Community Corner Monmouth County Artist Paints Scenes From Weddings, Events Live Jessica Stevens, 42, said she’s captured hundreds of special moments and events with her custom paintings.
Also known as “The Celebration Artist,” Stevens is a native of Manalapan. (Jessica Stevens)
MANALAPAN, NJ — You might have heard of event photographers, but have you ever heard of event painters?
Jessica Stevens, 42, of Manalapan, has put a new spin on capturing events with her work as The Celebration Artist — a live event painter who covers weddings, bar or bat mitzvahs, corporate events and more. When Stevens covers an event, she paints scenes from the celebration live, and guests can watch as the painting develops into a piece of custom art throughout the night.
Since starting her work as The Celebration Artist, Stevens has painted live at over 500 weddings and special events. “I’ve been an artist since I was a child,” Stevens said. “I’ve always loved art, and I first heard about event painting from someone who was doing it in California.”
“I saw it on one of those luxury wedding planning shows, and I said to myself ‘I know I could do this if I trained myself,'” Stevens continued. “And so that’s what I did.” Long before Stevens started event painting, she was a college student at Towson University. Though she loved the Towson experience, Stevens quickly realized she needed to be in a more creative field and transferred to the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York.
At FIT, she studied Fashion Merchandising & Advertising, where she developed a love for home products and eventually went on to work in public relations. After moving back to New Jersey, Stevens found herself doing personalized, hand-painted children’s gifts and began training herself in event painting following her divorce.
“I sat in my house and just went from magazine to magazine, painting and copying what I saw,” Stevens said. “I had someone build a website and I started booking weddings from there.” Though Stevens was nervous when she began event painting, her fear was quickly diminished by positive feedback from customers. Since starting her role as The Celebration Artist, Stevens said she’s gone from doing five weddings per year to 10 to 20 to even 60. “I’ve worked for Pnina Tornai at Kleinfeld, I’ve worked for the Bravo franchise, I’ve worked for every major wedding planner,” Stevens said. “I’m so lucky. I have amazing relationships with all of these wedding planners and venues and I’ve been treated so well by people because it’s such a unique niche that they love.” When Stevens paints at an event, she said one of the highlights of her work is not just the art itself, but the guests’ reactions to her painting. At weddings, for example, Stevens said most couples opt to have their first dance painted because of the setting, lighting and all the guests gathered in the background. When the dance begins, Stevens takes reference photos before going back to her seat, where she begins painting the scene.
“Once dinner is served, I’ve already started capturing the bride and groom and putting them in the painting right after their first dance,” Stevens said. “So I continue to paint until dessert is served and then I grab the bride and groom to do a reveal.” Stevens painting at an event (CREDIT: Jessica Stevens) Throughout the night, Stevens said guests often come over to watch the painting develop and look for details such as how the bride’s dress comes out or how the flowers are painted. “They love seeing that it’s the room and the party that they’re at developing,” Stevens said. “Once the night is over, I take the painting back with me to my studio where it receives three to five more hours of details, touch-ups and color corrections.” From there, Stevens said it typically takes three to four months for the final painting to be ready. “It’s usually ready around that time, and that way the couple will still have something to look forward to when they get back from the excitement of their honeymoon,” Stevens said.
Though Stevens travels often to paint at different events, she still feels a sense of connection to her hometown of Manalapan. Before starting her work as The Celebration Artist, she went to high school in Monmouth County and still finds herself connecting with people who live nearby today. “I grew up here, I went to high school here and I know so many people locally,” Stevens said. “Most of my weddings are in North Jersey, but I also work a lot in Central Jersey venues like Shadowbrook or Eagle Oaks Park Chateau.” More than anything, Stevens said her favorite part of her work is the connections she makes over time with clients. Recently, Stevens recalled going to a wedding in North Jersey where she instantly recognized a member of the wedding party from a past event she covered.