On the Other Hand...

There is something acrylics are good for.  Canvas!

As soon as my good friend told me she was pregnant and what bedding she'd chosen for her little girl, I knew what I wanted to do.  It's called "Zoo Garden," but my friend called it "Purple Jungle."  I immediately found what she meant online when I got home that night.

 

Really cute!  I decided that I wanted to do a painting that went with the set, without actually matching, so I wouldn't just be copying.  And the fact that my friend had called the set "Purple Jungle" gave me a little license to add other animals that are found in the jungle.  I looked up giraffes, elephants, and hippos to make sure, and confirmed that they're all found in Africa.  Well, so are zebras and feral honey bees, so I added those too!  After all, zebras are really cute, and it just wouldn't be "me" without bees.

 

I drew it out first in pencil and Sharpie on paper to get the placement down, and then tackled the canvas with a vine charcoal stick.

 

I wanted to avoid black, and keep the paint colors soft ,but not bland.  It was a fine line to walk, for sure.

But in the end, I think I accomplished what I wanted, and my friend loved it!  Hopefully as her daughter grows up, she loves it too.

Is it really all that important that a face painter use proper supplies?

Yes!  Yes, yes, a million times yes!  Why?  This is why:

This photo and the follow up comments were posted in one of my face painting groups on Facebook this week.  It's horrible!  I'm torn between being sad for the poor kids suffering this, and absolutely furious at the "makeup artist" who subjected them to it.

The two most important questions to ask when hiring a face painter are:

(1) What do you use?

To which the answer should be reputable, researchable brand names of FDA-compliant face paint.  I will happily provide names of every brand I use, and even links to their Material Safety Data Sheets when asked.

(2) Are you insured?

To which the answer should be "yes."  End of story.

Face & Body Art by Larissa Made the Paper!

Twice!  Yes, I'm excited.

First, on December 8, 2015, a photo was printed in The Record, showing me painting at a glow-themed Chanukah party at the Chabad in Wayne.  It was so much fun!  My first time face painting in the dark, lit only by blacklight.

And then on January 6, 2016, I was featured in the online publication, The Daily Voice!  It's such a great article, with a number of terrific photos.

I feel famous!

And Halloween Rolls Around Again

My favorite holiday has come and gone again, and I was busy!  I'm actually kind of happy for November, because I've been crazy this October, culminating in the last two weekends.

First, one very cool friend with a birthday close to Halloween threw herself a Halloween themed 40th birthday party.  So... I brought out the zombie version of me.

Then on Friday, I cohosted a Halloween party for nearly 100 people, so out came a Day of the Dead version of me.

It was pretty cool, because in addition to my face, I got to wear the gown I wore as my sister's maid of honor again, with some roses added.  No shots of that, unfortunately.  And sadly, I handed my Spanish fan to Eric when we were carrying food into the house, and I completely forgot to take it back from him, so it spent the evening in his jacket pocket.  Boo.

And then on Halloween itself, I went easy on myself and was just an '80s rocker chick.  Everything except my jeans were legitimate '80s vintage and every item (except the Aquanet & scrunchy) was out of my own closets and jewelry box, so I'm not sure when my own clothes became a Halloween costume, but it made life easy!

And in between all of that, there were the appointments.  On Friday, a mother and son got done to go to a Trunk or Treat.

My Paul Stanley was ecstatic with his face (which when you're dealing with a 12-year-old boy already was huge), and then even more so when he won best costume at the Trunk or Treat!  Woohoo!

On Saturday, in the afternoon I had a couple I'd painted back in 2009, the last time Halloween fell on a Saturday!  They initially came that Friday morning, for a pre-work painting.  They were so happy that they came back again that Saturday, and brought a friend too!  We've stayed in touch all these years, and each year they've made appointments for Halloween paintings, only to be forced to cancel for various reasons.  But not this year!  This year, not only did they come back, but one gave me ideas with her Medusa headband.

And her husband!  Her husband actually shaved half his moustache, beard, and head for this painting!  Seriously!

That was just awesome!

And then in the evening, a new couple came over so I could paint the husband in a skull face.

He was so happy with all the compliments he got when they went into the city, that he sent me this photo!

Spooky!

And then on Sunday I painted at a restaurant, but I'll need to tell you all about that soon.

Practice, Practice

You can never have too much practice, and I've joined a challenge for the next month, with one of my body art Facebook groups, to do some sort of body art practice every day.  So on Tuesday evening, I pulled out my face paints, especially some new colors and brands I have, and practiced some sea life cheek art.  I felt like my sharks were in a rut and wanted to try something new... so I did!  And then I kinda kept going.

Not bad, if I do say so myself!

The Evolution of a Henna Tattoo

Real henna, good henna, never comes in black.  You'll see what's billed as "black henna" by unscrupulous henna artists who want to cater to the public's wish for instant gratification, even if it does harm to their customers.  Drives me up the wall.  Here's why.

Real henna, good henna, is always a greenish-brown paste, made from simply plant powder, essential oils, and lemon juice.

When it's drawn on, it looks like this.

I did this flower on my hand last night.

When the paste flaked off several hours later, the stain looked like this, a cool bright orange.

And today, this is what it looks like.  A nice, brown stain that should get a bit darker over the next day or so before it starts to fade... although where it is on my hand, it's likely this one will last close to three weeks!

My only lament?  I'm not ambidextrous and can't do another on my right hand!

[Edit:  And the day after that]

I Really Will Try Almost Anything

Quite a while back, I face painted at an annual corporate party for a company that's hired me for their holiday party for many years.

This year was notable, though, as amongst the more typical superheroes, butterflies, and princesses,

 

I was asked for my first (and only to date) Kopaka Bionicle

and Nathan Evo of Hero Factory.

Well, okay then!