You may have seen them at a wedding — artists at a table, sketching and painting rapidly to capture guests in their finery. The take-home portraits they create become a party favor, a gift from the bride and groom.
Live illustrators are the art of the party, creating portraits in minutes
These Minnesota artists work weddings, fundraisers and more providing one-of-a-kind keepsakes.
July 7, 2023 at 12:00PM
The three local live fashion illustrators we spoke with consider weddings their bread and butter, though they also ply their trade at corporate functions, fundraisers, private parties and a range of events from retail openings to fashion shows.
They work mostly alone but sometimes with other illustrators. They have a love-hate relationship with deadline pressure. They all grew up loving art.
"I spent a lot of time in grade school drawing fashion sketches in my notebook paper margin," says Jennifer Marlin (jennifermarlin.com), who went on to study illustration at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
They fell into the career by luck.
"It was a total accident," says Claire Ward (clairewardillustration.com). "I got my degree in apparel design from the University of Minnesota, but the illustration component was always my favorite part of the process."
After she graduated, a friend was producing an event and asked Ward to do her first-ever live fashion illustrations.
"It snowballed from there," she says.
The job is not without stress. Maria Ahrens (mariaahrens.com) says at first it was hard to have people watch her work, though it was also nice to get out of her studio, where she works solo. She still prepares before events.
"I run timed drills to make sure I'm keeping pace," she says.
Each person's portrait takes five to seven minutes, more if it's a couple. For the illustrators, the magical experiences they attend make the job.
Ahrens recalls sitting on the 21st floor of an office building next to a huge glass window, taking in an amazing view as she sketched employees.
Ward was lucky enough in 2018 to work an Emmys-related event with a thousand guests from the entertainment industry — an extravagant affair.
Marlin illustrated at the release of "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" at the Mall of America alongside a fashion display. And she still remembers a 1990s-themed birthday party on Lake Minnetonka for twin babies, complete with flowers, balloons, a bouncy house, a dance floor and a DJ. It culminated with fireworks over the lake.
Guests went home happy, most with a portrait in hand.
Lefse-wrapped Swedish wontons, a soothing bowl of rice porridge and a gravy-laden commercial filled our week with comfort and warmth.
