Wicked Faire Revisited

I know that I mentioned in my Wicked Faire post that I was hired last minute to do a full body painting on a cat for a fashion show that was schedule to occur at the Faire.  The request was not to make her look like a cat, but to take my cues from the mask she'd be wearing with her ears and tail.  I had just over an hour to complete the look, from shoulders to shoes.  I did it!

The model, Nicole, was great to work with, and apparently was also great at the show, which I unfortunately had to miss.

Then again, she's a dancer, so how could she not be great?  Those boots are painted on, by the way.  Nicole had on t-strap shoes, but we wanted her to look like she was wearing boots, so I painted them right up her legs.

I did my best to mimic the swirls and curls of the mask, as well as the crosshatch pattern and fading that were involved in it.

All photos in this post were taken by Chris Bossio.

Body Painting: Alice in Wonderland

In my last post, I showed a bit of the body painting I did on Toni at Wicked Faire. Well, yesterday I received a CD of photos from one of the professional photographers, and my biggest problem has been figuring out which ones to post because they're all so great!

All photos in this post were taken by Phillip Makselan.

Toni met me in the Green Room with her bra cups already on, and while we were waiting to be called to the stage, I laid down the blue base and the glitter spray.  The blue is Fantasy Worldwide cream; it's really easy to wear and I knew she'd be comfortable in it.  Last year, as we found out, the chocolate I used on her corset tightened as it dried and pinched her.  No issues like that with the creams!  The glitter spray is also skin-safe, made by Mehron, a theater makeup company.

This photo (above) was right after we got on stage.  You can't tell, I don't think, but I was already exhausted. I spent the entire day and night in Renaissance Faire garb, and that corset is tight!  I started "work" at noon.  Plus, I had the surprise full-body painting earlier in the day, and other paintings throughout, so by 8:15 p.m. when this photo was taken, I was ready to lie down (and the day ended at 2 a.m.!).  

Thing is, when I'm painting, I wake back up.  It's just too fun and makes me too happy.  Plus, having an audience is always a good thing.  :D

I started with the Cheshire cat's face because it was the very first element I thought of when I knew I wanted to do this design.  What's Wonderland without the cat?  Once I blocked out that shape, though, I was all over the place, painting everywhere at once.

We had a pretty good audience.  It was smallish, but constant as some people went to see other shows, and then come back, and others passing in the hall poked their heads in to see what was up and ended up either coming in to sit down, or hanging out in the doorway.

On the fly, I realized the teapot really should have red flowers, even though it wouldn't quite be a "set" with the teacup.

S'ok!  

Body painting is really physical, for both the artist and the model.  I kept asking her to turn, raise and lower her arms, and take different positions.  At the same time, I was often bending over and around her.

Or even crouching down to paint upwards.

I did mostly stick to the front first.

At this point, I was actually down on my knees to paint, just to make it easier.

For the back, I was all about the mushrooms and caterpillar.  Together with the Cheshire cat, the caterpillar is my other favorite character of Wonderland.

And what's the caterpillar without his hookah?

Once all the big colors were blocked in, I was able to add details and outlining, since I was going for a cartoonish sort of look.

To tie the back and front together, I used a vine that traveled over Toni's shoulder.  The funny thing about that vine... for Valentine's Day, my husband bought me a 2010 leatherbound edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Other Stories, in hot pink, to inspire me for this painting.  Around the outside of the cover is a trellis of black vines that - last minute, did inspire me.

This is the finished back.

The finished front.

And a few nifty detail shots for you.

And all done in just about an hour!

Wicked Faire 2010

Wow, what a weekend! Jeff Mach's Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire was even bigger and better this year than previously. Eric and I were kept so busy that we didn't even have time to see it all.

I was doing face and body painting, as ususal, but this time we also had our soaps for sale with us. Unfortunately, that meant that Eric didn't get to travel with me when I took my face painting cart to my various body painting assignments.

I did, of course, paint the wonderful Aiden, who oversees every aspect of vendor organization for the event, from registration to placement, to complaints.

