Adventures of a Face Painter

A Video!

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

I had some fun making this to show you what you can get if you have me at your next event...

Try our slideshow creator at Animoto.

Just a Little Help

2012-01-22T11:08:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine, Joan, an absolutely phenomenal face painter in Arizona, will be painting at a monster truck event out west. Never having been to one, she didn't quite know what to expect and asked for some design ideas. She got some good ones for truck themes, and I kicked in an idea for a really quick monster truck, since she's not sure how many interested people she'll have.

Here was my idea.

And her awesome rendition of it in face paint!

Pretty cool!

Just for Fun

2012-01-20T17:39:00.000-05:00

A while back, I got a Klutz Pom-Pom Monster Salon. The other night, just for kicks, I made a monster for Eric.

I don't think he's named it yet. Any ideas?

Who you gonna call?

2012-01-16T17:57:00.000-05:00

The winter is a little slower for face painting. For some reason, people seem to think of it as an "outdoor" thing. It doesn't need to be, so if you needed a face painter, be sure to get in touch with me.

In the meantime, a friend of mine needed a logo for her ghost hunting group, NJ ROPE. They're based out of south Jersey, so if you're anywhere in the area and need a paranormal investigation, be sure to call them. Kerry, the member who's also my friend, suggested a ghost being caught... not too cute, not too scary, not too happy about its predicament. She and the director weren't sure if they wanted the actual state of NJ to be involved, so I did it both ways and they can pick.

Which way do you think is better?

So Busy that the Sky is Falling!

2011-11-16T00:48:00.001-05:00

I painted with a friend on Friday evening at a country club's father/daughter dance. It was princess themed, and really fun. The girls were in amazing dresses, some with their hair professionally done, and the club provided princess tiaras and us to do princess faces.

With just 2 painters, 3 hours, and 120 girls, there was no time for photo-taking, unfortunately.

But since I have to give you some sort of photos, I'll tell you about my play!

I'm appearing in December in the children's show Poultry in Motion, at the Studio Playhouse in Montclair.

It's a take on the classic Chicken Little, and I get to be Henny Penny! The director has potentially chosen to do traditional stage makeup for the characters, except for Foxy Loxy, who I may get to paint. So I worked up a sample face, based on a fox photo I found online.

Because she was the only one getting painted, the director asked me to tone it down. So I tried this.

We'll see if he goes for it. I hope he does!

Boy's Glitter Tat Birthday

2011-11-15T01:41:00.001-05:00

Last weekend I was hired to do glitter tattoos at a boy's bounce house birthday. Glitter tats are perfect for bounce house party places, since they won't rub off on the houses, minimizing cleanup for the employees. Plus, kids get sweaty when bouncing, and the tats don't just sweat off, always a plus. Some of my designs...

Once the birthay boy chose that one, it was pretty popular!

I thought this was a nifty way of getting over a fear of witches.

Another popular one was this great tribal dragon.

The kids had a blast, and I got to have fun with them. A great way to spend an afternoon!

Halloween My Way

2011-11-06T21:43:00.001-05:00

And Mother Nature's.

Those of you in NJ know that the Halloween weather was weird this year. Snow. Crazy, big, heavy snow that came down on trees still laden with green leaves, taking many of them - and power lines with them - down. Thankfully, we didn't have any issues here, but it was weird.

We decorated the yard.

And then the snow.

Snow just does not go with the Halloween motif. It just doesn't. We did get to go to a party on Saturday night, despite the weather, and Eric wore a cape I made him with the mask he got in New Orleans.

On Halloween night, I was Hermione, and Meg joined me as a witch too!

On Sunday, a friend from work borrowed my clown costume for a party to which she was invited and I did her face. She was adorable! And won best costume!

And then Halloween finished with a bang last night, when we went to a friend's annual bonfire on a blueberry farm. He lit the way with luminaries.

There was music and food and an awesome fire.

Another Halloween gone by. Can't wait for next year!

They say you can't go home again...

2011-09-25T13:59:00.004-04:00

... but I did.

From 1979 to 1982, I attended my 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classes at the Warren Point School in Fair Lawn, NJ.

Then I went on to junior high and Fair Lawn High School... and from there to college and law school. I really only went back to Warren Point to pick up my sister when she was a student there.

Until yesterday.

About a month ago, I got an email from a woman who was on a Fair Lawn school PTA, looking for a face painter to work at their "welcome back to school" carnival. When she told me the town, I had a feeling... so I asked which school... and it was mine! I was inordinately excited about going back to my old stomping grounds.

I mean, I used to play handball on that same blacktop!

There were some changes. A new wing, for instance, and the seesaws and swings were gone (what have they done with seesaws?) and this was in its place.

OK, so that's pretty cool, even if my seesaws are gone.

The best thing was being able to tell the kids that I was a student there too... about a thousand years ago. And, of course, to paint them. I think I did about 8,000 butterflies and 7,000 tigers in the four hours I was there.

I did so many of those two designs that I think at first the kids thought that was all I was offering! It just so happened those were the first two requested and it stuck. There's always the "hot" design at any event that just gets a million requests. I did finally hear someone farther back on the line mention the word "bear," though, so I took the opportunity to suggest a brown bear or panda. It resulted in two pandas, one "real" and one green.

I also ended up with a lot of puppies because at the end when I had to cut the line, I gave a choice of "butterflies, snakes, or puppies, that's it!" I didn't get any photos of those, though, because I was racing by then. I did get some randoms throughout the afternoon...

(Yay, Fair Lawn!)

I only kinda wish Mrs. Sandler (my grammar school art teacher) was still teaching there and had been at the event. How funny would that be?

Normally, when I cut a line, that's that. I don't take any "just one more"s because it's just not fair to the kids I've already turned away. Yesterday was no exception... almost.

As I was painting the second-to-last customer, a little girl came up and asked me, "May I please have a face painting?" I told her I couldn't do it, and explained why, but thanked her for asking so politely and saying "please." She was with her mom watching me as I got to the last customer, a little boy who was the brother of the girl I'd been painting a minute before. When it was time for him to get in my chair, he chickened out. His mom asked me to take the polite girl in his stead, since I now had room for one more and she'd asked so nicely. It was the one time I've made an exception, but I loved being able to teach her that being polite gets her places.

And the PTA took photos too!

Wow.

2011-09-24T22:37:00.000-04:00

Several years ago, when I was a much newer face painter, I hired by the mom to work at a birthday party at Anna's Chocolates in Tappan, NY. It was a great place, where the kids got to make their own chocolate candies and lollipops as part of the party. I remember the party well, as I was impressed with the shop and wanted to maybe have one of my own birthday parties there... and also because it was a crazy situation where I was hired for "10" kids and 25 showed up. I had one hour in which to paint 'em, so I really had to race.

And then it left my mind.

Fast forward to last month, when I got a call from a woman named Anna. Of Anna's chocolates. It was now 4 years later, Anna no longer had the chocolate shop, but she did have a daughter turning 3. And the daughter wanted a face painter.

She hadn't kept my card.

She wracked her brain for a day, thinking about it, and actually remembered my name and found me online. Crazy, no? Crazy, I tell you. Wow. I honestly don't know whether to be more flattered or impressed. I'm kind of both.

So last weekend, I did face painting and glitter tattoos and face painting at the kiddo's party. No photos, sorry. It was fun, though, very nice kids. And the great idea of having two pinatas, one princess one and one pirate. Very cool.

Picnic!

2011-07-24T09:26:00.002-04:00

Every summer, the community theater to which I belong, Bergen County Players, hosts a picnic for the members, friends, and family, and every year Eric and I go. Since it's something I can offer to my fellow theater people, I bring the face paints and glitter tats.

I'm generally a hit. This year didn't get off to an auspicious start, though, when I asked a little girl I didn't know if she wanted to be painted. She said yes, her mother said yes. She wanted a butterfly, and pink was her color of choice... but as soon as the sponge reached her face, she got really upset. Glitter, which she'd already asked for before I started, just added to her misery. Looking in the mirror was even worse, and she didn't stop crying until we washed her face off. I'm glad Snazaroo, which I was using, will come off with just a paper towel and a little water. I felt so bad! Face painting's supposed to be fun, after all.

When her mom tried getting painted to show her it was ok, she got upset all over again... and then again when her brother got a glitter tattoo on each arm. She's very protective of her family, it seems.

After that, though, hilarity ensued.

First, what I did.

What you're seeing there are my first ever beagle and squirrel! I love getting challenges! The fish was just something out of my head, an "artist's choice," but Eric told me I'd done a pineapple fish. Behold...

Weird, right? I'd never heard of or seen this fish before! Hmm...

While I was working, though, my young friend Messalina (isn't that a great name?) asked to use my paints and join me. I never let anyone do that, but it is tradition that Messalina paints me, so I let her paint our friend Kenny, who was oddly agreeable yesterday. I do note that he's never let me paint him and plan to remedy that, especially since he has such a terrific canvas.

I think I should hire her!

108?!

