A Windy Summer Wedding at The Barn at Raccoon Creek
- Kelsey Shields
- Jun 28
- 2 min read
Some weddings feel like they belong inside a painting before I ever put brush to canvas.
Setting the Scene: The Barn at Raccoon Creek
This past weekend, I had the joy of live painting a beautiful summer wedding at The Barn at Raccoon Creek in Littleton, Colorado. The day brought cotton candy skies, warm sunshine, and one of the windiest wedding days I've painted in quite some time.
The wind was relentless from the moment I arrived until the reception. Between the gusts and Colorado's dry summer air (hello, smoke season), my acrylic paints were drying at record speed—both on my palette and on the canvas itself. Thankfully, I had packed a bottle of retarder medium, which slows the drying process and gives me a little more working time. It's not something I bring to every event, but on this particular day, it turned out to be essential.
The couple didn't have a professional photographer documenting the day (though they did have a content creator). I was especially grateful that I had brought my camera and captured reference photos throughout the event. Those images helped me refine details as the painting came together.
A Surprise For The Couple
The wedding painting was commissioned as a gift from the groom's sister. She had a live painter for her wedding (at the same venue!) who was not available. Thankfully, she reached out to me. Helping a family member execute a thoughtful wedding gift is one of the best parts of my job. I have several more surprise paintings on the calendar that I'm very much looking forward to.
For the composition, I chose to capture the couple's first kiss beneath a white ceremony arch adorned with white florals. Behind them stretched the rolling golf course, rows of mature trees, and a large ash tree standing proudly to the left of the ceremony site. Beyond the landscape, the blue silhouettes of Colorado's foothills faded into the distance.
The Final Painting
By the end of the night, I was able to put the finishing touches on the piece and share it with the newlyweds. As we chatted afterward, they mentioned they would soon be heading home to Austin, Texas. Since shipping is included with my live wedding paintings, we decided it would be much easier—and much safer—to let me carefully package the artwork and ship it directly to them once everything was ready.
Every wedding painting tells a unique story, but this one will always remind me of swirling winds, glowing clouds, and a family who wanted to give the couple something they could treasure long after the celebration ended.
Venue: The Barn at Raccoon Creek in Littleton, CO.
Planner: Love Leigh
Content Creator: coming