November 2012
Welsh John (aka the Wizard of Odd) who used to run the much-missed Welsh International Face & Bodypaint Comp finally had time to organise another event. In Wales of course! The idea was a freestyle body paint jam with a bunch of photographers.
I ‘popped’ over (hellish drive – started blizzards and torrential rain after an hour so the 6 hours turned into 10!!!) and stayed in a B&B near the Welsh village the night before. Sadly I was so cold & wet & fed up I missed the meet-up meal (I got there too late anyway) and didn’t see many of the painters staying there until breakfast.
It actually briefly stopped pouring as we unpacked our cars in the hilly village and set up in the big hall. I had been amazed that I was able to nab the stunning Fern (love that name, always wanted to name a baby girl that) with her shaven head. Perfect as I’d planned a sort of Alt Snow Queen look and would have needed to apply a bald cap – shaved head saves time, faffing and money!
I’d bought a bunch of paper die-cuts and ‘set’ them as prosthetics using Mouldlife 3 part cosmetic moulding stuff, so I could glue them to her skin. The same diecuts and scraps of iridescent material became an icy skirt and boob covers.
Using a mix of Diamond FX, Cameleon and Grimas (white) I blended icy tone onto her body. Vague abstract crystal-inspired patterns made a pseudo-corset and necklace & gauntlets, which I outlines in dark and light freehand glitter tattoos. The stalky bits I’d made to glue onto her head were a bit of a paint but eventually stayed more or less in place to from a sort of built-in crown.
Fern wrapped up in my huge Tatooine (Star Wars) fleece cloak and raced out into the storm to cross the road for photos in the studio there. Several photographers waited by each backdrop to have their time taking shots of her as it was mainly a photographic completion, as well as a gathering for painty types.
As the weather report was getting worse, I decided I had best skip the after-party/ meal and try to head home -sigh – espceially as a big rugby match would be letting out of Cardiff Stadium later which would snarl up traffic for hours.
Soo, boo no fun/ fraternising but lots of glimpses of fab paints and a great atmosphere to work in. And the photos are STUNNING – thanks to everyone involved. And isn’t it interesting to see the different interpretations of the same artwork? Amazing.
Body Painting by Cat 