2011-07-23T10:10:00.001-04:00

Wow, not cool. And I mean that both figuratively and literally, since weather.com says it hit 108 here in NJ yesterday. A record high, from the prior 105.

I'm not fond of 3-digit temperatures. If I was, I'd go live in Arizona.

Even in the dark of night, at 1 a.m., it was near 90 degrees. So you get the idea. And where was I from 5:30 - 830 p.m.? With 4 fellow crazy face painters, at the Bergen County Zoo in Van Saun Park in Paramus. Face painting. Outdoors. In that heat.

Crazier than we were may have been the people who got painted. More power to 'em! Because of them, I got to do some fun stuff. Like these butterflies.

Mike Tyson's tribal... which is probably a tad easier with a shaved head.

And yeah, I looked it up. All hail the smartphone! Speaking of the smartphone and finding images, I got my first toucan request and decided to give it a go once I found one online.

Good job, if I do say so myself!

I was surprised at the people who wanted full face designs in the heat, but if they were willing, I was willing. Hence the crocodile and ladybug.

It was kind of fun to make the ladybug smile when she smiled, and it was a surprising popular design. Another face painting "trick" is to make parts disappear. This boy was really happy at the snake apparently slithering through his hair.

Unsurprisingly, we did get a lot of arm art.

The best design of the day, though? Or at least the funniest... check out these guys.

Love it!

A Happy 4th!

2011-07-05T00:35:00.000-04:00

I painted on Monday at the Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, at their annual party. It was a great bunch of kids, and we had fun. This year, Angry Birds were the most popular face by far, a fad begun by this young lady, with my first ever Angry Bird face painting.

Of course, butterflies.

A dragon.

A patriotic kiddo.

An evil clown.

And a bunch more firsts... a rocket and a smilie.

An owl that I wish was a better photo.

And a cute porcupine!

Almost July 4, and the Parties Have Started!

2011-07-04T14:33:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, some friends and I did glitter tattoos at a country club's July 4 weekend party. We've been there several times before for this event, and it's always a good one. We were moving pretty quickly, but I took some time for a few photos.

Even at my own party!

2011-07-03T13:29:00.002-04:00

Every year, Eric and I throw a Mardi Gras in June party. We order live crawfish from New Orleans, plus shelled crawfish for etouffee (my favorite food in the world). I make pecan pie and we have a ton of people over for the afternoon and into the night. This year I made a cake too. For a full recount, look here.

This year, I was getting face painting requests, but it's not so easy to stop and do that when you're hosting. My friend Emilie was nice enough to pull out her kit instead.

When my friend's son requested a tiger, though, Emilie insisted I'm better at it, and passed it to me. So I did paint one face.

He was totally enamoured with it, and really became the tiger!

And Emilie was wonderful to do the rest! She'd already worked 6 hours that day at an event!

And... what the end of a party looks like.

A Long Morning

2011-06-15T08:13:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, I painted with two other face painters - and two volunteers who just might have gotten the painting bug - at the Valerie Fund Walkathon in Verona, NJ. I've been doing this gig for several years, but this was the first year that was misty and chillly.

It was fun anyway, with a great bunch of people and a nonstop line. I barely had time to snap any photos, but took just enough time for these two, a dragon and a mesh of superheroes.

I like that superhero idea!

Now That's a Party!

2011-06-06T08:14:00.000-04:00

Wow. Just wow.

I did glitter tattoos on Saturday at a 10th birthday party out in Queens, NY. The family was incredibly nice and the kids really down to earth, but this was the party to end all parties. Apparently, they don't do big birthday celebrations every year, just milestone-type birthdays, and this was one of those. I think half the population of Queens was there, together with a DJ, catered food, an arcade party van, pony rides, and a local marching band! Yes, seriously.

I love it. I also loved the fact that all the kids, including the multitude of boys, wanted glitter and even the rhinestones I brought with me for this killer event.

Jaden, the birthday boy, got two. Just 'cause.

Some of what I did...

On these, I used glitter plus my tattoo inks to embellish...

And for this guy, I used my black matte mica powder, ink, and rhinestones. The powder has a finish that looks like a real tattoo.

These are two really large stencils I had, from the same woman who made my Alice in Wonderland stencils, a phoenix and a Mardi Gras mask, and I love them!

And this one I did freehand on a sweet little girl's hand.

At the end, I got to drive home during my favorite time of day, when the sun is setting and the whole city and the water turn periwinkle blue.

Don't worry, I didn't look as I flashed those. I just had to try for some shots out the car window as I went over the bridge.

A great end to a great day!

A Last-Minute Birthday

2011-05-15T22:56:00.000-04:00

I'd kept today free for other things, but when I got a call this morning from a former client who'd had me paint at a baptism two years ago, needing a last-minute face painter because the rain canceled the bounce house, I decided to take the party.

It was a 3rd birthday for a beautiful and decisive little girl who knew even when her mom was on the phone with me at 9 a.m. that she wanted to be a tiger. Unwavering, when I got to the party at 2 p.m., "tiger" was still the request. And a tiger she was. A happy one, even.

This was a creative bunch; my next customer wanted to be a brown gorilla. This face got a heck of a reaction.

His older brother also had his idea from the very beginning, a snake. They all freaked out at the eyes on the eyes (my first time doing this!), and the one negative was that he couldn't see 'em in the mirror. But his mom took photos with his eyes closed for him to have.

I also had another zombie... you know I love doing those! He wanted lots of blood. I think it's even better with that hairdo!

Is it me, or is that kid headed for a rock band when he hits high school?

The older girls got mostly arm art, including this heart made of hearts, by request.

But this chick told me to surprise her. It was fun painting while she tried to guess what I was doing. Once someone told her it was undersea, though, she figured out that the grey I'd used was a shark and she requested a jellyfish and a crab, both of which I incorporated.

She kept a straight face for the photo, but loved it otherwise!

I really am glad I had a free day and decided to go to the party. It was such a great bunch of people.

Tribeca Film Festival

2011-05-02T20:15:00.001-04:00

The Tribeca Film Festival Kid's Day was Saturday, and this time I was there from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., working nonstop! It was crazy, with people waiting for me for over an hour.

When I first got there, my station in Washington Market Park didn't have a table and chair yet, so I took a few flower and "beautiful day" photos.

Just as I finished setting up, a short line started to form... that didn't stay short! One of the very first "customers" I had wanted to be a vampire. A girl after my own heart. My vampire face changes every time I paint it, so this is the one I did early yesterday.

I was happy with it, and she loved it, but I think I improved upon it later in the day, when this boy also asked to be a vampire.

A little Eddie Munster-ish, but Eddie was supposed to evoke a vampire look so I'm OK with that. This kid was absolutely ecstatic and his family wowed. The initial reaction when he saw the mirror was, "Even better than I imagined it would be!" Perfect reaction!

On the other end of the spectrum was this faerie princess, all shimmery and with hearts and rosebuds.

I did make a mistake. I brought with m a Frappuccino and a Special K protein bar, but no sandwich or anything for lunch, and no water. What was I thinking? Especially the water - I always bring water! In fact, I brought water for my face painting, but none for me.

Thankfully, the volunteers, organizers, and employees of the Tribeca Film Festival are phenomenal. Not only did they get someone to help me carry my things into the park to set up, but they came by throughout the day to make sure I didn't need anything. And the first one who came by, came with bottles of SmartWater. Perfect! As it is, I didn't even drink it all because I was really painting without any break at all, barely even for a swig of water. Not the healthiest, but I always feel bad to stop when I see the line is so long. I really need to treat myself better. And when the volunteers asked if I needed anything else periodically, I really should've mentioned food; it was silly not to.

Ah, well, at least I took the time to snap a few more photos, like this whimsical full face flower that I painted upon request for this young lady.

Interestingly, someone must've seen her and liked it also, because later on in the day I got another request for the same face!

Two of my other favorite faces of the day were both dragons. The first request actually caused me to change from my standard dragon face to something entirely different. A girl wanted a very girly dragon, in pink. Okie doke. So this is what I came up with.

I even made the scales heart shaped! That was a fun one. So then later when another girl wanted a more traditional dragon, this one had an obvious influence on it.

The crowd at the Tribeca Film Festival really is terrific too. The kids were great, and I appreciated the parents, grandparents, and guardians who expressed concern for my well-being. They're good eggs, all of them.

We did have one scare during the day, though. A little boy, maybe four years old, was throwing some dirt at my table, which concerned me because I didn't want dirt and pebbles in the face paints, with the resulting potential to scratch my models. I was able to get it cleaned out, but I really couldn't seem to get the boy's attention and have him stop. And no adult would claim him!

I called the event organizer, now more afraid for a lost little boy than my supplies, and the Festival folk were able to reunite him with his parents' friends, who had taken him and his twin brother to the playground and hadn't noticed that he was missing. Phew, crisis averted.

At the end of the day, my back was sore, my neck and shoulders stiff, but I was happy at the honestly absolutely awesome gig. The people were wonderful - both festival people and patrons, I got to be creative despite the thousand butterflies and puppies I must've painted, and I had a blast. Even fighting my way through the Holland Tunnel afterwards was worth it.

