When I started live painting it was 6 wedding seasons prior to the time I am writing this blog. I knew of about 100 live painters nationally in the USA and in 2018 many of them had been on the scene for 7-10 years, making me a baby live painter, despite the 20 years of professional artist experience and my BFA degree in visual art.
Since post pandemic, the number of live painters has ballooned over 400%. If you read any of my blog posts or my book, you know that I am an encouraging voice of new live painters because I believe that artists should have ways to make a liveable income.
A livable income.
However, with the influx of live painters in the past few years, the landscape of the market has changed drastically. Suddenly it seems like everyone wants to cash in on live painting. I've seen people who never took an art class after high school offer themselves as a professional. I've seen invitation artists, calligraphers, and even florists decide to take up live painting because they see stars in their eyes of the potential income.
But with this influx of new, inexperienced live painters, something is shifting in the market: the prices. Suddenly the new inexperienced artists are charging in the hundreds for their work instead of the industry standard starting in the $2,000 range. And the trend is lowering the expectation of potential clients, so that when they see experienced professional live painter pricing, they don't understand why it's "so high."
I encourage new live painters because I want artists to have a way to make a livable income, but instead the industry is shifting to poverty line prices with the historical expectation that all artists have faced- to under value their work. Now, it is becoming more and more difficult for ANY artists to make a livable wage with live painting, and it breaks my heart.
So how does this affect you as a client? Surely budgets for your wedding may be tight, and you would love a live painting experience you can afford. However I recommend to temper your expectations if you are picking one of those new, inexperienced artists. You may otherwise learn too late that it would have been worth it to invest the right amount of money into the biggest life long souvenir of your wedding that will stay in your family for generations.
I know many potential clients are not necessarily experienced at identifying good art from bad, and of course this is subjective as well. But here are a few tips to check to make sure you are booking a professional artist who can deliver on what they promise you.
1. They have a website.
Not just a social media page, and actual website with an actual portfolio of more than 5 images of live paintings.
2. They have a contract.
If a live painter doesn't have a contract they are not a professional and you risk a headache later when they don't even bother showing up to your wedding.
3. They have at least some reviews.
This will ensure they have worked actual events before and don't have a reputation of failing to deliver on their promises.
4. They have some kind of professional art training.
It may be a community art school, or it could be a Master in Fine Arts. But if they can't say that they trained as an artist after high school they are often a beginner, and a beginning painter taking on a live wedding painting may be too much for them to handle. *
Remember the addage, you get what you pay for. This statement is just as true for live painting as it is for anything else in your wedding.
*I am not saying one needs professional training to be an artist. I strongly believe anyone can be an artist, and there are many excellent artists without formal training. However, when it comes specifically to live painting, formal training is an indicator of professionalism for potential clients to consider.
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