What is Light Painting?
Lightpainting is a form of photography where light trails are captured in long exposures; like making shapes with sparklers on Bonfire night.
I deliver interactive lightpainting sessions with participants of all ages at events across the world. I have 50 or so ‘Light Brushes’ and encourage lots of audience participation, allowing people of any ability to create amazing portraits and vibrant abstract light paintings. I also use programmable LED wands which can add text or any digital images in to the shots. This is great for branding or personal messages.
Each image takes around 20 seconds to 1 minute to create. The developing image appears in real-time on a tablet screen or projector so the results are instantly viewable to everyone.
How it can work at your event
Slack-jawed amazement and wide-eyed disbelief are possibly the 2 most common reactions to being part of making a light painting. Almost every image created is a wonderful, dreamlike collage of colours.
Traditionally lightpainting requires a very dark environment. However I have recently developed new techniques which allow me to take amazingly rich photos in relatively bright environments. This is really liberating and means that I can now work in many more situations than before.
I also have a portable inflatable blackout tent. It’s 5m square and 4.5m tall.
If you are interested in having lightpainting at your event then please drop me a line or give me a call to discuss how it might work for you.
Beardy Man
Stripey Folk
Festival Girls
Abstract Swirls
My Skeleton
Recreating Steel Foudry at a Merthyr School
Sailor Man
Afrika Eye kids
The Holder of the Key
Emily poses at Greenman festival
Wedding lights
Keiko poses in my studio
Keiko in lights
Keiko
WOMAD lion – click to see the animation
Festival Girls
Spaceman at Blue Lagoon
Brecon Jazz workshop
edited pics-4
Aston Court Wedding Shoot
Brecon Jazz 30th Bithday
Ripton Lindsay
What people say about my work
The magical concept of drawing with light becomes a wonderful reality with Andy O’Rourke’s light drawing sessions. Working in the dark presents an opportunity for freedom of expression whether you’re five or fifty five and the captured moments are both beautiful, cool and compelling.
Annie MenterWomad Foundation
For some years now I have employed Andy of Malarky Arts to run his light painting experience at Green Man festival and events at Ashton Court Estate. His work is innovative and unique which adds that extra kudos to the events, plus the clients love the images. I’d also add we love the way Andy is ‘discreet’ in how he operates so that he never interferes with the parties, he’s always early, fully prepared and provides what we or our client needs without fuss. He is a pleasure to work with.
Emily WilliamsAshton Court Estate, Bristol
Our friends suggested we go along to a light painting workshop by Andy O’ Rourke (not Andy Rourke former bassist with the Smiths). It was one of our highlights as we created pictures using a host of handheld lights and torches. I won’t go into how it’s done as I don’t understand it but hasten to say it was great fun and the results were astonishing!
Caroline GilbertFestivalkidz.com
Another Green Man that i painted on Procreate on the iPad last week.
A bit of a different Green Man from yesterday. No smashing through walls, just looking after his critically endangered hedgehog buddy.
Here's another thing to decorate the gym in Treharris. I was supposed to spray it directly on the wall, but when i turned up it was sopping wet and damp all the way through. So a quick change of plan... Glued together some sheets of vinyl fabric and paint it back at my workshop. What a palaver.
Today's mural. Painting the shutters on a gym for a lovely guy up in Treharris. He volunteers his time and equipment to train local adults and youngsters.
I've had a funny week locked in a windowless box room in the dementia ward at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital.
Today was the first chance I've had to see my mural in Maindee in its entirety now the scaffolding has been removed.