Guess where you can find me next?

2011-04-13T15:19:00.000-04:00

Remember this? Well, we're on!

I'll be at the Tribeca Film Festival again! I'm face painting at the Kid's Festival on April 30. This time, though, I'll be there all day long, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.! Can you tell how excited I am? I really love this event.

Of course, a post telling you where I'm going to be in the future doesn't give you any nifty photos to look at right now. So here are some long overdue photos from an adult event I did in February...

Another Sort of 1st Birthday

2011-01-23T22:01:00.000-05:00

Unlike my nephew's low key birthday, this one was an all-out bash. I had a lot of models, too!

The two boys were brothers, and I think it was the younger one's first full face. So cute!

The second mouse I've ever done!

And my first elephant in ages.

I love doing lop-eared bunnies.

Normally, I do sharks at the mouth so the shark's mouth is the model's mouth. The kids love it when they can make the sharks bite. But this little cutie had a rash on his cheeks, so I decided to change it up a bit...

My Nephew's First Birthday

2011-01-23T21:13:00.001-05:00

The party was December 19, and I've slacked on posting about it.

My sis decided to do it low key. Pretty much just family, in the house, with a Where the Wild Things Are theme. It was a really great theme. We did a cake.

And I made him a crown like Max's as his birthday hat.

And I got to face paint the cousins, though it was non-thematic painting.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T20:45:00.003-04:00

Ah, Halloween, my favorite holiday.

We were so busy this year with so many things that we actually skipped our annual Holiday party and instead made other plans.

I did, however, face paint at my usual Halloween gig, the Bergen County Cabbage Night Festival. I love this event, and it's great for the kids.

My first model of the day was this adorable girl who wanted something scary and settled on an alien.

She was hanging around as I set up my table, and was the only one around, but once I painted her I was swamped for even longer than my scheduled three hours.

Some more girls who were into the scary faces (my personal favorites) were this zombie, vampire, and witch.

Some weren't into face painting, but were sure into the theme. A new design for me that was hugely popular this year was my haunted house scene. I did some on hands, some on faces.

And my first vampire hand painting. I'm used to turning people into vampires, more than drawing them. Still, a fair representation, I think.

And of course I had my usual butterflies, tigers, puppies, and this cute cheetah.

Plus, my first ever rocket request, which I then duplicated on this young man's brother.

This next design was a heck of a compromise. The model wanted a flower, just a simple flower. Her mom was pushing for a mardi gras mask. So I suggested a flowered mardi gras mask!

Then there were these three teens who were so cool. The first one saw the length of my line and chose to keep things moving for me, even though she'd waited for nearly two hours herself. She requested just a cat nose and whiskers. The second dubbed herself a comic book geek and requested a superhero mask, which was voted by the three as the "best superhero mask she'd ever gotten" and "sick" (a good thing in teenspeak). The third wanted nerd glasses, tape and all.

I was so crazy busy painting, that I actually handed them my phone to take photos of each other for me! I love how they all got into character with their paintings.

While that afternoon I was a Renaissance wench,

later that night, my husband Eric and I went to Forest of Fear, a haunt organized by the same group that does the NY Renaissance Festival across the street from the Faire grounds. For that, I went as a zombie Alice in Wonderland, and Eric wore this terrific mask we bought him in New Orleans, with a black velvet cloak.

Today, I went trick or treating wtih my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. My nephew, for his first Halloween, was Curious George, my brothe-in-law was the Man in the Yellow Hat, and my sister was the bunch of balloons in the sky. I was a clown.

We do have one more Halloween event - we're going to Blaze at Van Cortlandt Manor next Saturday. I'll let you know how it was!

Crazy Weekend

2010-10-11T14:01:00.001-04:00

Wow, it was a busy weekend!

On Saturday afternoon, I face painted for four hours at a Hemophila Rock Benefit in Clark, NJ, while two of my friends did airbrish tattoos, glitter tattoos, and yet more face painting. We were so swamped and had such long lines, I couldn't get any photos at all.

On Sunday, I got up at 5:30 in the morning to be in Parsippany, NJ for the Heart Walk by 7:30 a.m. Party City sponsored the face painting there, and I was working from 8 - 11:30 a.m. Although I had a steady stream of models, I did manage to get in a few photos, like this creepy face, the hippo, and the bumblebee.

Then I went straight to a birthday party in Little Ferry, NJ. It was a first birthday with a barnyard theme, and the mom did a great job with decorating. The tables all had red and white checked tablecloths, and the balloons were black and white cow print and red. Each kid got a straw hat and a cow print vest. They didn't quite stick to the theme with face painting, young and old alike. The painting theme for the party was primarily hand art.

As a result, I got to do this puppy and ladybug:

My very first full-body tiger:

Wow, working sideways, I didn't realize quite how big his head was. And also my first ever whale request. This one I love!

I think it's adorable, if I do say so myself!

Glen Rock Street Fair

2010-10-11T13:35:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, I painted at the Glen Rock street fair. We were actually allowed to share a booth between this business and our handmade soap (etc.) business, Reef Botanicals. It really saved us on the cost of the booth.

I let Eric and our friend Kerry deal with the soap (and line managing for me), while I handled the face painting and temporary tattoos.

Holy crow, was I swamped! From the beginning at 11 a.m. to after the end of the fair at 4 p.m., I painted and tattooed my littl heart out. Because of that, I only had time for one photo, a dalmation, which by her dad's request, did not include the tongue I usually do on my puppies.

My back was really sore at the end of the day, but boy was it fun! I love being busy like that.

I did notice an interesting but very smart thing that happened. Throughout the day, it was all about the face painting and people generally ignored the temporary tattoos. However, starting about an hour before the fair closed, parents started encouraging their kids to get glitter tattoos because they'd have to "wash the face paint off in three hours anyway." The tattoos, though, last a few days, potentially up to a week. Brilliant!

Glitter Tat Party

2010-10-02T03:17:00.000-04:00

I was the guest of a 10-year-old and her 15 friends at their sleepover birthday party tonight. She was dead set on having glitter tattoos at her party, and glitter tattoos I provided. Like these.

Butterfly

Henna Flowers

Panther

Twilight

Irish Sugar Skull

And some were getting in gear for Halloween, kids after my own heart.

Skull & Crossbones

Candy Corn

Kids Need Leadership

2010-09-21T15:06:00.000-04:00

I'll start by saying I'm not a parent. I don't pretend to be able to tell you all how to do your job. In fact, I watch my nephew just one day a week, and I see how hard it is, how tiring, and how wonderful - and he's only 8 months old! He's not even running around yet, or talking.

So I get it, and I won't pretend to know more than you parents.

I do notice things, though.

I consider my area as a face painter to be a "good manners" zone. When I tell kids to refrain from leaning on my table, I expect them to listen. I completely understand them forgetting, and know how tempting it is to lean - I'm a leaner myself. So I'm not worried about those kids. But I've had the occasional event where the kids set out to disobey, and purposely shake my table, which is a light aluminum camping table, just to be contrary.

I've seen kids try to cut in line and shove other kids around, and I'll quickly let them know that no one who misbehaves is eligible to be painted.

I tell kids who curse that they need to stop or they won't get painted.

My space, my rules. And I refuse to reward bad behavior.

Apparently, despite my inexperience, I'm doing things right. According to this article, parents really do need to be the boss. I personally see that as extending to all adults in authority - teachers, coaches, and yes, face painters. No, I'm not about to take over your job. And I'm not about to tell you you're doing it wrong. But the author of this article does seem to have some good thoughts on the subject. The blog in general is a useful resource. Hope it helps someone out there reading this.

A Beautiful Day for a Birthday

2010-09-20T13:09:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, I painted at a joint birthday for two siblings, one 4 and one 8, who shared a birthday. They actually have four other siblings! (More power to their parents!)

The family was great, and there were a ton of people there, attending in the park in Newark. As I pulled up and parked my car, the dad and grandma setting up accidentally let go the bunch of balloons that was supposed to decorate, but luckily they got caught in a tree, so they still decorated the party... you just had to look up to see them.

I set up my stuff, and almost immediately got to work. Adults, kids, everyone was into it, so I had a lot of work to do. Some of the kids even got painted multiple times, like this pink kitty with flowered arms.

We decided on flowered arms with a pink background when she wanted both kitten paws and flowers on her arms. So I explained that the kitten was walking through the garden, and you could see the pink paws through the flowers.

The birthday boy, age 4, chose a red Spiderman, so one of the other boys in line after him responded with a request for a black Spiderman.

And more variations on a theme... a pink puppy that later led to a standard brown one.

And the birthday girl, age 8, who was actually first on my line, got a cheetah, inspiring her friend to do the same. There were very few duplicates at this party, which made it more fun for me, but this one allowed me to get this great shot of these two sassy cheetahs, double trouble if I ever saw it.

That's the birthday girl there on the left. It was so atypical, that I only had one single butterfly!