Each year, the event has a different theme. This year's theme was Alice in Wonderland, and it was a wonderful springboard for costuming. I, of course, was happy that it led to people wanting me to assist with their outfits like this adorable Cheshire cat...

Of course, there was the typical Renaissance Faire fare of swirls and curls.

In amongst those, I was honored to paint the very talented Sarah, of musical group This Way to the Egress for the band's Saturday night show.

Of course, the male faire attendees and employees didn't let me forget them either! This handsome gentleman, Mike, from Virginia let me take advantage of his available "canvas" and really have some fun.

I think I'm ready to start painting Harleys! Ha!

And Oliver, who was working at the faire and who, together with his girlfriend Timna, makes the most amazing Steampunk accessories, had me paint him to match his very cool outfit.

Last, but definitely not least, on Sunday I painted one of my most loyal models, Patrick. What's a Renaissance faire without zombies?

Especially happy zombies.

Even better than all of this, on Saturday evening, I was given a stage an an audience, to complete a body painting demonstration on the lovely Toni. With her cat ears and tail, I had to give her a cat face to match.

But the body painting was the real star of the show. We had three people taking photographs as I painted my Alice themed design...

Because we had professional photographers taking pictures, I'm not going to post the full finished product today. I don't want to ruin the look by showing you less-than-perfect photos of the painting, which was completed, back and front, in just over an hour! As soon as I have the pro photos, I'll be sharing them.

I also had the pleasant surprise, though, of a surprise body painting assignment earlier on Saturday afternoon. There was a fashion show scheduled, and the organizer's order of body paint hadn't arrived in time. The fiance of a woman I painted last year let them know that a body painter was actually available at the faire, and I was hired to complete the "outfit."

My model was to have cat ears, a tail, and a gorgeous mask, and I was asked to paint her following the style of the mask in pink and black. It was craziness. I brought my cart to the hotel room where all of the models were getting dressed. The others were wearing beautiful Victorian and faire clothing and just the one was to be a body painted cat. People were getting dressed and corseted all around us, hair and makeup being completed, while my model and I twisted and turned around each other to get her done as quickly and beautifully as possible. The energy was incredible.

The fashion show was photographed and videorecorded professionally, and I will have both photos and video links. I'm waiting for those photos and links before I post the results here, so be sure to check back! I wasn't able to see the show, but I'm told my model was absolutely amazing on the runway.

All in all, we had an amazing time, and are completely exhausted!

It's Not Just Faces

For a face and body painter, all skin is canvas, not just the face. On this blog, I've posted photos of arms, necks, and chests I've painted as well, but that's not the long and short of it either. Body painting is an art form, used all over the world in television commercials, print ads, and even an annual issue of Sports Illustrated!

This weekend, I'll be doing face and body painting at the Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire in Somerset, NJ. I've done this for several years now. The difference is that this year, I won't just be a vendor. On Saturday night, I'm scheduled to do a body painting demonstration on stage! I'm incredibly excited about this, since I love theater as well as painting, and so now I get to combine two of my arts.

It's not the first time I've body painted. In fact, the model I'm painting on Saturday night is one I painted at last year's Wicked Faire as well. Last year's theme was "Wicked Chocolate Factory," so I used face paint as a base, then Green Marble to seal the design. On top of that, I painted her with body frosting I purchsed just for this event.

This year's theme is "Wicked Tea Party," based on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, so I've got a design planned that I hope will wow the masses! As a big fan of Alice, all I hope is that I can live up to the story and do it justice.

I also go every year to New Orleans in March (except last March, when I was busy getting married!) to LA Fete, the Living Arts Festival, and take classes in face and body painting, henna, and other forms of body art. We also face paint for one afternoon of the event at the New Orleans Zoo and donate the proceeds to charity.

In 2008, I worked with two friends, Elaine Tindell-Rohr of Alabama and Lisa Rickels of Mississippi, on this great goth body painting one evening.

On another evening of the event, we painted models for a burlesque show at a bar in New Orleans. Lisa helped me realize my design on our wonderful model, Tiffany, who was a hit at the show!

This weekend should be incredibly busy and tiring, but great fun. Expect lots of photos!