in Real Time, Turning Fleeting Moments into Lasting Works of Art
In an age of digital snapshots, mobile phones, and short-lived stories, posts and reels, artist Janet Howard-Fatta offers something very rare indeed: a wedding experience that is both performance and long-lasting keepsake, capturing a once-in-a-lifetime moment as a living, live-action, on-site, breathing color painting.
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IMPRESSIONIST & POST-IMPRESSIONISTS & Early MODERNISTS
If we trail back into a lengthy lineage and the historical work of the Impressionists (Édouard Manet (the father), Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Pissarro, Degas, Morisot, Sisley, Cassatt, we can structurally look to the Post-Impressionists & MODERNISTS: Paul Cézanne (the father or Modernism), Gauguin, Seurat, van Gogh to see where Howard-Fatta might have drawn great inspiration from.
Moreover, her work pays special attention drawing a deep respect to an overall tonality to each of her paintings that marry color(s) and composition together while creating a hierarchy drawing our eye to focus on the couple (centered) in question.
In the 1800s, the Impressionists were very preoccupied with the invention and photographic execution of the CAMERA which could replicate portraits (black & white), so their style was COMPELLED to create something new, in painting, that the camera would or could never ever truly capture:
a LIVING, HUMAN MOMENT in time.
I was born and raised on Staten Island the year the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened. I grew up in Annadale and later Princes Bay, where my parents still live. By the age of seven, I was drawing everyone around me—family, friends, anyone who would sit still long enough.“
Based in New York’s Hudson Valley, Janet Howard-Fatta is known for her live wedding paintings, created on site as ceremonies and receptions unfold (LIVE). Guests watch the artwork emerge in real time — the sweep of a veil, the warmth of the chandeliers, candles, the joyful blur and energy in the room during that ‘first dance’. The couple receives the finished painting that preserves not just how the day looked, but how the overall moment felt (love, jealousy, humor, laughs, tears) and then captured.
I am a live event painter!
People hire me to paint their events live that day in front of their guests. Most of the time, I am painting weddings. I create oil paintings on the day of and recently started painting guests portraits too.” — J. Howard-Fatta
J Howard-Fatta
Working primarily in oils, J. Howard-Fatta approaches each wedding as a unique narrative. She studies the space, the light, the movement, and the emotional rhythm of the celebration, selecting a moment that best reflects the couple’s story. Whether it’s the quiet intimacy of a vow exchange or the exuberance of a packed dance floor, the final painting becomes a singular, personal heirloom.
My people love, and they LOVE big. They believe in marriage, family, and tradition. They value love, family tradition, and have a sense of beauty or nostalgia. Many of my clients are religious – all types of religions are welcomed. > > >
J Howard
When I was twelve, my parents enrolled me in oil painting lessons on Kingdom Avenue with Leigh Modzelewski, and that was the beginning of taking my art seriously. After a brief year at Tottenville High School, I transferred at fifteen to the High School of Art & Design. I studied illustration and attended morning classes with Doc and Mr. Greenberg—where I truly learned how to draw.
From there, I went on to attend Pratt Institute, graduating with a BFA in Painting. Throughout my twenties, I balanced design work during the week while painting and ceramics on weekends. During that time, I also developed a deep love for gardening and cooking—creative practices that continue to nourish my work.
At thirty-one, I moved to Warwick, New York with my young family. It was there that I began painting more consistently and teaching private studio art, focusing on landscapes, still life, and life drawing.
In 2015, I thought I had invented live event painting—only to quickly discover it was already very much a thing. I jumped right in anyway and began painting weddings, and immediately felt at home. I’ve always thought of myself as a romantic comedy, and I fell in love with composing paintings that reflect that spirit—joyful, intimate, and full of heart.
More than ten years later, I’m still growing—as an artist and as a person—while serving families by creating timeless works of art. I’m deeply grateful for the road that led me here, and for everyone who has been part of the journey.”
J Howard-Fatta
More than entertainment, live wedding painting transforms the event itself into part of the artwork’s story. Guests witness the creative process, and the couple leaves with an original fine-art piece created in the exact time and place where their marriage began.
For couples seeking a meaningful alternative to traditional wedding favors or photography alone, Janet Howard-Fatta’s work offers something enduring: a timeless portrait of love, painted as it happens.
If you want to have your next Special Event captured immortally in the exclusive art of oil painting for generations to come, give her a call, email or visit her website to make the connection happen.
Staten Island, NY #si-nyc 