Flowers were a hit that day, from this little rose princess, who specified that she wanted three flowers.

To the birthday kids' great grandma, who asked for a single rose.

And yes, I said great grandma. How cool is that?

There were also the arm flowers (and butterflies) I did on this two-year-old and the face of flowers on one of the adults in the bunch.

Other adults asked for cheek art depicting their favorite things, like this stiletto heel and this hat, which matched the hat she was wearing.

I love it when I get to take a request and run with it, like this heart princess, who just asked for a simple heart. When I suggested the princess, and then showed her the finished product, she was ecstatic.

On the other end of the spectrum, a skull request from a young man who graciously waited on line while on crutches, pretty much without complaint.

He also had the dubious talent of being able to roll his eyes back in his head. While it freaks me out, it does make for a really nifty photo!

And somewhere in the middle of the road, a tiger and a zebra - my first zebra request in years!

And just look at that blue sky behind them! They got so lucky with the weather for a large outdoor party, it was great.

A Message for Your Kids

2010-09-15T10:43:00.001-04:00

It's hard for me to believe that Sesame Street hit the airwaves only a year before I was born, but it definitely was a huge part of my youth, and then of my sister's seven years later. I love that it's still on TV, as it's quality children's programming, rather than some of the garbage that's out there. And I love that it's still fresh.

So fresh, in fact, that Will.I.Am from Black Eyed Peas (one of my favorite bands) apparently appeared on the show! And he had a great message for the kiddies. Here, watch. And then have your kids watch too.

Fifth Birthday

2010-09-12T23:38:00.000-04:00

Not mine... obviously. But I painted at a fifth birthday this Saturday. In the background, I could hear the birthday girl's dad playing fun games with the kids, like pin the nose on the clown and "freeze dance." The family had also gotten a new puppy, so the kids lined up to meet her.

Meanwhile, I did this...

And a good time was had by all!

Give and Get

2010-09-07T11:20:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was the Rutherford Street Fair, a very large fair at which my mother has been telling me I should be painting for years now, but I've always had other gigs that day. Besides, they've already got a couple of regular face painters, though from what I understand one will no longer be there after this season. She's just not in the mood to do fairs anymore, and that's reasonable.

It's a tough kind of day, painting at a fair. For birthday parties, I normally arrive 10-30 minutes before my start time to set up. That's all I really need. Well, with street fairs, they need all the cars off the street by a certain time, and I'm not just bringing my table, chairs, and kit. I'm bringing my 10x10' canopy, my glitter tattoo and face painting kits with a table for each, and all of my signage. It's a lot. Heck, my canopy, which claims to be "easy" (it's a lie) requires help to set up!

Then I'm painting for 7 hours straight, usually with no breaks, and then have to take everything down and pack it up again. There's a risk, too. What if the fair is small and no one shows up? What if too many people just aren't in the mood for body art? What if it's pouring rain or deathly hot?

So I can see why this other face painter may be tired of it. It's a lot of work, but I'm still at a point where I really do love it. Plus, when it's a big fair I bring Eric with me to help. He can help me set up and tear down, and talk to the parents and kids who're waiting while I'm painting, so everyone stays entertained.

Yesterday was different, though. Yesterday I was actually asked to come and paint on behalf of Giants of Generosity.

It's a really nifty group (definitely check out their website) that really just finds random people in need and gives them a hand. As they state it, "Our mission is to respond to the most pressing needs of people who are experiencing desperate times, right here in our own communities."

Who can argue with that?

When a man landed in the hospital with severe injuries after trying to assist a woman who was being attacked, they paid his medical bills. That's the sort of thing they do.

So they paid for my booth at the fair, and in return I donated back 40% of my proceeds from painting yesterday. It was a slightly slower day for me, unfortunately, so that amounted to $150, but I was glad to be able to give that to them in addition to the donations they were taking at their own separate booth.

I did a lot of painting and a few tattoos, and here are some of the fun ones...

I did this GoG logo on one of the volunteers at their table. Lettering's not my strong suit, but I think it came out pretty good!

This boy's mom was skeptical about his desire to become a dragon until she saw his face. Then even she was a fan. He absolutely loved it.

This young lady just wanted a heart on her cheek, but you know I can't stop with just that. So she got to be a heart princess instead. When she saw the mirror, she was ecstatic with the improvements.

These two were funny. They came up together in a group of giggly girls, wanting a butterfly and... wait for it... a jellyfish. A jellyfish? Heck, I'll try anything once, and they were happy. To her, jellyfish are pretty, and I did make it shimmery of course.

Personally, they freak me out. Seriously, I don't understand them. Where are the parts? Where's the brain? Eyes? How does it think? Ah, to each her own.

I had a few takers for the glitter tattoos, like this dolphin and the Irish skull.

The most fun thing of the day, though, was that my friends Denise and Bill came to the fair with their son, Kody, not knowing I'd be there. I painted at Kody's first birthay, but of course now that he's almost 3, he doesn't remember that. He had me do a snake on his arms, and loved how it's running up one arm and down the other, so it looks like it's running right through his shirt.

A lot of people thanked me for being there and for helping out such a great charity, and it felt great. I hope they have me back next year!

From Girls to Ghouls

2010-09-05T22:13:00.000-04:00

I face painted this afternoon at the Ridgewood Country Club for their Labor Day party. In amongst my usual fare of dolphins and skulls were these adorable kittens.

On the other end of the spectrum were this scary clown...

... and this adorable (and yet scary) zombie.

It's a terrible photo, but I so love it when they get into character.

A Birthday Party

2010-08-18T11:38:00.001-04:00

I was fortunate to be hired by my friend Emilie to join her in painting at a new Bergen County event this year - a 50th anniversary celebration of the Van Saun Park, which took place at the Bergen County Zoo. Unfortunately, because of the number of kids getting painted, we couldn't get photos.

I do have photos for you, though, from a birthday party I did last weekend in central Jersey. It was a wonderful family, and despite the fact that most of they party was outside, mom was understanding of the needs of face paint and stationed me inside, where my supplies wouldn't melt and become goopy.

I know, I know, get to the photos already!

Of course, there was the flock of butterflies, including the birthday girl.

And I was able to convince one young man to get in on the action.

Which then finally showed the older boys that I was actually pretty good at this stuff, and it wasn't just for girls.

These, in turn, gave this young lady, who was less girly-girl than the young 'uns, an idea.

And then, the fun adults got in on the act, the first to match her dress.

And the second, a request for "something Irish and small."

And everyone was happy, including me!

Bergen County Zoo

2010-08-02T00:06:00.000-04:00

For several years now, I've painted with my friend Emilie and several other face painters at the Bergen County Zoo's patron appreciation night; this year it was on Friday, July 31, from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. They have all sorts of great things set up for the patrons besides face painting.

My first "victim" chose a snail, which I think came out pretty cute, and she was happy.

I had a few tiger requests, of course, several butterflies, and this monster.

Another wanted a snake, and when she saw my finished product, made me feel great with a "You're really good at this!"

We painted our little hearts out. It was, in short, a zoo!

Another Birthday - Mine!

2010-07-26T23:22:00.000-04:00

This Wednesday, I turn 40. Even before I was a face painter, a birthday always seemed to me to be a really good reason for a party, so I've always celebrated mine with friends and family, each year planning something different to do.

My family actually has a birthday tradition. I was born at 12:12 a.m. on July 28, so it really started with my parents and sister showing up at my apartment at 12:12 a.m. every year with ice cream cake, balloon and gifts. My sister was born at around 2 a.m. on a day in May so we'd show up at her place then for the same little party. Well, my parents don't stay up as late anymore, so the tradition has morphed a bit, wherein everyone shows up at some crazy hour of the morning and we have ice cream cake for breakfast, with balloons and gifts.

This past Sunday was my brother-in-law's birthday, so we all met at their house at 7 a.m. for the mini-party. Unbeknownst to me, my husband made a deal with my mom to surprise me with a joint celebration, thereby getting out of having them descend on our house on Wednesday morning at 6 a.m., two hours before he had to leave for work and an hour and a half before he normally gets up.

Ice cream cake for breakfast is the best! I got some great gifts...

... and then later that day was my self-planned birthday party. First, we spent several hours at the Turtle Back Zoo, where I hadn't been in years.

After that, and just in time because as we left the zoo the sky turned black with an impending storm, we continued on to Monster Golf, an indoor mini golf venue that's all lit in blacklight and laid out in UV-reactive paint! Of course, I had to pull out my UV face paints and painted myself and my friend.

I loved the glow, and we matched the whole place!

Dinner with friends was a terrific finish to the day.

My July 4th

2010-07-06T17:04:00.000-04:00

My 4th of July this year was long. And hot. I have no idea how the kids do it, running around in the sun and heat, but I wish I was one of them sometimes. Of course, I don't remember being that fine in that sort of weather, so maybe I was always old?

(Of course, I'll only be 40 at the end of this month, so "old" is a state of mind. Or body. I haven't decided which.)

