Back in July I was invited to live paint at a belated Juneteenth/Pride Celebration at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children. It was great to meet other vendors to swap stories and Instagram handles, plus see how the faculty, staff, and students participated in the event. The room was decorated with bright colors and streamers, and an aura of care, acceptance, and encouragement suffused the scene.
My colleague, Qian, of qiancreates.com knew the organizer, Karrington, and I came along for the ride. I actually ended up forgetting my larger canvas that I meant to paint, but lucky for me, I had some 11x17 inch extras and just painting one took the entire afternoon.
In my previous live painting experience, I accompanied a violinist and pianist and painted based on the music that they played. It was a performance and there was separation between the audience and myself. I wasn’t able to talk to them until after the event, where I received positive comments and a little unsolicited advice. Painting at the School for the Blind was a much more social experience. I was able to ask our fellow vendors for input and talk about the business of art and marketing with Qian. I had an absolute blast with my live painting, which I also forgot to take a clear photo of, so enjoy my digital reproduction here:
A pattern of rainbow colored hearts with large bubble letters that say “LOVE” in the center.
The School of the Blind was an awesome venue for our live painting. I was so impressed with the art room, the care of the faculty, and protocols in place for the students. It was such a positive atmosphere, and our paintings were raffled off to deserving folks. I learned a lot from this live painting experience, chiefly, bring the promo materials and signage. Also, always bring a variety of canvases. 10/10, would do again in a heartbeat.