May Paintopia Part 2 – Vintage Party & Face Paint Comps

Highlights of the rest of the weekend:

– trying new Cameleon colour-blocks and brushes in a chest-piece demo on the lovely Ginger Koneko with a sneakily hidden music theme to use for next years advertising.

Video of my colourblock chest paint on here

Photos by Parnell Photography

Photos by Rhonda Parfitt / Purple Photography

– Gemma of Charles Fox demo-ing new products by making bits of them to add to other people’s freestyle body art

– the couple who halted their wedding speeches in Paintopia’s 1st year to come and get snapped with the models arranging their anniversary weeeknd to come back yet again to see us

– Angela Young’s skull on a back with moving eye video inserted

– high tea one lunch with cakes, scones etc.

Personally I loved judging the face competitions, though it was hard- so many amazing ideas and colours.

And how marvellous everyone looked at the Vintage party -Flamingo Amy the vintage hair boutique worked her magic on a lot of us- as a huge effort had been made to get dressed up. Angela’s medieval serfs with sores and scolds bridal etc was fab!

Best was how excited the little dutch fairy on our table was when she won the children’s Fancy Dress award sponsored by FACE (model David Cook won for managing to fit into his old RAF uniform worn on active duty) ; the whole room full of love & tears when Al announced the Brian Wolfe memorial award for Inspirational Painter of the Year & Nick presented it to Pashur; and the dancing. The party this year really rocked, there were still over 100 bopping away in the wee hours long after the live band finished.

So many newcomers commented on how friendly the event is; Jennie tried to set it up to promote good face & body art as well as encouraging people to have a go. It is the helpful sharing atmosphere that really makes it, getting to paint in that atmosphere is the point, for me, not the actual competing. We managed to sucking several non-painters who are now keen to have a go and I’m soon going to be teaching the hairdresser as well as assisting Mik and David in their first paints! Several models there for the 1st time (who model at the World Championships) said it was the loveliest event they had ever witnessed and so very different to the points-focussed stressy paints they had been involved with before.