On the morning of the 4th, my husband Eric and I made shampoo, since our web store was out of stock. Then in the afternoon, I was hired by a wonderful event organizer, Premier Productions, to paint kids at a big party at the Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, NJ. It's a beautiful place, and the event organizer was very good to the entertainers. She had canopies, tables, and chairs set up for each of us, plus enough cold water to keep us going.

That striped tent had games for the kids to play. There was also this terrific balloon artist.

Plus, a magician. The balloon artist apparently had a large number of requests for aliens, because then the kidos came to me to have their faces match! As someone who's ever only painted one alien face before, it was fun to have several in one day; gave me a challenge to change them up a bit as I went.

Even some of the club staff got painted, like this Tinkerbell fan, which is always fun for me.

Some of the kids stuck with the patriotic theme, of course.

And others didn't.

Some went completely another direction and were looking for my favorite, the horror faces. One boy was very definite about wanting to be a vampire, and another, age 12, just gave me the instruction that he wanted the most gory, bloody, horrible thing I could do. So here goes, a vampire and a zombie.

And you just have to love kids who play up to the photography! Hams are the best!

Believe it or not, after four hours of this, I went home, took a shower, and then Eric and I went to a party hosted by one of our own friends. It wasn't until the next day that we got to see fireworks in Ridgewood.

Road Trip

2010-06-28T22:16:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday I was hired to do face painting and temporary tattoos at an adult party at which kids would be in attendance. I was actually referred by a Maryland face painter who'd painted at the hostess' niece's (follow along with me here) party while the hostess was visiting. It sounds more convoluted than it is.

At any rate, I'm grateful to my Maryland colleague for the referral.

The party on Sunday was in Long Branch, NJ, over an hour from where I live, and part of the Jersey shore, but they were adamant that they needed me there. And what a party it was! I got to try a taste of the phenomenal catering, as the hostess insisted that I eat. I made sure to try some of the multitude of gorgeous pastries and chocolates.

It was hot on Sunday, incredibly hot for an outdoor party, but I found a spot under some trees and not far from the really great Israeli band that reminded me of my dad's music from my childhood, and made due with the shade.

The kids were really great, and gave me a chance to do faces I love to make up for the school carnival of cheek art.

We had the requisite butterflies... but what cute butterflies!

And a puppy!

A monkey! Monkeys have always been tough for me, but I think I'm kind of getting the swing of them. The partiers approved, at least.

I haven't painted, of course, 'til I've done a tiger or two, and this brother and sister due accommodated. When the girl got into my chair right after her brother, she was all about "pink and purple," and when I told her I could do a pink & purple tiger, she immediately jumped on the idea.

This young lady's mom instructed her to stay away from face painting, so we did her arms. Her favorite color is blue, same as mine!

They chose some great glitter tattoos, too.

And this young man wanted a mica powder tattoo, that looked great... but got even better when he suggested I use the silver glitter in the blank area! We both agreed that it was a very cool tattoo.

All in all, the heat and distance were really worth it; the party was great!

Just Clowning Around

2010-06-23T13:56:00.000-04:00

On Friday evening, I painted, in clown, at a school carnival in Franklin Lakes. It was crazy busy, so no photos, but it was fun, despite the heat and humidity, plus divebombing gnats and mosquitoes. Ah, the adventure that is outdoor employment!

The kids were good, and there was one terrific girl who helped me end the line when it got late. I promised her an awesome face in return for her assistance, since I sent her down the line with a full paintbrush, to number the rmaining kids' hands. The idea was that if you weren't already on line, you weren't getting painted. She actually staved off several kids who tried to muscle their way in, brave soul that she was.

She was going to be my last customer, and I was all set to do her up with a full face tiger (her previous request) and tons of neon yellow glitter to go with it. She got into the chair.... and requested her name, Brianna, across her face. That's it. Sigh. I felt bad that she waited all that time and helped so much for just that, but if that's what she wanted, that's what she was getting. I did use my best handwriting and tons of glitter, at least. And she was happy, which is what matters in the end.

Meanwhile, it was that evening that I met Patty Cakes the Clown, a very nice guy who's still early in his career. He twists balloons, though, and is great with the magic. I started to teach myself ballooning, only to discover that, as infatuated as I am with watching it done, I'm not fond of doing it myself. So kudos to him! Also, he's great with the kids and like I said, the magic. We were trading some magic tips for face painting ones.

... and he's encouraging me to really work up a clown "character!" I think it's a great idea, so you might be seeing a clowning option from me coming down the road!

Blast from the Past

2010-06-15T21:06:00.000-04:00

About 6 or 7 years ago, I face painted at my friend's daughter's 4th birthday. That was early on in my face painting career, when I was much more of a novice and not nearly at the level of quality I am now.

Well today, I got the best compliment based on that party anyway!

I painted this afternoon at the 4th birthday of a young man whose mother and sister attended the party so many years ago. Mom kept me in mind all these years, and called me for this party! As a face painter, I never know who I'm going to see again. It's really great, and a testament to mom's opinion of me.

The funny thing? This was a pirate party and I didn't paint a single pirate! I did, however, forget my camera so I can't show you the tiger, bear, vampire, butterflies, lion, and other critters I did paint.

I got up at 6:30 this morning.

2010-06-12T16:43:00.001-04:00

Yes, on a Saturday. I had a good reason, though. I was face painting with two other artists at the Valerie Fund walk in Verona Park this morning.

We were all painting furiously for several hours straight, so I only had a little time to take photos, but here are some of them.

Two princesses and a monster.

A request for a red skeleton that was neither bloody nor angry, so we added glitter. Nothing with glitter could be angry. Except maybe my cat. He glares at me when I get glitter on him.

My first bumblebee in many years.

A shark.

A tiger. As you know, I love it when adults want to get painted.

A request for a unicorn with rainbows, for which I simply didn't have time. Instead, my model compromised with me for a unicorn with a rainbow mane.

My very first werewolf.

And some wildcats. I painted the two on the left; one of the other two artists painted the leopard.

What will you be doing for Labor Day?

2010-06-11T23:24:00.001-04:00

Personally, I think you should be coming to the Rutherford Street Fair, where I'll be face painting at the Giants of Generosity booth from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Yes, I'm already talking about September 6, 2010.

Who are the Giants of Generosity?

They're a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that simply finds people in need and helps them. Through internal donations from its members, other private donations, and fundraising efforts, Giants of Generosity works on a "pay-it-forward" philosophy of giving.

Their funding has gone to medical bills for a man who was gravely injured during an assault when he tried to come to a woman's rescue as she was being attacked. It's gone to a woman's cancer surgery and radiation treatments. It's helped pay the rent of someone in need.

For more information, visit their website. The testimonials there made me cry.

I'll be charging for face painting, and all of the proceeds will go to the organization. Please come out, support this worthy group, and get some information from them!

Going Away

2010-06-10T20:57:00.005-04:00

No, not me. Ha, you're not getting rid of me that easily!

Someone else... and so there was a big kids' going away party yesterday afternoon at Tribeca Cinemas. I was hired to face paint at the party, and because I knew we'd have two hours and a lot of kids, I brought my friend Emilie with me.

The party was great, with balloons, a DJ, food, and drink... and of course, us. When we first got there, only a few girls chose to get painted.

So I did what I usually do to try and attract attention; I started to paint myself as a tiger. Well, I got the orange and white base done, and picked up a brush with black to get myself a nose, fangs, and start on my stripes... and of course, a line formed! We painted furiously for over two hours straight, and I never did get a chance to finish my own painting, so I spent the afternoon painting with an orange and white face. I actually forgot about it until I went to the bathroom to empty my water and looked in the mirror!

Oops.

I was happy, though. I think I got my puppy face down to about 90 seconds, since I did what felt like hundreds of them. And we had some creative kids there. This very pretty girl wanted to be a vampire, and was very happy with her face, even happier when she turned around and scared the heck out of two girls waiting behind her!

I also had a young mermaid swim away from my chair.

Recognize the very quick version of the shell I practiced for cheek art? Speaking of cheek art, some of the most fun paintings I did were of the cheek and arm art variety. The kids were so into the painting once we got going, that ones who'd already been face painted kept coming back and getting on line to get arms painted; I think had some had four or five separate paintings!

Well, my first new thing for the day... I got a request for a robot! Um... OK. Let's see what we can do with that.

And then... a lollipop!

And last, but not least, a flamingo!

Of course, those resulted in many repeated requests for robots, lollipops, and flamingos. Of course!

My Banker Asked Why I Was Wearing a Lei

2010-06-08T21:12:00.001-04:00

Yeah, I walked into the bank to make a deposit this afternoon, wearing a plastic green flowered Hawaiian lei like this one. I had to laugh; I'd forgotten about it! It was given to me by a boy whose face I painted at a birthday party in his kindergarten class. He was one of the birthday girl's classmates.

The birthday girl herself was the puppy I painted at this party. Her younger sister, my butterfly at that party in March was also in attendance. This time, my birthday girl was a princess, while her little sister went for "butterfly" again.

