My First Live Painting Experience
When I first started painting portraits, I never planned or expected to one day be painting live in front of people. And yet, one day, while scrolling Instagram, up popped an ad for a plant market held in my city.
For some reason, it just struck a chord, and I felt pulled towards it. I knew that I didn't want to paint a full portrait live, as it would take too long (30 minutes from sketch to paint drying), but I had this crazy idea to prepare pre-painted "templates" for people to choose from, leaving the faces and hair blank.
With only one week to the market, I sure didn't give myself much preparation time. I'd never done this before, and I researched, bought materials, printed signs, threw away signs, laid out my table plan on the floor to see if everything would fit, threw more things away... basically, I wanted to be as prepared as possible for any eventuality so that I could fully focus on painting on the day.
I also did not expect even one customer, to be honest. It was a plant market after all, and people would be coming by for the plants. But it cost me just € 30 for a table, and I figured, that's all I'd have to lose (plus the 8 hours sitting there).
On the morning of, I cycled to the Noorderkerk and started setting up. Breeann, the organiser, was very welcoming and sweet, and with my heart beating fast, I waited till the market opened.
To my surprise, a lady rocked up to me immediately and said, "I've been waiting for you to open so that I can order something from you!". I had a combination of feeling pleased and nervous!
Painting live is unpredictable. One wrong line or stroke is pretty much disaster for me. It would mean redrawing the whole thing and taking even more time. When I'm inking, I'm hardly breathing.
Thankfully, I made no mistakes on that day, and in total, I made 13 semi-personalised portraits for customers. It was such an amazing achievement for me. I was busy from start to finish, and at several points in the day, I would feel so exhausted from the pressure of it being my first experience, painting live, talking to customers, making sure I made no mistakes, that I had to leave my table and take a breather somewhere else.
This happened in October 2024, and at the time of writing this, in June 2025, I've painted live five times. Each time it does get easier, especially in the preparation phase. This isn't to say that I do the same thing each time. Every event has its own parameters, and I adjust to each one. I also learn from each one, and thankfully, even during my most disastrous session, I still made a profit.
If you're interested to know more, or would like to hire me to come paint live at your own venue or event, don't hesitate to reach out. I'd love to discuss ideas!