[By Erika Brandner, in Calera de Tango, Chile]
I made these sketches in a recent marriage I attended. Due to commitments of my husband he couldn´t go so I was a bit annoyed of going alone. But this forced situation might give me the opportunity to sketch a marriage again (if you haven´t seen it before, I sketched a full day in a marriage and you can see it in this post - although it is in spanish, you can see the pictures ). It was something I wanted since a long time because there´s plenty of subjects to draw and a marriage is full of beautiful things to draw. No doubt everybody would realice what I was doing but I didn’t care…I wanted to enjoy the experience, nothing more. So, I dressed as usual for a wedding: a party dress and high heels but instead of the elegant small and fancy bag I carried a large handbag which had good space for my sketchbook and the pens and watercolors. I took my car and headed to a neighborhoud outside Santiago thats called Calera de Tango, around 30 km away.
The
first sketch I did was from the ceremony itself. The marriage location
was an event house with a lot of grass and trees and the place chosen
for the ceremony was in a natural elevation of the ground whits a
wonderful frame made by the dark trees and an arch decorated with
flowers. I sat in the first row of seats and this allowed me a quiet
time to make the sketches, given that the bride and groom would be more
or less static a long time. When I draw people I always try to capture
their posture, their body shape and the difference angles their bodies
acquire in the different poses. I was proud to hear that the people that
looked at this first drawings could identify the real persons in the
drawing, although only the backs were shown. Drawing this was very funny
because the attendance was quite participatory, given that it was a
civil ceremony and also because the groom itself had broken the
solemnity of the moment by putting the music of StarWars during his
entry.
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| DANCE OF THE BRIDE AND GROOM - BACKGROUND : DECOR AND DESSERT TABLE |
The dance was an extremely difficult sketch for me because it lasted too
little and quickly began the exchange of couples, with parents,
siblings, etc. That is why so many lines hesitant, but in general it
gives the feeling of the moment. I was pretty uncomfortable, standing in
a corner trying to hold the pencil and the Sketchbook in addition to
the watercolors in high heels…
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| DANCING WOMAN IN RED |
The following sketch was funny to do. Red is my favorite color and I had this woman (I know the girl since she was a baby and I wonder how she´s an attractive woman right now). Sheis the grooms sister and she was stealing glances with her red dress during the hole event. Last year was her marriage but I couldn´t draw because I attended the wedding with my husband and it would be no kind from me to let him alone while I sketched so I did none. She wear a very tight red dress. I couldn't do too much detail because at that time, while they danced, I sat on a pouf at the dancing hall and it was beginning to get dark and with the artificial colored lights I couldn´t see very much.
THE GRANDMOTHER, THE BRIDE AND GROOM AND FRIENDS I did this sketch as it went almost dark. I drew the grooms grandmother while she was sitting enjoying the party. Outside the dancing room I sat alone at one of the tables and while I sipped a coffee, drew the group of friends groom by reviewing the photos because I found that this was a good reflection of what was going on around the party as part of the background.
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| THE BRIDE ON A BREAK In this sketch I only include to the bride with their champagne but she wasn’t alone, she was having sorrounded by her friends. |
Drawing at weddings of events is very much exciting for me. I don´t know why but it is always easier for me to concentrate in working while a lot of people surround me….far more than when I am alone. It shines it gives me the energy to focus and produce. Drawing people in motion is funny and it should be done relaxed and enjoying the moment. Also, it is so refreshing in comparison to drawing buildings, where the attention is so focused on details and perfection….with moving people the action and the general feeling is what is important, not the details. And this is so relieving.
