I’m back for a third instalment of this blogging malarky and this week I thought I’d better introduce myself to you!
I’m Kirsty, a primary school teacher turned live wedding artist, based in Buckinghamshire.
It’s fair to say I have been interested in art my whole life and I very much have my Dad to thank for that, teaching me how to draw at an early age. Some of my fondest memories of secondary school were those spent up in the Art department, usually in any spare time I had working on various projects. I loved it that much that I actually chose to take an Art & Design GCSE and an Art Textiles GCSE! Naturally this followed with Art at A-Level and then a Foundation Diploma at college. The whole time I was passionate about painting and working in acrylics and even painted a 6ft canvas of myself for my final project!
However, when it came to university choices, I threw a curveball my own way and opted for a degree in Commercial Photography. My, naïve, 19 year-old, reasoning at the time, was that being a Fine Artist wasn’t going to be a secure job. There was possibly an air of truth in that but I didn’t even give it a chance, which I do now regret. However, it was off to the University of Derby to study Commercial Photography – specifically a course aimed at teaching you how to make money from taking photos!
My 3 years there came and went and surprise, surprise, my passion wasn’t in it - probably because it wasn’t painting. Having a small panic that I’d just wasted 3 years of my life, I had (another) sudden change of direction. I decided to train as a primary school teacher. Since then I have had a decade-long career across several schools in Buckinghamshire and dabbled here and there in arty projects along the way.
It wasn’t until October 2021, when I attended two weddings in the same week - one of my best friends, and the other my brother-in-law - that the art spark properly returned! Luckily, my photographic intuition had hung around all those years as I managed to capture two beautiful images from both confetti throws.
Following the weddings, I had the crazy idea that I would paint these two images as gifts for Christmas. Crazy because this came to me mid-November, so I had my work cut out to get them done in time! Fast forward to Christmas, and I was so proud and honoured to gift my creations to the happy couples.
Then in 2022 I started seeing other artists on TikTok painting weddings, but doing it live! And I immediately thought “I want in on this!” So in 2023, after many months of thinking, painting, talking and more thinking, The Live Wedding Painter was born!
As you join me now, I am about to finish my final year of full-time teaching having taken the plunge to go part time so I can put my everything into live wedding painting! I am so excited for what the future holds and for that moment where I can prove 19-year-old me wrong and say that I made painting into a career!
Here’s a little bit about my painting style:
My goal as a wedding painter is to take the magic, love and happiness of your wedding and encapsulate it into a portrait that serves as the best memory of your day. Whatever moment you choose to capture, it would be a privilege and an honour to be part of your special day.
I specialise in intimate, couple-only portraits that capture the love and connection between you and your significant other. My compositions are mostly cropped in to feature on the happy couple. I want to celebrate the love you have, so I ensure it fills as much of the space as possible.
My painting style is that of a realistic nature and I pride myself in being able to capture a real likeness of my subjects. You can expect to be able to recognise yourself in your painting by the end of your wedding. Over time, I have developed a style that includes a soft, fuzzy background with much of the detailing saved for the main portrait. This allows the beauty of your portrait to really stand out.
If you'd like to see more of my work, or find out more about live wedding painting, please use the links below to get in touch - I'd love to hear from you!
Website: www.theliveweddingpainter.co.uk
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