Women in Art: Meet live wedding painter, Danielle Jordaan
Weddings are one of the most beautiful gatherings, a celebration of love and coming together of families and friends. The day is a cherished and treasured moment, and when captured profoundly it could last a lifetime in people’s memories. Danielle Jordaan is no ordinary painter, she brings an exciting and non-traditional element to the party. Having found her passion at an early age, she chose an unpredictable outlet for her creativity, “ Weddings”. In 2020 Jordaan began live painting at weddings, a job she instantly fell in love with, far from the norm and fully artistic, Danielle’s outside the box thinking has made weddings extra special with just a paint and a brush.
GLAMOUR caught up with Danielle Jordaan to learn more about her life and career background.
What inspired you to become a painter, and how did you develop your skills?
My mother worked in the police service as an identikit artist for years and quit her job to become a full time artist/ gallery owner. It was because of my mother's journey that I learned that it is possible to become a full time artist. It takes some entrepreneurial and marketing skills to reach your target audience and lots of time painting in the studio to make sure you have the skill to show for it. I studied art at Ruth Prowse School of Art (2015 - 2017) and graphic design at Red&Yellow Creative School of Business in Cape Town (2020) and painted my first wedding in October 2020.
How do you balance your creative work with the demands of being a wedding painter?
I feel like the wedding industry has shaped and forced me to become a more disciplined and structured artist. I like to finish my client's paintings within 6-10 weeks after their wedding and this keeps me accountable to prioritise certain tasks and projects. I also aim to prioritise a solo exhibition of my personal body of work each year to aim towards a body of work that is separate from my "wedding paintings". I feel this helps me to grow in skill and show my clients that their wedding painting is more than just a form of entertainment, but also a future investment.
What do you enjoy most about painting at weddings, and what motivates you to continue doing this work?
The people! I absolutely love working with my clients. From the first email enquiry to the wedding and painting delivery. I think live wedding painters have to be great introvert-extroverts. We spend hours on end alone in your art studio and on weekends our social butterfly wings emerge. I also love the appreciation clients and their guests share for the work we do. The work is hard but the return is very rewarding.
How do you handle the pressure of capturing a couple's special day in a single painting?
I like to prepare and plan in advance. Before the wedding day I will have a consultation with the couple to discuss their hopes for their painting. This gives me a clearer vision on what to capture. On the day of the wedding I arrive 2-3 hours before the ceremony to paint the background of the painting and once I have my moment during/ after the ceremony I take enough footage and videos of the couple and continue to paint throughout the canapes and reception. I also communicate prior to the wedding with my clients that a finished painting is not guaranteed, but at least 75% of the painting will be completed on site. This alone relieves a lot of stress on the day.
What's the most popular style or theme for wedding paintings that you've seen, and how do you incorporate it into your work?
Realism is definitely the style of painting most couples resonate with/ prefer. Most couples want to be able to recognise themselves in the painting. This is also the style I paint in and only offer to my clients. As for popular themes I can see that a lot of my clients like soft, tender moments shared between the couple as well as the confetti toss where a lot of joy and excitement can be seen on their faces - This all depends on the dynamic of the couple and their shared vision for the emotion they want me to capture.
How do you ensure that the painting is durable and will last for many years, and what materials do you use to achieve this?
To ensure that a painting will last the test of time one has to make sure your art materials are of professional quality. I make sure to buy really great quality pre-primed cotton or cotton duck stretched canvas with wood like poplar wood that doesn't warp over time. I also paint with Golden Acrylics and Open Acrylics which is one of the leading brands in paint, trusted and known worldwide as a heavy body acrylic paint (This is not an ad for Golden acrylics, but I absolutely love it!).
What's the most challenging part of being a wedding painter, and how do you overcome it?
What can be quite challenging for live wedding painters and wedding service providers in general is when any form of miscommunication between the client and professional happens or if clients are upset with the end product. I like to inform my clients that I can make minor changes to their painting so nothing is set in stone which sets the client at ease. A very stressed and anxious couple also makes for a challenging job, but as a service provider I feel it is our duty to be cool, calm and collected throughout the whole process and always being courteous and willing to take on the lesser position. After all, you are being paid to make this day the most special day for your clients...
How do you see your business evolving in the future, and what new services or products do you plan to offer?
My business has grown in ways I could never have dreamt of in the last 4.5 years. I have 5 amazingly talented artists based across 4 different provinces in South-Africa who joined my team in the last 2 years. We have had the opportunity to paint at more than 7 different international locations including Aruba, Scotland, Portugal, America and Mallorca. We also launched our live watercolour guest portrait services which has become increasingly popular.
It's been very exciting and rewarding to watch the business grow, but for the next year we want to grow our skills and techniques as artists. We are planning a workshop or two which will be open for other artists to join. It's very easy to get swept up in the grandeur of the wedding industry and high profile clients we've had the honour of working with, but if we cannot learn to improve and paint better and become more skilled artists over time we will be doing ourselves and past clients a disservice.
Give us 3 words that sum up your career as a wedding painter?
Creative, Romantic, Engaging