Live Event Illustration & Pet Portraits at Cat Show Live 2026

Written By Kathryn Brown

If you’re an events or marketing manager planning your next trade show, have you considered working with a live illustrator?

Live illustrated portrait of a cat at The Cat Show Live For VanCat

I was recently invited by the brand VanCat to illustrate live portraits on their trade stand at The Cat Show Live in Birmingham NEC . It was a fantastic opportunity to combine my love of pet illustration and live events, creating personalised portraits to help VanCat attract visitors and bring their trade stand to life.

What is The Cat Show Live?

The Cat Show Live is organised by passionate cat lovers Samantha Marsh and Peter Banbury. It is a family friendly event dedicated to celebrating cats. There are many different cat related stalls and areas to visit including : The Cat Village, Retail avenue, The Applaws theatre, VIP Lounge, kids area and the cat club. The event is a great opportunity to connect with other like-minded cat lovers, shop for your feline friend or take part in cat related activities to promote cat education, welfare and celebrate your love for cats.

You can find out more and purchase tickets for next years event on their website.

Why my live illustration was the perfect fit for The Cat Show 2026

Their social media manager Kaitlin met me when I illustrated her portrait at her friend’s wedding a couple of years ago, so she got in touch to see if I would be interested in illustrating live cat portraits for her client VanCat.

I’ve painted many dog portraits at events for brands such as John Lewis and Partners, The Cotswold Co and Butternut Box, but more recently, I have been asked to paint live cat portraits as well. 

Earlier this year I worked again with the luxury publishing company Assouline, to illustrate live portraits of cats to celebrate the launch of their book ‘Chic Cats’. I wrote a blog post about this experience, which you can read here.

I also did live portraits to celebrate their Chic Dogs’ book launch back in 2025 too.

So when Kaitlin got in touch about the Cat Show Live, I knew it was the perfect fit!

Illustration of a brown and white striped cat. The cat is looked ahead and has a pink flower on top of its head. The word Roo is written in the bottom right corner.

Creating Influencer portraits through Live Event Illustration

On the day, I was set up with a table and chair at their trade stand, surrounded by their products, and  when customers made a purchase they had the opportunity to spin a wheel to win a free portrait of their cat.

I was also asked to illustrate portraits of a few different cat influencers as a gift for their work with the brand, and to encourage them to share their portraits on social media. The influencers involved included :

The complimentary portraits were incredibly popular, and I was busy painting for all 5 hours of the session I was booked for. Click here to see the Instagram video of me in action.

 
“I booked Helen for a client’s stand at a cat-focused trade show and her presence and work were a real highlight.

I was amazed at how efficient and beautiful her work was. We would book her again in a heartbeat.”
— Kaitlin McKenzie
 

The benefits of booking a Live Event Illustrator for your Trade Show or Corporate Event

There are so many benefits to booking a live event illustrator for your trade show or corporate event. Here are 5 reasons why it is a great idea :

  • It creates a memorable experience which feels more personal and interactive for your customers

  • Live Illustration is visual and customers are more likely to take a photo and pop it on social media. It is ‘Instagrammable’ - I go into more detail about this in my blog post ‘How to create an Instagrammable moments for your brand’ - which you can read here.

  • It can bring your brand identity to life - an illustrator can incorporate brand colours and visuals which makes it feel part of your brand

  • Guests are encouraged to interact with your team while they wait for their portrait which gives you more chance to talk about your brand and its benefits

  • It naturally attracts attention to your stall. When there is a crowd watching your Live Illustrator draw - people naturally start wondering what is going on and come along to see.

Here are some examples of the cat portraits I drew on the day, which one is your favourite?

 

If you love the idea of live illustration and you have an event coming up that you think live illustration would be perfect for, please get in touch : hello@helenridley.com

Kathryn Brown
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