the wedding
Posted by Stephen Quirke on October 29, 2009 under Art, en plein air, figure, landscape, painting, watercolor, watercolour, wedding | 
3 Comments to Read
I spent the morning preparing for the wedding project and arrived in the reserve will all my stuff packed up neatly. And just as well – the forest glade had been transformed with chairs, flowers and a bower. And the position I chose no longer worked so I moved back a little and other side a tree. When I set up I had a Metalasia (Metalasia muricata) bush prickling my back – but OK. I started the painting about an hour and half before the ceremony and after the first wash help attach the last few rows of cushions to chairs – and then the guests began to arrive. I adopted my “focus on the job at hand” attitude and people came in and settled down.
It was a beautiful wedding, short and simple. too short to finish but I stayed for another hour, completing the painting. It started raining and I escaped under a ‘Bedouin tent’ where they had signed the register. Here is what I gave them:
This is on Arches 300gm Rough 570x780mm (the 600gm sheet was Fabriano rough and I was not keen to take chances).
I suggested they crop the paint to something like this:
or this:
Here is a photo taken by the wedding photographer, jac kritzinger, of me painting:
I have to get a smaller palette! Actually I was concerned about being able to mix large washes fast as I was working full size. An interesting unexpected was that I have never painted in a tie before and had to be careful not to get my tie wet in my water-jar.
Here are some photos taken by the groom’s sister:
Stephen Quirke said,
This post received the following comments on my previous blog from which I copied it:
swatch
Submitted on 2009/10/28 at 5:58am
Hi K
this was all very special and stretching. A real challenge.
Yes I would take this on again – in the right context.
I just love painting so much – what a strange thing! I just love doing it.
Thank you for your comments – I have been battling the self-critical demon over this.
Stephen
lookingforbeauty
Submitted on 2009/10/28 at 5:44am
Hi Stephen,
I agree with Carol. What a wonderful gift. They will treasure this always.
I think you are incredibly brave to promise to do a painting on site while the wedding is in progress. That would be unthinkably difficult for me. I paint so slowly.
The delicacy of the way you painted the couple echoes the feelings that people have on such a big day.
Would you do more of these?
K
swatch
Submitted on 2009/10/27 at 8:13am
thanks June – I only realised how stressful it was the next day. We were committed to a dance that evening so I did not attend the reception though they had invited us. Ai – hectic evening – S
InkSplodge!
Submitted on 2009/10/26 at 8:23pm
Thanks for saying what your initial idea was for this, it makes it even better to look at the second time – and you achieved it. You should be patting yourself loudly on the back, especially as I can only imagine how stressful it would have been. I bet you ‘relaxed’ quite a lot at the reception – heh!
swatch
Submitted on 2009/10/26 at 6:37am
They were so beautiful – it was lovely to be there in this way. The idea of going back to our wedding ’size’ sounds compelling. But with our growth we have taken on so much else. I bet you couldn’t paint watercolours then for instance. Your comments here are so uplifting – if you only knew…
swatch
Submitted on 2009/10/26 at 6:23am
Thanks Leslie – phew! – what a project – S
swatch
Submitted on 2009/10/26 at 6:20am
Hey June – this is so encouraging for me. Yes I was a bit nervous but as soon as I started painting I settled down. I had an idea of what I wanted for the bride to be light and delicate and for the groom to be strong and connected with the dark of the trees. I thought it was wonderful that they were married by his father so I wanted him there but more subdued. Both of them love the mountains and the forest so I wanted to show all of that. I had back up paper to start again but the light was fading and it rained a little and by the end of the afternoon I was exhausted so I don’t want to think about that, as you say.
Thank you for pointing out so much about the painting – I am very self-critical about my work. I must say that part of my strategy was to suspend my judgement and put it here for comment from my friends here. S
Carol King
Submitted on 2009/10/25 at 11:02pm
what a wonderful wedding gift! What a lucky couple. You did such a beautiful job. My wedding anniversary is next week. I could re-create our wedding so you could paint it…if only I could still fit in my wedding dress!
lesliepaints
Submitted on 2009/10/25 at 9:27pm
I really like the look of filtered light you caught with this. Makes the moment look magical. I gotta give it to you man. Your painting from life is just getting better!
InkSplodge!
Submitted on 2009/10/25 at 4:39pm
So Stephen, you’re now officially a wedding painter – was your adrenalin pumping? I mean what if you’d messed up and had to start again? Doesn’t bear thinking about…so it’s just as well that you didn’t eh?
So romantic! You’ve treated the couple very delicately, it’s lovely the way their bodies and especially her skin contrast with the riot of nature going on behind them. It’s definitely best cropped. And all this done with a prickle on your back.
Isabelle said,
The problems some of us have !!! Dipping your tie in your water jar !!! REALLY!!
Stephen Quirke said,
heh heh – funny little thing that – S
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