I didn't take photos, but I had a blast with the class. Most of the boys wanted fire-breathing dragons, though I did have one Spiderman, one Batman, and one boy who went from not wanting to be painted at all to getting a full-face tiger!

The lei came from a magician/balloon twister/comedian who came to entertain the class while I was painting, and I certainly couldn't resist a gift from a cute boy, especially one who was just five!

Tomorrow afternoon, I've got another daytime party; I've been hired by Tribeca Cinemas to paint at a going-away party at their venue. I can't wait!

Off to clean my kit...

First Birthday... and Selflessness

2010-06-06T02:42:00.000-04:00

I painted this afternoon at a first birthday. While the birthday boy didn't want to get painted, his friends and family were certainly willing... but then, I've painted several of them before! Remember these guys?

Well, you might recognize two of them from today's party.

The kids at this party were great. Even the ones who started out reluctant, like this girl who wanted a tiny butterfly on her cheek came back later for a flower on her arm, and wanted blue to match her dress, which you all know I love.

I tried a new puppy, and love the ears on this one.

And I got my first ever parrot request!

Maybe it's not entirely accurate, but it's not bad, if I do say so myself. Of course, there were still the requisite butterflies.

Spidermen too, but these boys wanted them all on their arms!

One young man who'd already been painted as a lion decided he also wanted a pirate. Since I couldn't put one over the other on his face, I suggested this skull pirate on his arm. He was very skeptical beforehand and as I painted him, but once the design started to take shape, he understood and then he loved it.

Meanwhile, I did get to do one tiger, on this terrific little boy. He's four years old.

And here's where the lesson in selflessness comes in. He loved his tiger. He and the lion were going around growling at all the butterflies and puppies running about. But when he approached another four-year-old attending the party to play, the other boy, who wasn't a fan of face painting and was quite shy, got scared of the poor tiger-faced kid. Apparently, my tiger kept trying, and the other boy kept getting scared.

So what did tiger-boy do? He went and washed his face so he could play with the other boy, who then happily followed him into the playroom. I've never before seen such a mature decision in a four-year-old. Heck, I've yet to see some adults behave so selflessly!

Kudos to you, kid.

Lots and Lots of Henna

2010-06-05T00:11:00.000-04:00

I was hired to do henna tonight at a birthday party for a 14-year-old girl. The kids were great, though I was really disconcerted to hear "Oh, this is from Glee" when songs from my junior high and high school years were playing. Wow, am I that old? Really? When did that happen?!

At any rate, the party was outside, where the humidity was wreaking a bit of havoc with the henna's consistency, but I got some decent results and the kids loved it. Mom had set up a great little table from me, with printed paisley designs to "set the scene." That was great!

Some of my pieces...

(The girl pulled this one up on her smartphone; it apparently means "love.")

(In case you can't tell, peace signs are "in" this year!)

And my very last request of the night, from the birthday girl's younger brother, a penguin. I drew it first in surgical marker to be sure I'd get it right, and you can still see it behind the henna. The marker is easily washed off, while the henna stain will remain. It was quite dark at this point, and I was working by a dim porch light, so I wasn't quite as "on" the marker as I thought I was.

And yes, the penguin is holding a little fish. I just had to.

It's Been Confirmed!

2010-05-24T12:56:00.002-04:00

An award-winning face painter in Canada, Shannon Fennell, heard all the talk about Reef Botanicals Purity soap and had to try it for herself. She bought four bars, a heck of a commitment for a product she'd never tried before!

She blogged the results here, but I'll give you a hint. These are the photos she took:

Is that cool or what? She's another Ivory convert, as was I. And her post precipitated another sale, to another Canadian face painter who was sold on the efficacy of Reef Botanicals soap. Looks like Purity is the hot new thing for face painters!

The best thing? It works just as well on faces for getting the makeup off. It's gentle and has no allergens, so it works great. I use it on my own face every day.

Improvements

2010-05-20T01:04:00.001-04:00

Tonight was another meeting of the northern NJ Face & Body Art Guild, and I was finally able to make it again. I've missed several meetings because of the show and rehearsals. Now that we're out of rehearsals, and in fact there's only one weekend left, I've got time.

[Subliminal message: The show is great, and there's only one weekend left, so you should see it! Click here to buy tickets.]

And I am now, quite literally, a card-carrying member of the guild!

How cute is that?

This month's meeting was especially valuable, as we had a guest teacher to lead our workshop, Pashur. Yup, the same great guy whose class I took back in November. He's really a great person in addition to being a great artist, and it was fun to see him again.

In addition to a great new parrot design, he showed us ways to really improve our sharks. Plus, I learned this great tattoo-style rose that, when filled in and shaded, is similar to an Ed Hardy look.

Polished up, filled in, shaded, and surrounded by some tribals or thorny vines, this will be a phenomenal addition to my repertoire.

The best part of Pashur's workshops are the games that get you to push your boundaries. One game was to fingerpaint fifteen 3-color roses with a vine, leaves, and a bumblebee... first person to finish won, so we needed to move fast and throw skill and "pretty" out the window. The range of outcomes was hilarious.

Mine was second from the left.

I can't wait to put my new skills and ideas to good use!

Bringing Smiles

2010-05-17T19:40:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, Eric and I traveled into the Bronx for my friend's 39th birthday party. We got there several hours after the child-friendly, mid-afternoon party had started, since I had a performance yesterday afternoon. As it started to get dark, some of the younger revelers were getting tired and getting a little sensitive with each other.

The solution?

Face painting, of course! I keep my kit in the car except when I bring it in between gigs to clean it, and so it was right there in the back seat when I needed it. It was perfect, and I was happy to do it. Eric and I didn't tell them what we were doing when we went to the front of the house, and the smiles started as soon as I opened my kit and started to set up.

My friend's daughter has been face painted many times, but never before by me. She asked for a butterfly, my most requested faced, and let me match the colors to her outfit.

A young neighbor managed to hit upon my second most requested face, the tiger.

Even the ones who didn't want to actually get painted were engrossed with the process, and just watching me paint kept them entertained for a bit.

By the time I finished, it was just getting too dark to see and the kids were happy and ready to play together again.

[All photos taken by Michael G. Curry]

Washing My Kit

2010-05-13T17:28:00.002-04:00

Between each face painting gig, I bring my kit(s) into the house and wash each brush and sponge that I've used. I'm sure you find this to be good news, right?

Now, as a fine artist, I'd been taught to use Ivory soap to wash my brushes when oil painting. It makes sense as a nearly-pure soap that cuts through the oils really well. So when I started face painting, it made sense to me to do the same with my face painting brushes. Granted, face paints are really makup and not paint at all, and they're therefore not oily, but they are highly pigmented and can stain sponges and brushes something fierce.

I stopped that. I've started using Purity pure Castile soap instead. Yes, I make it myself. When my husband and I started our soap business, Reef Botanicals, I posted it here. Well, now it's flourishing!

Not long ago, Mark Reid espoused the virtues of cleaning his sponges and brushes in a pure Castile soap. He bought some Purity and raved about its success. Since then, other face painters have followed suit.

This is what Ashley Pickin had to say about it:

OMG it cleaned my brushes and sponges SO WELL! Brushes that had been black with Wolfe black for like months came back to a light shade of gray... I couldn't believe it. I had used all kinds of other stuff on them and they never came that clean! My golden taklon ones turned back to their golden color! Amazing! ... STRONGLY recommend trying that stuff. It's awesome!

And today, I heard from my friend Cindy, who tested Purity on her face painting sponges last night (and bought a new camera):

First, she hand-washed face painting sponges in a lingerie bag in an unscented liquid hand soap, and got these results:

She pointed out the overall pink tinges of the lighter-colored sponges, which were originally a very light peach, and the pink stains on the formerly white lingerie bag. She'd spent "a good five minutes squishing, squeezing, resoaping, rinsing and rerinsing these sponges." They were washed until the water ran clear with the last application of soap, which meant three rounds of soap.

Then, she tested dishwashing liquid, and got this:

They're better and brighter, but the bag is still stained and there's still a good amount of face paint staining the sponges. She had again washed and rinsed until the water ran clear, which took two applications of the dishwashing liquid.

And then she tried again, with Purity Castile soap, and got this:

It took two rounds of soap and they're still a bit stained, but the sponges themselves have returned to their original pale peach color! They are bright and not nearly so embarrassing for a face painter to pull out of her kit. And did you notice...? No stains on the lingerie bag!

Even better, since you know that Purity is safe for use on the face, if there's any residue on the sponges or brushes, it won't hurt anyone if transferred to a face during face painting. There are no allergens here, since it's completely color-, fragrance-, and additive-free!

This would work for any cleanup, though. Even though face paint is really makeup and not paint, this would work just as well for oils, acrylics, watercolors... after all, in my many years of art classes I was taught to wash my oil paint brushes with a bar of Ivory. What could be better than that? Purity!

