Painting Love

Jennie Vegt turns weddings into masterpieces

WORDS BY BRANDY BELITSKY PHOTOGRAPHY SUPPLIED

At first glance, weddings and live painting might seem an odd pair. Yet for artist Jennie Vegt, the two merge into a singularly enchanting art form—a mix of tradition, emotion, and creativity captured in real time. Vegt showed promise as an artist from an early age, even receiving a scholarship offer for art school from a high school teacher. She initially dismissed the idea. "I didn’t want to be a poor artist," she recalls. Instead, she pursued a commerce degree, only to find herself miserable and unable to resist her true calling.

Encouraged by her mother, who recognized Jennie’s love for art, she shifted gears, enrolling in art school and diving head first into her craft. Her journey led her to early successes. A residency at City Hall and murals displayed around the city established her in the local art scene.

One of Vegt’s most heartfelt projects emerged from her work as a recreation assistant, where she developed a portrait program for seniors. Over time, she completed 70 portraits, while spending time with and getting to know the residents. “It really hit me how much it impacted them,” she says. This experience aligned perfectly with her pursuit of psychology, a field she entered during the pandemic by enrolling for a master’s degree. Her thesis, exploring arts and mental health, has since propelled her into pursuing a PhD, where she analyzes how art serves as a powerful medium for healing.

Simultaneously, Vegt’s live event painting business has flourished. Among her most popular offerings are her wedding paintings, where she captures the joy of a couple’s big day with a brushstroke of sentiment. Couples often collaborate with her to choose meaningful moments to immortalize—from the first kiss to the first dance—and her work transforms these events into personalized keepsakes.

Vegt describes the process as exhilarating, noting how she thrives on the adrenaline of working live and connecting with the emotions of the event. "I’ll be nervous until I sit down at the easel," she admits. "But once I’m in the zone, it’s like everything clicks into place." Her paintings often reflect the couple’s unique love story, incorporating special details like family members, beloved pets, or even whimsical requests—she’s painted everything from cherished dogs to a Pokémon cameo in wedding scenes.

Now at a crossroads, Vegt dreams of combining her academic research with her artistic endeavours, creating space for both stability and creativity. As she notes, “The arts and mental health field is such a new horizon. There’s so much potential to help people express their experiences in deeper, more powerful ways.”

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