing the piano in the foreground, and her mother to the left of him with the video camera. I also painted a wedding "runner" (but round), which the couple stood on while exchangeing vows under the arch. More details on this wedding in the next blog...

A trip to San Antonio, Texas gave me the honor and joy of painting a wedding reception held in the historic Coates Chapel, built in the 1870's, with the most beautiful stained glass windows. It is part of the campus of the Southwest School of Art and Craft in the old, downtown section of the city.

Leonesse Cellars, a winery in Temecula, California, was the unique, festive setting for this wedding reception painting. I loved how the wedding cake was showcased on a wine barrel!

The Bell Tower in Rancho Santa Margarita was the setting for this beautiful outdoor wedding. You'd never know it was raining, and the ceremony was held under a tent. That's the beauty of a painting-- you can leave out the stuff you don't want!

Here are the photos that her photographer (Hazelnut Photography) took during the reception while I was finishing the painting:

For information on any of the venues:

Northwoods Resort, Big Bear, CA:

http://www.northwoodsresort.com/

Coates Chapel, San Antonio, TX:
http://www.swschool.org/

Leonesse Cellars, Temecula, CA:

http://www.leonessecellars.com/

Visit the bride's blog for info on the location at the Bell Tower in Rancho Santa Margarita:

http://relentlessbride.com/2009/03/booking-venue.html

She blogged about me, too! Just go to:

http://www.relentlessbride.com/

Type in my name, and you can find all the blog postings. I really appreciate the cross-promotion that blogging offers.

For information on Hazelnut Photography:

http://hazelnutphotography.com/blog/amy-jean-larry-the-wedding

Recent Live Event Wedding Paintings

This was painted at the beautiful Westlake Seasons Hotel, in Westlake Village last month.





I was captivated by the romantic choreography of the first dance.

Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino mountains was the setting for this wedding painting.

The incredible blues in the sky and water were perfectly complimented by the bright pink accents.

The palatial grandness of the ballroom at the Glendale Palladio gave a royal quality to this dance scene.

The swirling fog added to the mystic of the moment. The bride and groom were joined by three other couples during their first dance, as shown in the painting.

I love working as a live event artist!

For information on any of the venues:

http://www.fourseasons.com/westlakevillage/weddings/

http://www.laresort.com/lars/weddings.htm

http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/palladio-glendale/a53feb76bd185e1e.html

Summer Weddings in Dallas, TX and Carpinteria, CA

Among the places I painted this summer; were weddings at the Ritz Carlton in Dallas, Texas; and on the beach in Carpinteria, California.



The Ritz Carlton provided an exquisite venue for a wedding, a beautifully decorated ballroom bathed in pink light.




The stage included a large band, and a string quartet to serenade the newlyweds during their the first dance, all of which appeared silhouetted against the dramatic lighting.





Fabulous foral and crystal chandelier centerpieces adorned the tables.

It was a stunning scene, all the planning in place providing a most elegant celebration!

I always try to capture the best pose possible for the painting. A beautiful pair, don't you think?

For more information on the Ritz Carlton in Dallas:

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Dallas/Events/Default.htm

Next blog post:

West Coast wedding ceremony on the beach in Carpinteria, California!

Backyard Wedding in Corona, CA

I painted a beautiful wedding reception in a sprawling, lushly landscaped yard in Corona. The blues and greens were a delight to my eye, and a perfect compliment to the brick red fence surrounding the property.



As a live event painter, my first task was to quickly establish the background, leaving room in the foreground for the bride and groom to be painted during their first dance.




The wedding took place on what would later become the dance floor. Navy blue cloth-covered tables on my right, a pool in the distance, and a pond to the left, reflected the gorgeous azure sky.





I nearly lost it (emotionally) upon seeing the groom in his military dress blues, as my own Marine son's wedding is coming up in just a few weeks. One of the guests made a special toast, giving thanks for his service to our country. Oh, be still, my heart!




I enjoyed adding the bride and groom, her parents and their guests, especially the children. The kids were very interested in watching me paint, and I delighted in their excitement and curiosity. The pink flowers and accents, and the colorful clothing, really added to the life of the painting.

Once the painting was finished, the kids had fun looking for themselves in the picture.

It gives me great joy to paint such a special day, creating an everlasting memory on canvas. The bride and groom were very happy, and that made my day!

Yepremian Banquet Hall, Glendale, CA

I painted a beautiful Armenian wedding reception held at the lavishly decorated Yepremian Banquet Hall in Glendale, CA.



I loved capturing all the decorative elements in the ballroon; the ornate guilded mouldings, rich draperies, and even ostrich feather centerpieces!




The bride wanted me to be sure and include the silver wedding cake and crystal tree on the cake table.



