Entering the 2021 World bodyPaint Festival in Covid times

November 23, 2021 by BodypaintingbyCat, posted in Uncategorized

I’ve been lucky to be sponsored to go to the World Body Painting Festival (Body Art’s World Championships) twice. I’d go every year but flights, accommodation & food in Austria in peak summer season make it hideously expensive. And means I miss earning at bookings. Plus now it’s on before school stops for summer.

(2007 I assisted Bibi Freeman – 1 of my fave painters/ people & the inventor of the 1st rainbow one-stroke facepaints – when she Da Vinci brushes kindly invited me. We made it through day 1 and were ?12th? in the finals! She also won the World Face Paint Award and I was delighted to be 5th, as I’d only been face painting a couple of years.)

(2015 I had Paintopia Jenn as my assistant and painted Laurence Caird in the Brush & Sponge category, with paint sponsored by the fab Eugenie of Cameleon body paint. After 2 hours painting she had to be hands-off, trying to supply me with things I lost the words for. We made it through to the finals with our 1st paint, and finished top 20 with our 2nd, again I’ve lost memory of where, 19th?)

I’ve been wanting to go again, but 2020 it didn’t happen and I was too caught up – attempting to home-educate my kids whilst shielding- to even look at the online event they held.

In 2021, just as restrictions lifted and I began painting at selected Covid-tested events, I was told they were running an Online Covid WBPF. I was asked to help Bath become the UK WBPF ‘Hotspot’ and paint there with as many others as we could. In 2 weeks. I was fully booked with Hobbycraft & wedding paints except for 1.5 days off before that date. But it was my only free Saturday in months, and Izabela K was available too.

I’d not painted anyone except faces on my youngest son in 18 months due to Covid, and people generally plan, build props and practice for months before entering the WBPF.

Then Hamish of Gibralter Body Art kindly offered to sponsor both our entrance fees and a loo at the Field Good Bar which took most of the money pressure off. So I said yes; Iz & I would meet up to celebrate being able to paint again if nothing else.

I drove my colleagues mad trying to work out a design; the given theme was ‘Historic Moments’ and I decided COVID was DEFINITELY in that category, but how to paint it? Then I realised, it isn’t the 1st international plague, let’s do them all. World diseases and their vectors/ causes/ effects on Izabela’s front, cures real or imagined on the back. I used my Cricut to cut Covid virus stencils in assorted sizes from the reusable mylar I use for the stencils I sell, and then matching virus shapes from hot pink, teal, navy and white for a head-dress. I added Cricut-made card syringes on the back of the virus, along with a hand sewn plague mask. In hot pink foam of course.

On the day I had my fave Cameleon colours (thank you Paintopia Jen for sponsoring those and the Paintopia Pants) and the new Cameleon long-handled kabukis to try.

I used the Nippies modesty covers I bought at Magic Box recently rather than my fave single use but expensive (and hard to get, as creator John nearly died from Covid and had been in hospital for months) Monster Pasties. I am impressed with the Nippies, they are the first silicone boob covers I like, possibly as they have a matt finish. They are reusable, in a decent reusable box and incredibly easy to put on. We’ll see how many paints they last on Izabela.

I told Iz I had a nearly set idea for her front, and aside her bottom at the back being yellow, no back plan. We agreed that as we wanted to enjoy it, both had work early the next day (she was off to Cardiff at 5 a.m.) & I had to get all the photos/ paperwork in by midnight, that we would finish early. There was an option to paint for 8 hours instead of the usual 6, but we stopped at 6! Rules meant we had to take a photo at the beginning, every hour and at the end to show our progress & times taken.

Sooo the front of the design; white Grimas base, all other paints Cameleon from Paintopia – Bollywood Pink, Inkheart Blue, Teal, Line white and neons. The stained lip shows where virus/ bacteria entered lungs for Spanish Influenza/ COVID, and spread throughout the body (virii using my stencils). The fleas represent Bubonic Plague getting into the bloodstream after flea bites,veins morphing into the dark dead fingers often seen in Black Death. The dots of the virus merge into the skull eye sockets for all the people who lost their lives but also are the ‘buboe’ lumps on the skin.

