PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A VENDOR INTERVIEW. LOREN JACKSON PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHS WEDDINGS. JACQUELINE IS THE VERY TALENTED PAINTER WHO YOU WILL WANT TO CONTACT DIRECTLY IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A WEDDING PAINTER
Wedding Vendor Spotlight
I first came across Jacqueline while doing some venue research. That’s the funny thing with Instagram and hashtags. It’s a rabbit hole and the next thing you know, you stumble across some serious talent.
When I clicked on Jacqueline’s photo she painted at Tenk West Bank, I was so intrigued. Then I clicked on her profile and just scrolled. And scrolled. And scrolled until there were no more photos to keep scrolling through.
After picking my jaw up off my floor looking at the beautiful live wedding painting Instagram posts from weddings in and around Cleveland, I emailed Jacqueline and asked if I could talk about her on my blog. I had more grace about it than that, but I had this urge to share her talent on my blog with all my readers.
So here we are. I’m beyond excited for you to “meet” this talented live wedding painter and have the same appreciation for her talent that I do. Because, wow guys…just wow!
Cleveland Live Wedding Painter
Getting to know Jacqueline
Favorite Restaurant in Northeast Ohio
Guido’s in Chesterland, OH (my hometown) They have THE best pizza I’ve ever had in my life (and this includes a Summer I spent in Italy!) and their eggplant parm is my absolute favorite (well besides Mom’s of course!) Guido’s catered all the important celebrations in my life from my first communion, to my high school graduation to my rehearsal dinner. Exciting sidenote – they recently expanded their business and built an event and reception center that I have yet to paint!! 🙂
What is your favorite weekend activity when you’re not painting a wedding?
Spending time with my family out at our family forest in Harpersfield, OH
Favorite Wedding Month
September
Why did you want to become a live wedding painter?
I wanted to be an artist for literally as long as I can remember! The first time I remember someone asking me “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I responded “an artist” and they said “well you don’t want to be starving though… artists don’t make much money.” (I think I was around 4 or 5 years old at the time) I immediately corrected my answer from that point on to be “famous artist” because I figured a famous artist couldn’t be starving haha. I wouldn’t say I’m famous, but I also wouldn’t say I’m starving so I guess it worked out! 🙂
What makes your business stand out from others?
If you are asking how my business stands out from other live wedding painters, I would say my painting style itself and the great amount of time I spend on each painting. I spend a significant amount of time after the wedding adding detail and customizing the painting in my studio until it’s just right.
The way I see it, live wedding painting is really two services in one. One job is to provide entertainment for guests during the celebration, and the other is to create a complete one-of-a-kind work of art for the bride and groom, to preserve the memory of their wedding day. I definitely love interacting with wedding guests and chatting about my process as the painting comes to life while I’m on site, but to me, THE most important thing is the quality of the finished artwork. This is why I take so much time after the wedding going through all the wedding photos, incorporating any customization requests from the client, and making sure everything is just right before I deliver.
All live event painters have their own style, and I would describe mine as impressionism with realistic details. It’s a tricky thing to achieve the perfect balance of messy, raw energy and realistic/recognizable elements, but when you do, it feels like magic. In the end, I don’t stop until I feel a painting truly captures the energy and essence of the celebration and details that are most personal and special.
I like to think that my wedding paintings will be cherished by my clients and passed down in their families for generations… For a painting to be worthy of that, it needs a certain level of attention and love from the artist!
What wedding trend do you hope sticks around?
Well obviously live wedding painting! 🙂 But second to that, I really love the trend of fingerprint artwork as a guestbook. For my own wedding, I drew a tree that was filled with leaves added by our guests and I was so happy with how it turned out. I think it’s such a fun way to remember everyone who was there and I love the thought of everyone being a part of it, creating something together for the couple.
Describe the perfect wedding
Simple – The couple is surrounded by people who love them and share in their joy, the bride feels like the most beautiful lady in the room, the groom feels like the luckiest guy in the room, and everyone has access to a never-ending amount of champagne and cake! 🙂
Why should a Bride hire a live wedding painter?
Art provides such a special, unique way to communicate with people and share personal experiences. Every live wedding painting is one of a kind memory and a unique work of art made up of many tiny stories and behind the scenes details. I love it because I get to be a special part of so many amazing, once in a lifetime celebrations and help immortalize those memories for people with my art in a way that can be cherished by their families for generations.
Explain your process as a live wedding painter
The day of the wedding, I’m usually on-site painting for around 4-6 hours, depending on the size of the canvas and the timeline of things. I like to arrive a couple hours early to get set up and start painting in the background before guests arrive. Then, as guests show up, I start adding the crowd and more energy to the painting. I have an easel lamp that helps me see my canvas event if the lighting is dim, but usually once the dance floor opens up, things get so dark that it’s difficult for me to see the people that I’m painting, so that’s usually when I pack up and take the painting home with me. (This works out great because trust me, the day of your wedding, the last thing you’re going to want to worry about is safely transporting a wet painting!)
My overall goal is to capture the essence and energy of the celebration happening around me. I usually take some photos with my phone of anything that catches my eye. It’s the little things that really make it so much more personalized… and that’s also something that I give my clients the chance to be a part of too.
After you get your wedding photos, if there is anything, in particular, you want me to make sure I include in the painting, please let me know! Usually, I don’t paint the bride and groom into the painting until after the wedding, because I do this from a photograph that I typically get from the wedding photographer.
I usually spend about 20-30 hours finishing up my live wedding paintings in my studio after the event, making sure they are the perfect balance of messy, raw energy and realistic/recognizable elements.
2019 Brides, I’m sad to tell you that Jacqueline is booked for the entire season. But for 2020 Brides, you better contact her while she still has some availability. With the enormous time and dedication she pours into every painting, Jacqueline can only take a limited number of live wedding painting events a year.
