Live Wedding Guest Portraits
Portraits provide great entertainment and fun for your guests while also giving them something that lasts, something very personal, a lovely reminder of your wedding.
It’s also a nice surprise for everyone, people are always delighted to see a portrait artist coming to a wedding!
I offer live portrait sessions in 3 different styles, from very stylised to more realistic – you can choose what works better for your wedding! I can paint portraits of individuals, couples, or small groups and I can draw them live from observation (with the guests sitting for me) or from photos.
I paint guest portraits either digitally or traditionally, on paper. Your guests can have their digital portraits sent to their phone, or download them from an online gallery immediately or any time later. Either way, I am happy for your guests to watch me paint – it’s all part of the fun!
If you would like to chat about the options please get in touch.
3 styles, your choice!
You can choose one of 3 styles I offer:
MORE ABOUT EACH STYLE
I consider a good likeness essential in either style, no matter how stylised.
Guest portraits in style inspired by quentin blaKE
Fun, simple illustrations of your guests (and you) done in a style inspired by the magnificent Sir Quentin Blake. Great entertainment option 🙂
If you are looking for something lighthearted, these might be the perfect option for your wedding or other special occasion.
This style takes me about 6 minutes per face (about 10 guests per hour), which makes them the quickest portraits I can do. It also means I will have a better chance of being able to sketch more of your guests in the time given. Please note that the timing is just a rough estimate and will depend on various factors. I would be very happy to discuss the options with you if you need to talk things through and see what is possible.
I really love doing these and they tend to be very popular, so please do book me and and give me an excuse to do lots more! 😉
I can draw these illustration digitally or on paper, please see more about which one might work best for your wedding lower down the page.
I recommend 8 x 6″ or 7 x 5″ size for the paper version as it’s not too large or small and easy to frame, but it depends on what you would like, of course.
Illustrative Guest Portraits
Illustrative, stylised drawings
This is more of an illustrative, endearing style, kept simple so it doesn’t take long to draw.
I can drawn these from a photo I take or the guests can sit for me.
This style will take about 6-7 minutes per face, which means about 8 – 9 guests per hour, but please note that the timing is just a rough estimate and will depend on various factors. I would be very happy to discuss the options with you if you need to talk things through and see what is possible.
I can draw these illustration digitally or on paper, please see more about which one might work best for your wedding lower down the page.
I recommend 8 x 6″ or 7 x 5″ size for the paper version as it’s not too large or small and easy to frame, but it depends on what you would like, of course.
Sketch guest portraits
The closest style to my Story of Your Wedding sketches. The most realistic style, will take slightly longer than the previous two.
This is the only style I recommend done with pen and paper, rather than a digital drawing as it’s difficult to replicate digitally.
This style will take about 8 minutes per face (about 7 guests per hour) but please note that the timing is just a rough estimate and will depend on various factors. I would be very happy to discuss the options with you if you need to talk things through and see what is possible.
I can draw your guests live or from a photo I take on the day.
The recommended size is 8 x 6″, it works well and, not too large or small and easy to frame.
HOW IT’S DONE
Option 1
portraits on paper
Traditional way, ink and watercolour on an archival quality paper. Your guests will take the portrait back with them.
To Consider
If you are not sure what would be the best option for you please get in touch and we can talk it through.
Option 2
paper + DISPLAY AND scan
Traditional way, ink and watercolour on an archival quality paper plus a digital scanned version. I will display the portraits at the venue for everyone to enjoy during the day and then take them back with me to scan them. I will then send the portraits back to you in the next few days.
To Consider
If you are not sure what would be the best option for you please get in touch and we can talk it through.
OPTION 3
digial portraits
Digital portraits hand-drawn on my tablet. I can send them to your guests’ mobiles or an email address when finished, and upload them to an online gallery to view and download right away or later.
To Consider
If you are not sure what would be the best option for you please get in touch and we can talk it through.
portraits DONE before the wedding?
Yes, absolutely!
Imagine the surprise your guests will get, when they find their portrait as they sit down for the wedding breakfast!
This way you can guarantee everyone will get one. The only thing I will need from you is a clear photo or each person, preferably without sunglasses (so I can see their eyes) and without hats, unless you want the hat to be a part of the portrait. Please contact me for an estimate and enquiries. You can chose any of the three styles I offer. I can also scan each portrait for you as well so you will have a digital version too as well as the original.
Can I paint a portrait for every guest?
Please bear in mind if you have a large number of guests it’s unlikely I will be able to draw them all. From experience a lot of people love having their portrait done, but most likely not everyone will want one, and that’s ok.
Of course I always do my best to paint as many portraits as possible in the time given, but if there wasn’t enough time to do a portrait of everyone who wanted one, I am more than happy to do some additional portraits from photos later. An extra charge would be requested if it’s more than a few.
other faq
It’s one of my priorities, I don’t see much point in a portrait if the person is not recognisable. People often tell me how easy it is to recognise who is who.
I don’t, for several reasons, although I do try to fit in at least half of the body. I feel the face is the most important part in guest portraits and I focus on good likeness. Most of the artists that draw full body portraits often don’t draw the face at all, or draw every face looking the same, just with different hair shape and colour, and a lot of emphasis is on clothes, making it more a fashion illustrations – nothing wrong with that if that’s what you want, but I don’t work that way.
I don’t usually travel further than 2.5 hours (by car) for various reasons, one of them being the carbon footprint, but there are some exceptions.
Please do contact me to see if I am able to cover your location, for central London venues I can use the train so it might be an option.
Please note that for venues further away than 2.5 hours journey I only accept bookings for 6 or more hours.
I need somewhere to sit and have the guests I am drawing sit in front of me, the space should be reasonably lit. If I draw from photos I take of your guests, I won’t need the extra chairs for them. I also have a roll up banner that I place nearby, explaining what’s happening and inviting people to come and have their portrait done.
I can bring my own chair and a small table, but I can use what is provided by the venue if that’s the preference. In this case I will need the chair to be reasonably comfortable as I am likely to sit on it for many hours.
Yes if there is some kind of shelter, for example a parasol or a marquee. Sitting in a direct sunlight for a portrait session is not suitable for a number of reasons.
No, never. Everything is always free-hand drawn. No tracing.
I started doing wedding sketching in 2018, but I have been drawing and painting for most of my life, from portraits to landscape, painting both from life and from photos. If you would like to see my other paintings you can check out my oil painting website: http://jforsyth.co.uk/
Yes, I do and will provide a copy for your venue, of course (if they don’t have it already).
Yes, absolutely, I don’t mind at all!