The back was a bit of a doodle really. Fresh air and UV rays which helped many pandemic treatments – during the Spanish Flu epidemic they created open air hospital tent cities. Also syringes of inoculations in the sun beams, and several plants/ herbs/ flowers that were thought important – onions by Bubonic Plague doctors, more recently in SARS the Chinese government said Woad helped.

Judging shots by Tony Cooney , Att BodyPaintingByCat on izabela_model

So, Iz & I finished after 6 hours and I was really happy I could still use a paintbrush. She posed brilliantly as ever. Tony Cooney took the official pics to send off to the judges that night, and Iz did some fab shots with her friend Chris Daw.

Then Mik Garton got some blinders on his Iphone in the sun – what amazing weather, it had rained for weeks! I think it was about 8 p.m. by then.

Izabela-model shot by Chris Daw art BodyPaintingByCat

So I packed up and cleaned whilst Izabela posed. The nippies came off easily but worked well! And Iz, for once too warm most of the day, had her cold cider at the end.

Izabela-model shot by Mik Garton, Art by BodyPaintingByCat

The results were announced a week later. I was painting at another outdoor wedding and could feel my phone buzzing as I worked. It wasn’t until I finished late that night I saw that people thought I’d been in the top 20, as my photo of Iz had been on the live WBPF TV show!

Izabela-model shot by Mik Garton, Art BodyPaintingByCat

I was delighted & amazed to find I had placed 14th, highest of the UK entries, against around 100 really amazing competitors.

Huge thanks to Clemency Bedford & all for organising the hotspot/ photography/ venue, Field Good Bar for the amazing pizzas, all the photographers, Hamish for sponsoring fees, Paintopia for paint & Izabela for doing this with me.

I’m almost inspired to actually go to WBPF in Austria in 2022 if it’s all on again!

Glitter Eyes in Bath Southgate Shopping Mall – Walkabout Face Painting Kit for Student Night

November 3, 2016November 8, 2016 by BodypaintingbyCat, posted in Body Paint, Clubbing, corporate face painting, Face Paint Tips & tricks, Face Painting, festival face painting

This was an unusual booking; the client wanted ‘walkabout’ mobile painting at an outdoor event in Bath’s Southgate Shopping Mall.

I did a few mobile gigs when I lived in Hong Kong about 11 years ago, walking up to decorate guests at dinner tables or around in bars, and they never seemed as successful (to me) as when I have my kit set up on a table with a tall client chair. But I have done a few since then, so it can be done, but I had a think on a new kit setup…

I used to have the Snazaroo walkabout ‘ kit wheel’ which you gripped in one hand, but found that too heavy and cumbersome. Plus you really need both hands free, one to work, one to steady/ rest on the customer as standing people are even more likely to wibble about than seated!

So, I created a walkabout kit that fitted into an old face paint bag I converted into an apron, with a few extra bits. Not the most stylish but handsfree and pretty comfy apart from when I dropped it all at one point! I’ll tweak it a bit before the next booking as some things I ordered to make it didn’t arrive in time…

Basically its 2 of the magnetic panels I use in my face paint kit, taped together, taped onto 2 of the Ikea pots I sometimes use as brush holders which fitted tightly into the ‘apron’ pocket.

The paints (mainly one strokes and mini black, white & skin tones) I already have with magnets on their bottoms, so they sat nicely on the panels. The new Pixie gels I’d decanted into bottles that sat tip down in a nail varnish holder inside one of the Ikea pots, with space for brushes in the middle. A bag of sponges, a ring of stencils (I didn’t use either in the end) and a facecloth clipped onto the apron and my water spray & glitter were in a side pocket.

Helen’s red snazaroo wheel & my kit as we warmed up hands with hot mochas before the start!

I’d got the lovely Helen hired too, (she ended up with a tired arm from her Snazaroo wheel) so we arrived to find that it was outside and a bit chilly… a special Student Shopping Night promo in the Southgate Shopping Precinct. Its funny as I do lots of student club body art/ face painting bookings but sober, ready-to-shop students were very different! We started by working down the huge entry queue and did eventually have our own little queues going.

I stuck to using the new Pixie Cosmetic glitter gels around simple eye abstract or flowers as that is what most people wanted. All the stencils and extra paints I had squeezed in were not needed! Various acts and stalls were set up and the Scare crew from Avon Valley Wildlife & Adventure Park kept making clients jump, but we wanted to follow around their evil clown as he had a real flamethrower which was cosy!

