LIVE PORTRAITS AT ELLIE & CARTER’S WEDDING / ROCK SPRINGS RANCH / BEND, OREGON

When I gazed upon the spot where I’d be drawing portraits for the evening, I was struck by beauty. The pond at Rock Springs Ranch created an idyllic backdrop for my table. Guests would sit across from me and have the perfect view. The conifer trees of Bend’s high desert encircling the water, and an opening where I watched the white wisps of cottonwood trees drift through the air and settle on the water. I met the venue owner, Audre, who cares for the property and commented that this was a rare day in year when the seeds came loose and took flight. They might disturb some allergies, but they were lovely.

When the ceremony ended, I watched the guests stroll across the property to the reception area, where a Lifted Spirits trailer served drinks and the DJ began to play. As folks walked across the deck and glanced down at me sitting by the pond, they grinned and mouthed the words, “Bad Portraits,” reading my tablecloth. There’s a tension in these calm last moments before someone sits down and I begin four hours of sketching faces, having conversations. All it takes is one person, or one couple to sit down and the next thing I know we’re making a list so that guests don’t have to wait in line. I was thrilled to see that this group of guests was delighted at the prospect of their very own portrait, though I must give some credit to the pond. Who wouldn’t want to sit here for a moment, enjoying the view.

I drew mostly couples—so many that some singles lingered nearby wishing for a partner to be drawn with until I assured them this experience was not reserved solely for couples. But as it goes at weddings and in life, the couples abound, and here they seemed to really be in love. “It gives me hope,” I sometimes say.

I drew a cartoonish, curly mustache that surely attracts friends whenever in public. I drew bandmates who fell in love, lifelong campers who have begun to take their kids along, a couple who knows when it’s time to leave a party without saying a word, and partner’s who admired each other’s ability to make friends, each other’s honesty, each other’s parenting, each other’s ability to stay calm or make the other laugh. One man assisted me with his cell phone flashlight when the sun went down and later asked me to draw him with his dog, Poncho. I received a few truly sweet hugs.

At the end of the night when I was about to pack up, there was one couple left who had waited all evening and I’m thankful we didn’t miss our chance to connect. I thought about their story for days after they told me. They embarked separately, as strangers on the Pacific Crest Trail and crossed paths by chance. After hitting it off, they hiked together for four and a half months, falling in love. “We feel like we had two beginnings,” Emma said, explaining how when they returned back to normal life, they sort of re-introduced themselves. Clayton was blown away by seeing her in makeup and tight pants. We all laughed. While some of their friends thought that a love forged on the trail wouldn’t last in the real world, it did last, and we all agreed that being in nature without the constant distractions of the modern world was certainly real life. I can’t imagine a better way to fall in love, just walking together through the forest.