Here is the lovely couple on the dancefloor during their first dance.

With many important family and members of the wedding party surrounding them on the dancefloor, the newlyweds were delighted with the finished painting! I had a great time and especially loved the music I got to paint to!

For more information about the Yepremian Banquet Hall:

818-241-5432

Laguna Beach Diver's Cove Wedding

I recently painted a sunset wedding at a very beautiful location in Laguna Beach, California called Diver's Cove. Despite a few cold and drizzly days that week, the weather cleared up and was nearly perfect!

I arrived a few hours before the start of the ceremony to begin the scenery. The lifeguard stand "marked the spot" for a small, intimate wedding soon to take place.

The bride and groom love the ocean and wanted me to capture the expanse of the setting. Here is my view looking south. She specifically requested that I get the palm trees at the top of the bluff.

About an hour before the wedding was to start, the alter and decorations showed up in my field of vision. The boxes contained flower petals which were to be strewn on the sand, to create an aisle. Her colors were of the glorious sunset skies that Southern California beaches are well-known for.

The first "figure" to enter the picture was the guitarist.

Finally, people gathered and the big moment arrived! The flower girl, maid of honor and bride came down the stairs leading to the sand, kicked off their shoes and proceeded down the aisle.

I put down my brushes and picked up my camera. Knowing the light would be gone soon, I took pictures to work from later. The crowd was invited to gather 'round.

Although the standing guests obscured my view, I was able to capture some good shots as the ceremony took place. I loved the simple elegance, bright colors, and breezy freshness of this beach wedding!

The bride held her bouquet the entire time, full of fragrant, tropical flowers. Gentle waves lapping nearly at their feet, made such a beautiful backdrop for the exchange of vows.

Here is my view from behind my easel just after the ceremony ended.

This is what I accomplished on the canvas up to the ceremony. I "marked" where the wedding itself should be positioned, and then finished the painting back at my studio.

This is a detail of the finished painting. Although the Spirit in the Sky did not deliver the explosive sunset we were all hoping for, I added a subtle glow to illuminate and emphasize the bride and groom and touches of sparkling reflections on the water in the distance.

When I delivered the painting to the newlyweds, they both had the most awesome reaction and it just made my day! Oh, how I love my job!

Paradise Gardens Wedding

This is a new wedding painting from Paradise Gardens in Oceanside. The grounds are beautiful; with a lily pond, weeping willow, palms and green foilage all around. The red accent color makes a perfect compliment to all the greenery.







Here is the setting, with the gazebo as the main focal point. This was a smaller canvas which focused on the wedding party...





and the bride and groom exchanging their vows.

New Live Event Paintings

This was painted for a corporate VIP audience at a wine tasting party at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. I had exactly two hours to accomplish an ocean scene (looking at the ocean scene from where I was positioned on the hotel balcony). The painting was gifted via raffle to one of the attendees.






This was painted at an ISES (International Special Events Society) Los Angeles chapter mixer at the Ambassador West in Pasadena. The caterer for the event purchased the canvas for his office.






My second trip to New Jersey produced this painting from a wedding reception held at the beautiful Rockleigh Country Club. All the people depicted are important family members and close friends. All twenty-nine!







This was a wedding celebration with traditional Korean costumes. I loved the brightly dressed women and the colbalt- blue gown the bride wore for the first dance.

New Jersey Wedding

Last week I flew to New Jersey to paint a wedding at the beautiful Florentine Gardens Estate in River Vale, a suburb just north of Newark.

Here is my set-up in the corner of the vast ballroom.

I begin by establishing the composition about an hour or so before the reception begins.

The bride specifically wanted me to capture the chandeliers and the tree branch/orchid centerpieces.

Here I am working as quickly as possible to get the background painted before the arrival of the wedding party.

The ballroom, tables, lights, flowers, everything-- it was all just spectacular!

She also wanted the cake in the painting. This one had sparkling silver jewels on it, sitting on a bed of orchid petals.

Here is the bride and groom during their wedding dance-- which is the focal point of the painting.

Then I realized the cake had gotten lop-sided. Had to fix that. Since the room was very dark by this stage of the reception, all the guests appeared as silhouettes. I felt it important to capture the two sisters, and mothers of the bride and groom. The important men are scattered around, seated and standing in various places.

Here is the final piece. The bride was thrilled, as it was a surprise gift from her groom. There is nothing like it for an artist-- to paint during the most special and happy occasion of two people's lives.

I had the best time in New Jersey! The people were very friendly and welcoming to the "artist from Cali." It was more beautiful than I could even imagine with cherry trees in bloom; and well, trees everywhere!

I took a quick side-trip into New York City the next day-- actually drove my little rental into Manhatten...

I will share my NYC adventure on my next blog entry.