The Truth About Live-Event Performances

Remember that post where I went on and on about practicing…

Yeah…it was a little over a week or so ago.

Well, I wasn’t wrong. But…imagine my surprise at a recent event where the requests were…unexpectedly uncommon…At least for me.

It all started when one of the guests had seen some of the tester bottles I had painted to warm up.

I was there to paint for Dior. I brought a few products of my own by Dior to paint and display along with any tester bottles they could provide. I had painted a few florals on the perfume bottles and a moonlit lake with trees on a cologne bottle. So far so good!

The guest liked what he saw and trusted me so much, he said I could do whatever I wanted with his bottle. That’s probably one of the best compliments I’d ever received! But, before the excitement settled in, since he was wearing some Philadelphia Eagles gear, one of the brand representatives suggested a painting of an eagle.

It was the home state of the Eagles folks. Once the words were uttered, there was no taking them back. 😂

But, since it was a live event, as I chatted with guests, finishing up the bottle before his, my mind immediately went to crunching numbers in my head about how long that would require and how I could reasonably maximize his satisfaction while minimizing the time it would take to complete the request.

Before any ideas about the final product were solidified and while the guests were getting all excited about what the bottle could look like, I quickly found an Eagles logo on my phone and asked if he’d like it. I figured the Eagles logo is a graphic image that has no modeling of form or modulation of color, making it as simple as painting an eagle at a live event is going to get. Also, this was less about the animal than the fandom, so it was a great way to address his request. Once I got the ‘all clear’ from the guest, I went to work on that.

That whole decision-making process took place inside of five minutes, which I think is important to note. There’s not a lot of time to mull over projects when you are at an event. You could easily get swamped with orders that take more than the typical time. It’s wise to be able to think on your feet and keep things moving as much as you can.

Meanwhile, guests shopped and watched as I painted along. And, although this particular bottle was taking a little longer than the 10-15 minutes a bottle should take for me, the “Ooohhs” and “Aaaahs” told me that for this item, it was okay.

I’d say from draft to completion, the bottle took about 20-25 minutes.

But, it wasn’t long before another cologne bottle came my way.

As I was nearing the finish line for the Eagle and was about to breathe a sigh of relief that I had saved myself some time for other guests projects (at least as opposed to a rendering of an actual eagle), another guest peeked over and asked, “So, you can paint anything?”

He then gave the former guest his can of beer to hold…

Just kidding! 😂 He gave me a photo of this adorable, little puppy. ❤️

It was right about then that I realized I realllllyyyyy needed to get back to the FBPA modules. 😳

Fortunately, I am a former portrait painter…at least on canvas and paper. My eyes are a little older. But, I figured I could cobble together a little something…

This would not be a graphic image. But, I was able to use the black of the bottle to help model the form just as you would a toned canvas…and it took probably about the same length of time as the Eagles logo (maybe a little less since the black of the bottle helped), leaving me enough time for the other bottles that were on my workspace.

However…

Throughout my time there, as there usually is, there were a few requests for engraving as well. I think guests are so used to having the option to engrave now, they assume it’s the service being offered. That is not a problem for me normally since I take one engraver along for those situations…But, this particular time, I was asked to engrave plastic.

That might be the one surface I’ve never practiced. 😯

When I first started engraving, the prevailing notion was to avoid plastic altogether. Next to glass and metal, it was considered the least desirable, least elegant surface. A little later in my journey, I saw a video on engraving plastic by Telisa of Roessein Art that explained that plastic was best engraved at a very low speed…like between 6 and 8 RPM. I never forgot that and I even tried it a couple times. It worked and I filed it away in my brain somewhere. But, I never went out of my way to practice it frequently. I much preferred glass.

So, at this event, when asked to engrave, I tried to politely decline since I was hired for bottle painting anyway.

Meh. It didn’t work. 🤷🏽‍♀️ The request was pretty persistent from both guests and brand representatives alike. Most requests were plastic (cosmetics), though a few were glass fragrance bottles as well.

Now, this is where artists/entrepreneurs differ…I could have chosen to be firm about what I was hired for, or to be flexible. I don’t think either approach is right or wrong, but personal.

For some, it’s about their service being taken seriously as a business person that happens to make art as a living. That’s important to me too…AND, for me, it’s also about what I want to be remembered for. Since, I’d also like to be remembered for being flexible when necessary, I chose the latter, took a deep, long breath, dove in, and proceeded to engrave low and slow….It’s important to note that the most seasoned and sophisticated entrepreneurs are able to strike an equitable compromise between their client’s wishes and their own needs as an entrepreneur…Ultimately, that’s goals.

The engravings actually worked out! By the end of the evening, I had successfully engraved two bottles, a few lip glosses and a Trish McEvoy compact. The compact was more of an inside request since it wasn’t a Dior item and I had attempted to persuade the rep a few times to paint it instead. But, it was meant to be a gift and the brand rep was really excited about the sentiment.

I engraved it and asked her if it would be okay to take a photo of her engraving. She agreed as I quipped that I wanted to remember the time I almost had a heart attack. 😂

It was a good chuckle for the both of us.

All in all, it was a great way to stretch my creative muscles with a few challenges and a story that I’ll never forget. It was also awesome that the reps had that much faith in my abilities to keep asking. I’m certain if they had any inkling I’d ruin their products, they wouldn’t have kept asking.

When I got home, I realized I hadn’t taken many photos of the pretty florals I had done. Tried recreating that…

It’ll never beat the first. But, it’ll do.

And since I paint at that location frequently enough, I’m sure I’ll get more engravings on plastic from time to time. So, I’ve added that to the rotation for practice now. Below is one of my own lip glosses with an engraving alongside one of my painted lipsticks.

I prefer painting plastic. But, I’ll practice engraving it now, and maybe some day, I’ll grow to like it as much too. Time will tell.

But, I’ll add a caveat to my advice…

Practice, rinse and repeat…And then throw it all out the window….Because, the truth is, while you will build your own personal wealth of knowledge on how you work with materials, you’re still never going to be 100% able to predict what happens at an event.

Sometimes, you just have to put your thinking cap (and your big girl pants) on and art your heart out. ❤️

I write this with the understanding that my issues are first world issues. Unfortunately, in another part of the world, there are oppressed people currently fighting for the right to live and to be free. Their children are suffering. Their homeland is further demolished day by day. As a mother, a wife and a teacher, my heart goes out to these people and their families. Please take a moment to pray for them and then act. Contact your representatives in government to put an end to the bombing in Gaza. No child should live in that kind of trauma.