Chilly & wet, but who cares?

Last night, I painted with two good friends at the Bergen County Zoo in Paramus.  It's a rain or shine event, so we were up despite the weather that closed the wimpy post office two hours early in some towns.  They had us under the wooden overhang of the bison viewing area rather than up on the bison viewing platform, and gave us a couple canopies for our patrons to stand under too.

It was a light event in terms of patrons this year, when in some years there's an insanely long line, but it made for a nice, easygoing event and gave us a chance to appreciate the ones who showed up.

I don't think it was coincidence that my most requested design was for dolphins.  Eric suggested that I should probably expect a lot of aquatic ideas.

 

I didn't pull out the glitter because it'd get gummed up in the wet, so they don't have that added punch, but the kids loved 'em and that's what counts.  In fact, last night was super satisfying, in that a large majority of the kids I painted actually exclaimed "Wow!" when I showed them the mirror!  Best compliment ever.

I did have two buggy requests, too.  Only one butterfly!  I moved away from my typical butterfly, decided to try something a little different.  Maybe I'll do more of those today; we shall see.

And then, a few more.

I get a kick out of the zebra, that was a fun request.  And I hadn't done one in so many years, I had to come up with it on the fly!

Anyway, off to another event this afternoon...

Come Find Me!

I'll be painting at two public events in the near future, and you should come find me!

First, this Saturday I'll be at the new Potbelly Sandwich restaurant at the Bergen Town Center (previously the Bergen Mall) on Route 4 East in Paramus.

I'm really excited about this, since they're a new client for me and the sandwiches on their site look SO good!  Plus, I've read the Our Story section of the site, and I'll admit - I'm impressed.

I'll be there from 12-3 p.m.

Second, on April 27, I'll be back at the Tribeca Film Festival!  That's the day of the family festival, and I'll be painting from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.  Hope to see you there!

Happy Indpendence Day, the Face Painter's Way!

I painted at my annual appearance on Wednesday at the Ridgewood Country Club's 4th of July party.  I love that so many of the kids remember me and come looking for me.  I had some fun ones this year, like my first-ever request for Yoda!

Star Wars was popular this year, and I had two more Yodas plus a couple of Darth Mauls.  Some of those had requested Darth Vader, but I talked them out of it, since I've yet to figure out how to make a fully black face defined like a Darth Vader mask.  I love trying new things, but even I have my limitations.

I also did my first pink & green ladybug, at this young lady's request.  I think it's pretty cute!

As is my first blue dragon with red eyes, as specified by my model.

And another first, a poison dart frog.  I happen to love poison dart frogs, so I was really happy to get this request.

And then some old standards, rainbow butterflies, monsters, Spideygirl, a clown, and zombies.  What's the 4th of July without zombies?

And of course, the regular 4th of July hits, flags & fireworks!

Hope you had a good day too!

A Weekend Outdoors

This past weekend, I painted at two events, both large, and both events at which I have painted many times before. 

Friday night was the Zoo Do at the Bergen County Zoo in Van Saun Park in Paramus.  There were four of us working the three hours that night, and it was a great event!

It's for zoo members, and they have music, food, us, and the animals out for the kiddos and their families.  My sister, brother-in-law, and nephew actually came, but didn't get painted.  My nephew, at 2.5 years old, still hates having anything on his face.  He's adorable and would make a terrific model, but irony strikes again.

We were really busy, so I only got a couple photos, but I really liked this frog and this mountain lion.

Then on Sunday morning, I had to be in Verona Park in Verona, NJ to face paint with two other artists bright and early for four hours during the Valerie Fund Walk.  I seriously have never met a better bunch of people.

This little girl stopped by with her grandpa, who insisted that the angel painting was simply a representation of the great kid she really was.  I believe it.

This young man had trouble choosing a good color for his cat, so we finally settled on a cool lime green.

And of course, in addition to a domesticated cat, there had to be wild ones - cheetahs and tigers!

Of course, I had a whole series of butterflies...

... and other bugs.

A couple of flowers.

A dinosaur & dragon...

... the dragon request came with a suggestion of pink lips instead of fire!

Some animals that like the water, like ducks, snakes, and a mythical mermaid.

And the most unusual request of the day, a softball!

Boy's Glitter Tat Birthday

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!