Jeffiny and Steve. 22×30. Watercolor.
This is a commissioned studio wedding painting of Jeffiny and Steve. I had done one of my first live event painting for Jeffiny! Jeffiny was organizing a fund-raiser for the NC Contemporaries group and had invited me to paint live for Derby Day silent auction. I recently did another live painting for NC Contemporaries.
Jeffiny and Steve had their wedding in California. Jeffiny keeps up with my art and photography on the Facebook. She liked my live wedding paintings. Since I could not paint live, a beautiful wedding painting was on her Christmas wish list! Steve wanted this to be a surprise for her. But, then he did what I do many times for my wife: he invited Jeffiny to participate in our meeting, to make sure that Jeffiny’s Christmas present will be perfect in every way!
When I paint on location, I work quickly to capture the moment. When painting in the studio I have more time to work on the drawing, composition, color scheme and details. I studied the album and digital images that Jeffiny had shared with me.
I created below two sketches for Jeffiny and Steve’s approval. They both liked the kiss sketch!
Jeffiny and Steve wanted the largest watercolor painting I could do, so I painted on a full sheet 22×30 Arches 140 lb cold press paper. Since the painting was taped down on a Gator board, the actual size is little less than 22×30. I prefer Watercolor blocks when I paint on location. The reason behind that is, I do not always know if I will use the Cold press, Hot press, Rough surface, 140 lb or 300 lb paper. Using blocks allows me to work quickly on the location. With studio paintings, I can tape down the paper of any size.
I started with the drawing. I used my sketches, album and digital images as my reference. I used washes of Raw Sienna to capture the warmth of the background and the light. I worked on this painting for several days, filling in details, glazing and refining. I used Winsor and Newton paints. The size of the painting required me to use larger brushes for the most part.
Below is the finished painting with Jeffiny and Steve. I thank them for the patronage!
If you are a bride or an event planner and looking for a unique keepsake for the special day, I would love to hear from you. I accept commissions for live and studio paintings. An original work of art makes a great gift!
– Tesh Parekh
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