Amanda Hawthorne captures scenes from weddings and other events – with a brush instead of a camera.

The 43-year-old Massapequa resident is an event painter and owner of Live Well Paint Often. She paints weddings, baby showers, retirement and anniversary parties, and corporate and other events in real time. Her works include acrylic creations on gallery-style canvases and watercolor paintings on paper based on photographs.

It’s a growing trend to have live paintings done at weddings alongside photos and videos – much of the increased demand can be attributed to TikTok, where these painters can be seen at work. And according to The Knot 2023 Real Wedding Study, which surveyed nearly 10,000 newlyweds, 5% of couples hired a local artist or live painter. Typically, scenes from the wedding ceremony and reception are captured, including the first dance.

Hawthorne is also involved in charitable causes, such as the American Cancer Society’s Gala of Hope. She volunteers her time to paint paintings of the event, which are later auctioned off to raise thousands. Her work costs between $4,000 and $8,000, with smaller paintings typically taking about five hours and larger ones about eight hours.

“For the charity event images, I capture the entire event as it unfolds, rather than zooming in on the couple and their love story,” Hawthorne said. “My passion for live painting comes from a deep love of capturing moments as they happen.”

But the picture of Hawthorne’s working life did not always look like this.

Hawthorne worked as a prop stylist for the television shows Martha Stewart, Rachael Ray, The Apprentice and HGTV and later worked as an interior designer and art teacher.

“After about a year in my business, a friend asked me if I could paint her wedding (in 2016), and that was a pretty new concept at the time,” Hawthorne said. “I was nervous about painting in front of people, but then I realized that teaching in front of an audience (as an art teacher) and live painting go hand in hand, so I decided to give it a try.”

Hawthorne said the “turning point for my career” came when the sales manager of the Bourne Mansion in Oakdale, Miriam Aronson, asked her to become her house artist.

Although Hawthorne’s professional life has taken her in many directions, art is her passion. She says she first became interested in it as a toddler, and then in middle and high school she would doodle in class to relax. She describes her style as a mix of impressionism and realism.

Live painting at weddings became increasingly popular in the early 2010s, Hawthorne said. “Although the historical roots go back to the Renaissance, social media definitely played a major role in showcasing artists painting live and in real time at weddings,” she said.

Hawthorne has performed about 600 weddings so far, and the bride and groom and other celebrants usually gather around her for a few minutes while she works – something she’s had to get used to.

“It was a real challenge for me at the beginning of my career, but after nine years it doesn’t bother me at all,” said Hawthorne. “I get so absorbed in painting that I can concentrate even with extremely loud music, fog machines or chaotic lighting.”

Hawthorne’s paintings are usually finished at the end of an event, but she sometimes takes her work to her home studio where she puts the finishing touches on it and then picks up or delivers the finished product to the client.

“I am living the life I have always dreamed of – making my living and my life entirely from my art,” Hawthorne said.