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The United Kingdom
Face & Body Painting Convention


October 17th-21st, 2008
Telford, England

This was my first trip to Europe and I was thrilled to be a part of the UK Face & Body Painting Convention. Convention organizer, Rosie Jones, first contacted me in March of 2007 about being involved in the 2007 convention, but that year didn't quite pan out. I was glad to have had a second chance when I was asked in 2008 to be an instructor. Other instructors there included Jackie Green, Christina Davidson, Gary Cole, and Kerry Ann Smith from the United States, Julie Saint-Pierre (Canada), and Emma Cammack from the UK, Riffat Bahar, Valerie Daft, Zoe Thornberry-Phillips, Richard Nijboer, and Clair Pick & Julie Oliver from Illusion Magazine.

Some of the great people that I met included convention staff (Rachel Simms, Cindy Finnie, Mandy Lawrence, Janet Bounden, Claire Howkins), fellow artists Fran and Tiffany Heaver, male model Cully Firmin, and the beautiful and talented Stine Vang from Denmark. There were many others that I met briefly and enjoyed, but time flew by and I didn't get to know some of the folks that I had hoped to. I forget George's last name, but he and I had some great conversations over wine and English beer! Cheers! Below are the paintings that I did at the convention and some breif descriptions. Enjoy!


 

The Terminatrix from Terminator 3

The theme of this year's convention was Hollywood. As I brainstormed ideas that would fit with this theme, this is one of the ideas that I came up with. This is a liquid latex version of the suit worn by the Terminatrix in the Terminator 3 movie called Rise of the Machines. The model was Cate Harper and she was a perfect choice to play the part of Kristanna Loken with her short blonde hair. I bought the metallic face appliance at a local theatrical supply shop in Arizona before I headed out to the UK. I used some nose putty and liquid latex at the edges to get it to blend in more once the medical adhesive held the appliance in place. The suit was basically two coats of Maximum Impact liquid latex applied with a wide sponge brush. The shadows and shading was done using Createx paints through a badger airbrush. I used Wolfe Brothers paints to paint on the necklace and the base coat of the hand that has become a machine.


 

Cher gown from Oscar Award

This painting was actually the first painting that I did in England. This bodypainting was an homage to the evening gown worn by Cher when she accepted the Academy Award for her role in Moonstruck. Again I was fortunate to get to work with model Rowena Perry who had the right hair color and length to help pull off this imagry. This painting was done by airbrushing a transparent coat of Mehron Liquid Make-up as the base coat of the dress. Next I sprayed a Kryolan glitter spray over that for the look of sheer and shiny nylon. Next the patterns were painted on using spirit gum and then doused with black glitter. I bought the shawl while I was in Arizona, but the ear rings I bought in the early morning hours of my first day in the UK while I was trying to adjust to the time difference.


 

Ankh Su Namun from Scorpion King Return of the Mummy

I must confess that I did this painting early on a Sunday morning with the handicap of a hangover. I was still very happy with the way it turned out, but at the time my head was throbbing. The model was again Cate Harper who put on a wig to complete the Egyptian hair style for this homage to Anck Su Namun from the movie The Mummy. The base coat was a mixture of Mehron's Gold and Bronze metallic powders coupled with mixing liquid. This was then applied with a sponge brush. The rest of the detail was then painted on using Wolfe Brothers paints.


 

White cheetah or leopard

This is Rosie's daughter Nichola. I painted her face for a competition amongst the instructors. The only rule was that we could only use black and white paint. Julie Saint-Pierre won the competition and I must say that her face painting was truly inspiring.


 

Trinity from the Matrix

This last painting was actually a collaboration by all of the students in my day-long bodypainting class. Using Maximum Impact liquid latex, we painted a skin-tight suit on model Stacey Tappenden as an homage to Trinity from the Matrix movies. The subjects covered in the class were as follows:

Segment 1 - The art of painted on clothing. Demonstration of shadowing techniques, folds, and wrinkles to make painted on clothing look real. I'll share the processes that I have used for painting lingerie at the Playboy Mansion in Hollywood and the creative ways that I've painted T-shirts and dress suits for corporate events. I will also show some ways to use liquid latex paint to make outfits look like leather.

Segment 2 - Bodypainted Murals. This is an art class that explores the similarities and differences between painting on canvas and painting on a full motion canvas. From picturesque landscapes to scenes from outerspace, the human body can be the canvas for any artistic painting. I will share several ways that I have used to keep images proportional such as masks and stencils, image projection, and freehand techniques.

Segment 3 - Marketing and Getting Published. In this segment I will share some of my secrets that I have used to get my work published in magazines, including 5 covers. I will also share many of my marketing strategies that have helped to bring an average of 1,600 visitors to my website everyday. We will discuss the importance of great images in portfolios and how to achieve them. Each students will have their portfolio reviewed and analyzed.

Segment 4 - Hollywood Make-up. I will share some clips of a few of the independent film projects that I have worked on and then demonstrate some techniques used for movie projects. Students will learn how to apply prosthetics and a few tricks of the trade to make scars, bruises, and wounds. I'll share some of the ways that bodypaints can be used to create everything sexy sci-fi characters to undead zombies.



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Unless noted otherwise, Photography and Artwork by Mark Greenawalt c2008.  All rights reserved.
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