I Made Their Day, They Made Mine

2010-05-08T18:57:00.002-04:00

I must admit I questioned the sanity of taking on a gig in the late afternoon on a day when I had to be on stage that night. Yeah, yeah, this was nowhere near as crazy as taking on the Tribeca Film Festival gig the day of my opening night, but this was booked even before that.

It was so worth it.

The kids, the adults, they were all great! There weren't that many kids, so they were actually getting their faces washed and coming back for second helpings of face paint! Like this cutie, a natural model, who first wanted a cupcake on one cheek and an ice cream cone on the other.

But then this young man wanted a green and blue tiger. Once the dessert fan saw that, she wanted a tiger too! So she washed her face, and came on back.

Meanwhile, my tiger then decided he wanted to be a panda! Off he was to wash his face, and a panda he became.

Meanwhile, the party boy - he'd received his first communion today - decided that he'd had enough of being good for one day and it was time to be a monster.

And of course, we had our requisite superhero, to save us all from said monster.

Then the bigger kids (read: adults) got into the act too. Mom got flowers on her arm, and some others requested shamrocks. The best sport, though, was grandma, who let her granddaughter pick her face design, and agreed to match the kiddo, except in pink.

Yup, this was my original cupcake & ice cream girl! I really do love it when the adults get in on the action! I left the party with a smile on my face while they dug into their cake.

What an experience!

2010-05-04T01:14:00.011-04:00

Wow.

Friday night was opening night of the show I'm in, and everyone went out after, so I got home late. And then of course I was wide awake and couldn't sleep right away.

I got up on Saturday at around 9 a.m., leaving for Tribeca at 10, to get to the Film Fesival.

I found my place in Washington Market Park, and set up while Eric went to find parking - it took him an hour! Tha'ts how crazy and huge the fetival was. It makes sense on such a gorgeous day. The high was 88, and it was just partly cloudy. Perfect for this sort of thing, really, and I was in an area shaded by trees, so it was even more attractive.

Well, on the first trip, people saw me put stuff by the table with the "face painting" sign, and started to line up. As usual, people started getting on line for painting while I was still setting up. I set up fast, and got going... and going... and going.

I painted nonstop for 5 hours, barely taking a break for a swig of SmartWater.

The kids were freakin' awesome, EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Not exaggerating. Polite, sweet, fun. Laughed at my bad jokes, and I did a zillion butterflies but most let me match colors to their outfits! And most of the parents and guardians were also freakin' awesome. Seriously, I was thanked for doing the painting, thanked for making the kids happy, repeatedly told what a great artist I was, and thanked some more. They thanked me for even just being a face painter!

It feels so grear to be appreciated, it really does. This is the kind of event that makes the heat, the lugging and carrying, the practice, the investment, the shore shoulders and backs - all of it - worthwhile.

I heard that people were waiting on line for me for TWO HOURS and were STILL nice to me. I'm pretty sure that says something about their character.

People were so disappointed when I had to leave at 4; next year I will definitely not audition for the May show at the theater so I can spend the whole day painting. It's worth it.

While there, though, I got to do my second ever panda! And third, but I didn't get a photo of that one.

I loved this brother and sister too, a kitty that originally wanted to be a bird, and a robot! My robot requests are very infrequent, but a challenge is always welcome.

I also got to design my first mouse! This girl was such a cutie, and luckily, we got video and a photo of the final result.

That night, I was back on stage for a great show, as was I on Sunday afternoon!

After that, I came home to an email from the project manager of the Festival, letting me know that the "official" estimate was that they had over 300,000 attendees and thanking me for "helping to make it such a very special day for everyone who attended."

She commented that she'd wanted to say hi as she passed a few times, but didn’t want to interrupt me "while [I was] busy transforming faces into artistic beauty," that everyone seemed so pleased with my work, and that it was a pleasure to have me with them. It was definitely mutual!

I like it!

2010-04-27T13:39:00.004-04:00

I saw this posted online today:

A person who uses his hands is a laborer.
A person who uses his hands and his head is a craftsman.
A person who uses his hands, his head and his heart is an artist.
-Louis Nizer

It's all incredibly exciting!

2010-04-23T12:54:00.015-04:00

I have been hired by the Tribeca Film Festival to face paint!

On May 1, 2010, the last day of the Festival, they hold a Family Festival & Street Fair, and that's where I'll be painting.

I'll be stationed at Washington Market Park, near the playground, painting my little heart out. The park is on Greenwich Street between Duane and Chambers Streets.

I can't possibly convey how excited I am about this. If you're in the area, come visit! I'll be there from 12-4 p.m. at a minimum, and possibly for more hours than that.

Go, Rangers!

2010-04-05T21:55:00.000-04:00

OK, I'm from NJ, I know. And I'm really a Devils fan. But I married a Rangers fan, and since we met, he'd been talking about me painting a Rangers jersey on his all-white cat, Neptune. Neptune, in addition to being all white, is a lump. He's a sweetheart, snuggly, and likes to lie around. You can mush him to bits and he doesn't care.

So we figured it'd work fine.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell... we found out that Neptune is a little squirmy when being painted for any length of time. I should've known; he will only take licking/cleaning from his sister Catimus for so long before walking away, and I imagine this felt similar. Don't worry, I used all Snazaroo, it's perfectly safe. Child toy safety rated, even. And no animals - not even Neptune - were harmed in the painting of this cat or taking of the photos.

Almost none. My dog, Meg's, feelings were hurt, but she gets like that any time I pay too much attention to one of the cats. But that's it, I promise. And even that was fixed; I painted her head with a NJ Devils logo (not my best work, I admit), and she just lay there the whole time, happy for the attention.

Those sharp edges are just not easy on fur!

Practice, Practice, Practice

2010-04-03T16:04:00.002-04:00

I can draw. I know this. I forget it sometimes, because as a face painter, I don't always need to actually draw. Yes, I use elements and techniques from my zillion years of art classes to turn your child into a tiger like the one on the banner of this blog, but there's a difference between turning someone into something and drawing it.

When face painting, I've focused on the former and avoided the latter. For me, the former is easier and faster. And it's usually more fun for my model! Who wouldn't want to be a tiger, rather than just having one on his face? Plus, it's got that "wow" factor that everyone loves to have at a party.

Sometimes, though, a child wants a painting on his or her hand or arm. Or mom wants cheek art so she doesn't have to wash her child's whole face, even if my paints are easy to wash off. So I need to be able to draw!

When I've been doing a lot of full-face painting, I sometimes forget that I can draw. That's silly, I know, since I started taking art classes at age 5. Of course I can draw! Look at this lemur I did for my husband at his request.

And then I redrew it for him, in black and white.

I drew him another one too.

They look crazy, I know. I can "draw" when it comes to the face paints too. After all, I did this dragon, which won me an Honorable Mention in an international competition (3rd row down on the right).

And I made up this cute monster guy while I was at a slow festival one day, and just goofing.

And I can putll out some strange things when challenged, like that seal I did at the Audubon Zoo.

Sometimes, though, I just draw a blank. Or when I'm working and moving quickly, I end up doing the same sort of thing over and over. For instance, flowers. There are so many species of flowers, but when I'm moving fast, my flowers can bcome annoyingly generic. The only way to combat this is to practice when I'm not under the gun, with a squirmy kid wanting to be done and get out of my chair and twenty more waiting to get in. So I took some time today to practice. And the results, in the flower category:

That's my first calla lily. I also tried an iris, my sister's favorite flower.

Next on my list was a sunnny yellow daisy.

And this little guy. A forget-me-not, I think.

We have variety! I didn't stop at flower, though. While I can and have drawn a dinosaur before, I wanted some new ones of those too. So here are two new cute dinosaurs, too, a stegosaurus and triceratops.

I also tried some other critters, a lizard different from my usual, a frog, also new for me, and a seahorse. I love seahorses and am actually getting a tank ready so I can own some real ones!

Continuing with the sea theme, some shells.

That'll be great when I do mermaid princesses too! I'm also constantly getting asked for trains. I had a train, but it was nothing I was proud of. This one is much cuter!

And a for good measure, a couple more things that'd be handy to have in my repertoire.

Perfect for summer, that one is!

There's tons more I could practice, of course, but I've gotten hungry and it's a beautiful day out. I may get a late lunch, and take the puppy for a walk.

'Til next time!

Autism Awareness Day

2010-04-03T00:41:00.002-04:00

A fellow face painter, Daniel Lasris, also known as Katmandew, has decided to do his part for World Autism Awareness Day, which is today, April 2, 2010. The color of awareness is blue.

Therefore, Daniel has asked that we face painters paint some part of ourselves or each other blue and upload it to the Facebook Fan Page he has created. He's going to take all of the photos he receives, upload them to a Shutterfly.com share site, and then create a book from the photographs submitted. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Autism Speaks, and the organization plans to match the donation 100%!

I have submitted this photo, my blue faerie face.

It's the one blue face I know I have on short notice. Plus, I really kinda love it.

If you'd like to learn more about the organization or donate to Autism Speaks, please visit their website for information.

