IllustrationX - Ksenia Craven Live Event Drawing portfolio

When Ksenia Craven arrives at a client’s event to set up her illustration station, a queue immediately forms. The experience of being drawn by a talented fashion illustrator gives guests a thrill, a positive vibe and a unique likeness of themselves they can hang on their wall and admire for years to come.

Ksenia’s traditional live illustration service combines watercolour, ink and pencil on watercolour paper and results in a beautiful, flamboyant image that won’t lose its colour for many years. She also offers a digital live illustration service where she sketches guests on her iPad and provides them with a printout on the spot plus a digital version of the image they can post straight to social media. As a live event illustrator for huge retail and fashion brands as well as private weddings and family events, Ksenia enjoys reversing the paradigm. In the 19th century, the camera stole the show and event illustrators lost their importance. Today everyone has a camera in their phone, but Ksenia brings something special and unique, and people can’t get enough of it. Based in Miami, she also takes commissions in Dubai.

Approach

Whether working digitally or with natural media, Ksenia creates with passion and tries to get both the sitter’s likeness and the atmosphere of the event into the image. She looks for new ways to provide interest and excitement and her motto is: never stop learning.

Style

There’s a rhythm to the way Ksenia draws and paints, fluidly capturing her subject via instinctive brush strokes – full of life of colour. Her style combines the expressiveness of Chanel and the elegance of Dior with Ksenia’s signature bright colours.