All a wedding painter needs is a word and a prayer right?!
Nope!
A live wedding painter’s guide to the MUST-HAVES for every wedding…
And this post does contain affiliate links. 💕
The VERY FIRST wedding I EVER painted –
I forgot a pencil.
It’s a true story, and if you ever see my easel now, you’ll always see at LEAST 2-5 pencils available at ALL TIMES.
They never leave my easel so I’m always prepared for my upcoming live wedding painting…
Full disclosure, I don’t need a pencil to paint with watercolor, but it *does* help me with some finer details. For example — basic sketching before I start painting.
Also – in reference to the above story…The completed painting was beautiful even without the pencil…Because I’m a wizard with watercolor and live wedding painting.
In this post though, you’ll learn exactly what I have in my easel for EVERY wedding. These are the wedding painter MUST-HAVES, the things that I cannot leave home without, even if I *think* I may not need them.
No. 1: Easel
Live wedding painter here, and without an easel, my watercolor art would have to sit neatly on the ground or on a table. And really, where’s the fun experience in that?
An easel is an imperative that I cannot live without.
I use it to hold the watercolor paper and paint palette for live painting. It’s like my trusty sidekick holding EVERYTHING I could need.
No. 2: Canvas.Co light
As a wedding painter, I have to have a light. Most lighting (unless it’s broad daylight outside) can affect the way paint looks — a light combats this with ease.
There are quite a few different lights out there, and this is the one I am partial to in my own studio space.
I can change the light depending on where I am – blue, white, or amber. I can adjust the brightness so I won’t blind anyone either. It’s pretty amazing, and it shines perfectly in the spot I want.
Why bring a light? Well, because the lighting may change — dusk, darkness, etc. BUT I need to be able to see my palette and colors. No matter the darkness level, this light ensures I can see to paint your wedding.
No. 3: Paintbrushes
As a fine artist, I don’t use my fingers to paint.😂
I have a few favorite paint brushes.
For wedding painting, the ones I choose most often for underlayers are my larger brushes for large colors. When wedding painting, I choose smaller brushes for the details. I use mostly round brushes to capture whichever wedding moment your heart desires.
No. 4: Water
I’m a watercolorist, which is pretty fun in and of itself, but without water, the paint will not work.
I’ve tried…
Luckily, any wedding painter can find water at basically any venue.
And just in case? I always have a water bottle or two stored away in my easel *just in case*…
Having a never ending supply of water ensures that as a wedding painter, I can ALWAYS paint — and that means your dream day gets to turn into a timeless heirloom for you to treasure for generations.
No. 5: Paper
A wedding painter needs something to paint with. Some use canvas, but watercolor needs paper.
Watercolor paper is one of the most important parts of the piece. It’s important to have a paper I’m familiar with.
If traveling, I always bring my own paper plus an extra sheet *in case*.
Some watercolor paper can react differently than others. It’s important to be confident of what I’m using.
Ask me how many times I’ve had to start over? Never – BUT it’s better to be safe than sorry, and making sure I have an extra paper puts my heart at ease.
There you have it – the 5 things I MUST have in my easel (or on my easel) at every wedding. And no, I didn’t mention the pencil, but that’s because I don’t *need* it, I simply prefer to have one.
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Now you know exactly what I have in my easel for every wedding as a wedding painter, but what about what a live wedding painter does? I’ve got my foolproof guide to live wedding painting teed up for you to read next.
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