It's Fine if You Don't Mind

2010-04-01T14:06:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, I painted faces at a 5th birthday party in River Edge, NJ. It was a great party, but I didn't have time for photos, so there aren't any of those. Sorry!

It did bring up an interesting issue, though, so I thought I might want to give you some pointers for when you're having an entertainer at your party. This is relevant for hiring face painters, magicians, caricature artists, anybody...

The party was at a dojo (karate school), and was amazing fun for the kids. Don't get me wrong, it was great fun for me too! Heck, I used to take karate as a kid myself, so it was fun even to reminisce.

Thing is, the family planned for me to be there right when the party started. So I got there and set up, and was ready to go in a back room next to the party room. What I didn't know was that the parties at that school have a standard format (as well they should, but I'd never before done a karate party), during which the sensei (teacher) has the kids participate in a series of games and exercises for about 1.5 hours before going to the party room.

It included breaking boards, so it was very cool for the kids, and I can't wail 'til my nephew's old enough to have a party like that!

Thing is, for the first hour or so of the party, I was just hanging around, being entertained by the sensei and kids, but not working. It so happened that this particular family wasn't worried about it and was able to add an hour onto my time to make sure that no kids left unpainted. That's terrific, but most families simply can't afford that, and I'd hate for them to be put in the position of having to choose what to do about it. Also, it was lucky that I didn't have another obligation immediately after that party; it can happen that I have five parties in one weekend and can't really stay later at any of them.

All in all, it was great to be there; the family was very nice, the kids were wonderful, the other guests great, and I even got some ice cream cake!

This is just a reminder to the rest of you... when planning your parties, if you don't want an entertainer to have down time, go over the party schedule with your entertainer when booking so you can work out together the best possible way to handle things.

Wicked Faire Revisited

2010-03-25T23:45:00.005-04:00

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.

LA Fete 2010

2010-03-24T01:42:00.003-04:00

I have had the most amazing time this past week, at the Louisiana Living Arts Festival in New Orleans, otherwise known as LA Fete.

LA Fete started in 2006, when I was offered a pot of gumbo. No, seriously. I'm a member of some international face and body art discussion groups, and I mentioned in one that my favorite food was Cajun. Susie Pierce, otherwise known as Susie the Crazy Cajun, told me that if I came down to her hometown of Baton Rouge, she'd make me a pot of gumbo. My response was, "You name the weekend, I'm there," and all of a sudden there were about 30 other artists chiming in with "me too!" We found ourselves picking St. Patrick's Day weekend of 2007, and LA Fete was born.

Once a party was planned with so many artists, it was only natural that we intend to practice our art, and that morphed into scheduled classes and workshops.

So once a year, for 4 days in March, I go down to New Orleans for LA Fete. I take classes, jam with my friends, face and body paint, and practice my henna.

We attend the New Orleans St. Paddy's Day parade, take an afternoon to face paint at the Audubon Zoo and donate the proceeds to charity, and body paint models for a show at a French Quarter club.

On Thursday night, we had a zombie crawl, and I got to become a tourist attraction in my own right. I'm waiting to see photos of myself show up on Facebook or Google. My friend Z painted me, and I painted other friends Dot Com the clown and Liz Alaniz.

This year, for the first time, my husband Eric came with me. After the Fete was over, we stayed an extra day and went to the aquarium.

We're finally home and exhausted, but it was worth it! Nowhere else do I get an experience like that, working alongside the masters and feeding off of each others' creativity. My clients will benefit from it, too. Every time I come back from LA Fete, my skills are vastly improved. I can't wait to try them out this weekend!

Norouz Bazar

2010-03-15T13:33:00.001-04:00

I painted yesterday at the Norouz Bazar, a Persian Festival at the La Quinta Hotel in Secaucus, NJ. This is my second year in a row at this event; I have been hired both times by Hirbod Azmi, a Financial Services Representative with Met Life to draw attention to their table.

Draw attention I did! With a background of dance-inducing Middle Eastern music and the smells of amazing Iranian food, I painted and painted and painted. In fact, while I was still in the midst of setting up I had two kids, a brother and sister, waiting for me! I recognized them right away as two I'd painted last year as well. I had hardly any time to take photos, painting nonstop for three and a half hours, but I did have to get a shot of this one, my first ever request for a full-face penguin.

Personally, I think I need to look at more penguin photos and practice this, but he was really happy! And I do say that I love being challenged, so trying a penguin was fun.

I also stopped momentarily to take a photo of these two, a butterfly and a frog. They were just too cute together.

It was a crazy and fun event, kids crowding around me, the hustle and bustle and movement, and the neverending line. I felt bad having to turn people away at the end while I was packing up, but I had to get to rehearsal for my show. We go up in May.

Yup, I'm in theater too! If you're in or near Bergen County, you should come see us.

Yesterday, though, the show had to wait a bit. The smells were just too good, so I stopped at a table to get some amazing chicken over rice with a grilled tomato, and some pitas with a wonderful Iranian version of baba ganoush. Leftovers for lunch today!

A Saturday Evening Party

2010-03-13T21:23:00.003-05:00

I was hired to paint at a birthday party this evening, only it wasn't a children's party. Some couples were getting together for the adults' birthdays, and wanted to keep the kids entertained. I'd painted these beautiful girls before, at the McFaul Environmental Center in Wyckoff, when I was there for Bergen County's annual Cabbage Night Festival. Their mom showed me a photo from that day, and I recognized my work instantly.

Tonight, mom had me get there a little early so I could paint up the sisters before the others arrived. The younger went first, a beautiful butterfly who informed me that her favorite color was purple.

Her older sister decided on a puppy.

Later in the party, though, the puppy was washed off in favor of a leopard to mach her shirt.

I also got to do a whole garden full of flowers. The girls' teacher, who was there to watch them for a while, and another older relative got them on their fingers; the smaller girls and one mom got them on their hands.

There were also princess swirls, a vine with butterflies, and a very cute penguin to match one young man's shirt. I love painting for such nice families!

Throw a Party!

2010-03-09T00:55:00.001-05:00

An Alice in Wonderland party! Now, you can tell from my prior posts that I've got Alice on the brain. But there's a new development. Of course I can paint your face (or the faces of your kids and their friends) as the inhabitants of Wonderland - it's great to go to the movie painted and get some attention! See this post.

But now, I can also tattoo you with glitter or ink in Wonderland-themed designs! I can assure you, I'm the first person in NJ to get these terrific temporary tattoo stencils. They were custom-made by a wonderful stencil maker in North Carolina, and aren't available anywhere else!

I've got the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter's hat (hey, that rhymes!), Alice herself, one of the cards, the White Rabbit, and of course the Caterpillar.

Contact me ASAP to check my availability for your next part or excursion to the movie theater!

And while I won't be here in NJ for St. Paddy's, there's no reason why you shouldn't throw a pre-or-post-Paddy's party! I'll be in New Orleans from March 16-23, at a face and body painting seminar and event. There will be lots of photos from that, I assure you!

But you won't want to miss out on having me at your event anyway, since I've also got brand-new St. Paddy's stencils, also from North Carolina, and also unavailable elsewhere. You'll be the coolest kid on your block when sporting these designs!

I've done two glitter tattoos on myself to show you how great they are. I had to do a Cheshire Cat, since he's my absolute favorite in Wonderland. I went with the Disney colors of pink & purple, though I could make him any colors I choose...

And in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I've got my lucky horseshoe and four-leaf clover all ready to go! I used two shades of green and some gold on this one.

Much like face painting, glitter tattoos are a lot easier to do on someone else than myself! Anyway, hope you like these. Let me know if you want some too!

So About That Photography I Mentioned

2010-03-08T10:49:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I went with friends to the Orchid Show at the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. I brought both of my cameras - the digital one Eric got me last year for Chanukah, and my very old Fujica that takes 35mm print film and is 100% manual.

I don't have my prints back yet, I actually have not yet dropped off the film for developing, but I've got the digital photos, of course, so here are a few.

Body Painting: Alice in Wonderland

2010-03-04T23:07:00.006-05:00

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

2010-02-21T22:20:00.009-05:00

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

2010-02-18T10:52:00.008-05:00

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!

What a Party!

2010-01-24T23:19:00.005-05:00

I painted this evening at a christening that could've been a bar mitzvah or wedding. It was at Macaluso's in Hawthorne, and the proud parents were hosting a big crowd. The DJ kept everyone busy, but as soon as I started to set up, the kids gathered. I didn't even put my table up before they were jockeying to go first.

The hit face tonight was the puppy, just like one I did at the birthday yesterday. No one even wanted a different sort of dog - a dalmation or a shih tzu - they were all about the hound-like dog I painted initially. I had two tigers, lots of peace signs, and a couple of other faces, but the one I actually liked best was on a teenager who just asked for a really small butterfly by her eye.

I can't peg exactly why I like it so much, but it strikes me as really clean, pretty, and simple. She was absolutely in love with it, and the customer's reaction always colors my opinion of the painting too. So that must be it also.