VARIETY: WOMEN'S LUNCHEON LIVE ILLUSTRATION EVENT

THE CAUSE
 

I was absolutely honored to be asked to illustrate at the Variety's annual Power of Women: New York luncheon. For its fourth run, Variety chose to honor Jessica Chastain, Chelsea Clinton, Gayle King, Blake Lively, Audra McDonald, and Shari Redstone for their outstanding humanitarian work. For more information about these women's incredible causes, please click here.  Hollywood A-listers Salma Hayek and Lena Dunham, were also in attendance.
 

THE VENUE

True to GRADIENT's tradition OF create one-of-a-kind experiences, the setup of the Variety Luncheon was breathtaking! Hosted at the five star xxx hotel, the venue featured a beautiful red carpet (or in this case, white caret), bathed in beautiful Spring florals, and presenting guests with beautiful portraits of the honorees. The hotels grand ballroom included beautifully decorated tables, as well as a stage on which honorees would give their powerful speeches in promotion of their respective causes.
 

THE BRAND

I was asked to participate in the event by experimental marketing agency GRADIENT, on behalf of the event's official sponsor, Karma Automotive. This one-of-a-kind luxury car brand doesn't only offer it's clients timeless design, but the brand's vehicles are also powered by electricity, fuel and the sun! 
 

THE ILLUSTRATIONS
 

PREPPING:
 

I created a custom template that featured each one of the honorees inside a Karma car, with a California-inspired seaside backdrop. This template was then adapted to fit new customized faces for each invitee, all to be drawn on iPad Pro. The template also featured the brands logo, alongside a custom hashtag (#myrivero), created especially for the event.

THE DAY OF:

As for the illustration set-up, two screens had been put in place in the cocktail area to feature the honorees already illustrated portraits on one side, and the other was hooked up on my iPad to feature illustrations live, so guests could watch and follow along the process as I was illustrating while enjoying cocktails, light bites, and  fun conversation before sitting down for the luncheon. Illustration took about 5 minutes each, and once finished, were then sent to them through a custom email that was send to them right away.
 

A very special thanks to the GRADIENT team, Karma Automotive and Variety for allowing me to be part of this event. It was truly an honor to participate in such a wonderful cause.

With love,
#powerofwomen
M.

For more information regarding my live illustration services, feel free to check out my latest projects here.