Working My Way Backwards

I've been so lax about posting what I've been doing!  So rather than start at the beginning, I'm going to start with this past Saturday and work my way backwards for a bit.  This past Saturday, I painted at a corporate picnic for Brown & Caldwell.

What a great group!  I know I say that a lot, but this bunch was really fun.  And they didn't even make fun of me - much - when a gigantic cicada landed on my leg and freaked me out, sending me dancing around like a rather shrill lunatic.

So... on to the painting.

My very first request was for a zebra.  I wish I'd known it at the time, but this girl actually had a zebra print dress, complete with tail, and a headband with zebra ears!  It was terrific!  My lament is that by the time I saw her and realized, I was painting others and really couldn't go tackle her for another photo since she was off and running.

Then, another very specific request.  This one wanted to look like her yorkie.  Who can resist that?

This great kiddo said "cow."  Okie doke!  So here you see what I believe is my first ever cow face painting.  His mom cracked up when I started painting the straw.  To do it, I googled cow images and came up with this guy.

I think it's a fair rendition, right?

It was hot out, so the arm art was understandable.

 

If you don't recognize that last guy, it's an Enderman from Minecraft.  You may remember the Creeper I once painted.  I'm starting to think I should get to know all the Minecraft characters; it is not an unpopular game!

Practice, Practice, Practice

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!