How to find and choose a live painter for your wedding in Europe

If you've stumbled upon this blog, you might be planning your wedding (or event) in Europe, and are considering hiring a live painter to capture your day. We're here to help you find a professional artist. Our (work in progress) directory site features live painters from different European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland.

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Yes, live painting is not 'just' an American phenomenon! Actually, we have great painting practices and traditions in several countries. Most of the professional paints that our American colleagues use, are developed in Europe.

Having an artist capture an impression of your day, elevates your event and provides artistic inspiration for your guests. Afterwards, you get to keep the painting as a personal souvenir. In this blog, five criteria for your consideration, to find the perfect match for you:

1. Style

2. How the painter works

3. Location and travel

4. Budget

5. Personal connection

1. Style of the live artist

First off, we hope that after your great day, you will love your new personal artwork. It's there to last a lifetime, as long as your love and mariage or even as a new family heirloom. As such, we advise to look for a live painter whose style you love. Consider:

• Colour choices: do you love natural colours? Maybe vibrant, bright ones? Or would a muted or pastel palette fit your taste better?

• Composition and moments: would you like a romantic close-up portrait of just the two of you, or would you prefer a setting with your closest friends? Or are you looking for a dynamic pose from your first dance?

• Technique: are the paintings impressionistic, rough, detailed, realistic, cartoony, stylised?

You don't have to actually know all the right words – hiring a live painter doest not require an art history diploma ;) but it helps to communicate which examples from one's portfolio you like best. We ask all of our contributing artists to define their style in a few words.

2. How the painter works

This influences their style and what they can do for you. Some make their best work while they are able to take all creative freedom, and others strive to work within a detailed briefing to match the client's wishes. Some might only work on the day, and others might always take the painting back with them for studio touch-ups. Most artist have a bit of info about their process mentioned on their site, so you know what to expect.

3. Location and travel

Where in Europe your wedding or event is going to be, affects the painters you can choose from. You can check the map to see where our featured artists are located. We ask them to mention on their page how far they're willing to travel – this differs from person to person – and what languages they speak.

Please consider: the further the painter has to travel, the more important it is to inquire well in advance, especially for the high seasons months (in Europe, that's generally May – October). It's more difficult to plan for international travel in between excisting bookings.

4. Budget

Of course, hiring a live painter has to fit within your budget. Most of our painters have prices on their websites, or are happy to go over the options together. Please consider we only feature professional artists, with experience, who will charge accordingly.

With travel, there are usually additional costs involved. Some artists have indications on their website or have local travel included in their packages. As there's a big variety of possible locations, travel fees for international travel are usually calculated in a custom or bespoke offer, including at least one hotel stay.

5. Personal connection

Your wedding or event might be a very personal gathering – and an live painter is one of those vendors that will be there, on location, during the actual day. You'd want to be able to communicate clearly with the painter of your choice – that might be with a bit of humor, down to earth, stricly business or very personal, through email or a videocall. You'd want to get along at least a bit. Our artists have their social media listed, where you can find posts and videos about them. Most of them are open for a videocall or chat to get to know you, so you can make sure it's a good fit.

Ready to take a look at our artists and their portfolios?