When greeted by Rebecca “Bex” Schneider, you may be met with a memorable compliment: “You look so sketchable.” Focused on the subtle details that make people distinct, Bex’s live portraits, installations and murals bring joy to guests at Nashville and New York events — and beyond.
When living in New York, Bex immersed herself in the luxury space, crafting artwork that replicates the feeling she gets when visiting a Chanel store. Her whimsical, elongated figures, reminiscent of fashion illustrations, have delighted clients of brands like Hermès, Rolls-Royce, Vogue, Lillet, Glossier and Waldorf Astoria (to name a few).
But Bex identified Nashville as a place where her work could make a bigger difference, so she joined the chorus of the city’s vibrant arts community. She caught up with Nfocus about how live portraits elevate events, her process for conveying someone’s personality and how art and fashion go hand-in-hand.
What sparked your loves of art and fashion? How do they fit together?
Art and fashion go hand-in-hand very well. It’s just the true dreamer state of it all. I think I try to capture what they told us adulthood could look like. I was a kid that loved My Scene dolls and just everything sparkly. And I loved fashion growing up in Alabama, but there wasn’t much available to me to participate in.
I think my love for fashion and art started early on, because art was my way of participating in fashion. I’d find inspiration on Pinterest or get catalogs in the mail, and I would always draw what I loved the most. At the end of the day, fashion needs art to sell the dream and the story of it. Fashion illustration always shares the essence and the feeling, and I’m a very feelings-based person when it comes to art.
How do live event portraits uniquely capture moments in time?
They’re the old-school photo booth. These days, everyone just craves the human touch. Having a live portrait artist there feels so guest-oriented and personal, where guests get to have an experience rather than just float around an event. There’s this kind of anchor moment where they feel seen, they feel heard and they have something to hold.
Walk me through the process of illustrating someone at an event.
I try to stay very focused on the subject — I call them my “Bex Babes.” I don’t overthink the sketch, and it just comes to life really quickly. Essentially, someone walks up to my table, and I immediately start with some skin tones and get in the weeds on the process. I do everything I can with the same color at once, so that I’m switching pens as little as possible. Trying to have a couple layers of different colors and then being done and getting out of my head as much as possible is key.
People are delighted the most by the little details they didn’t know anyone would notice. Those are the things that make a portrait feel like someone’s personality. At the end of the day, it’s not photorealism, and yet their personality pops out on the paper, and it surprises me every time.
How do you tell a luxury brand’s story through art?
I feel like for every artist, there’s a space that feels very natural. That’s what was going to happen because that’s what I raised myself on. When I moved to New York initially, I worked at an amazing company called IMG, which is part of a larger entertainment conglomerate. I thought I wanted to be a model agent. I loved the idea of branding someone from the ground up. I think that talent management mindset has always stayed with me, where you have to be very strategic. If you have a model, you might say, “OK, she’s a Celine girl, and then this other model is a Chanel girl.”
Aspirational luxury is a space that has felt very exclusive for a long time, so bringing that Southern warmth into the luxury space almost feels like I get to love on people in a way that they’re not used to being loved on.
What’s the most rewarding part of what you do?
It always sounds so cliché, but I just love celebrating and empowering women — and anyone else I illustrate. I think what keeps me doing it is that moment where someone’s surprised that someone noticed the parts of themselves that really matter to them. Plus, it’s just fun.
Quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity.
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