The kit worked reasonably well but I need to re-think the brush holder being under the paints – my fingers got horribly messy as I kept having to grab the brushes by their painty tips to reach them. I have an idea for a brush holder for next time…

Not many photos as we were so busy & it was dark, but an interesting evening!

Professional Beauty North USA Bodypaint demo Sept 2016 by Bath/ Bristol body artist

October 11, 2016October 26, 2016 by BodypaintingbyCat, posted in Body Paint, Cosplay, Living Statue, Paintopia, Uncategorized

Sept 2016

This is the 3rd? time Paintopia has been to Professional Beauty North Manchester, and the 7th? Professional Beauty/ Warpaint Magazine event we have been honoured to work at. It is a huge show full of stalls promoting all sorts of beauty and spa products and courses, from nail art to fake tan, teeth whitening, uniforms and massage. This year it also included a hair expo, all held in the lovely converted Manchester Central convention venue.

I’d changed my mind on the train up so did my usual awful scribble (made worse by the train I say!) to text to Jennie & Grace. They had no idea what I was on about so after my annual cocktail at the PBNorth welcoming party, I sat down slightly tipsy with one of the wipeable bodyboards Jennie & I designed that she sells and painted it properly.

The 2 day event always runs from a Sunday. That first day Jennie & I usually bodypaint a demo model, following the same theme as the competition that we will judge on the Monday. We also do an onstage demo/ workshop. This time as the theme was USA, we decorated Gracie Bodypaint Model as our ‘American Pride’.

I had borrowed the amazing headpiece Jenny Marquis built for Gracie when they came 2nd in the Professional BodyPainter of the Year Category at Paintopia this year (her Gangs of New York paint for Paintopia’s Urban Jungle weekend).

So, we did Gracie’s face and neck as the Statue, mainly in Cameleon Celadon and Inkheart, which Jennie had to spend ages blending whenever I added or changed wrinkles on it.

Then I went on with a (very grumpy looking, sorry!) American Bald eagle over her chest. Its feathers I mainly one-stroked with Cameleon “Buzz” colorblock. I stencilled a hint of Native American dreamcatchers behind the eagle to denote the original americans who so revered wildlife.

On her lower half we went for a simple but sometimes badly-done and often requested paint; fake jeans. Jenny based in a pearly blue and then one-stroked on seams which I creased, highlighted and shaded. We thought the audience might like to see that as part of our demo, so didn’t finish off the legs to be able to continue them onstage.

I dyed my finger tips their usual blue by outlining everything in Cameleon Inkheart (my fave bluey-purple) whilst Jennie did clever things with lashes and the headpiece. A quick advert for the bodypaint stage shows on her back, and off we went. Some cabuchons for eagle eyeballs and Kryolan gems for jean-studs, then a few little freehand glitter tattoo highlights using the fine-tipped glue bottles and cosmetic adhesive I sell were the finishing touches.

Onstage I have no recollection of what we talked about; I know I made several ‘rips’ on the jeans to be a bit like the stars & stripes, but we didn’t finish off Gracie’s legs. By the end of our slot it was getting towards the close of day 1 so we went to get photos in the sales hall and outside. I have to say it is the best reaction to any of our paints we have had.

Everyone thought the ‘top’ was fab but didn’t realise the jeans were fake – Gracie had to keep moving the waistband of her knickers to show the paint line. One lady actually welled up which was a first.

It was also the warmest PBNorth we have been to, so after we packed up Gracie decided to walk back to our Melia Innside hotel in her paint, which gave us some fab photo ops!

We saw several cars circled back so they could film her, and a coach-load of oriental tourists were overjoyed and waving/ snapping pics like mad.

We headed to a location with interesting architecture we had found last year to get pics, and were lucky enough to be approached by a bunch of Instagram Photographers having a meeting!

Result!… headshot mikeycolebourne, blurred background JS_Spring, archway AndrewYee

Monday we had an interesting time judging the student and professional bodypaint categories. We were delighted that out of a large number of other competitors in assorted makeup and special FX genres, our winning Professional Artist, Cheryl Howes, won the overall top Professional award with her elegant Art Deco USA work on Debbie. Plus our winning student Emily Smith won the ‘Rising Star’ award as one to watch! She was amazing and so was her lovely dad who’d let her glue him into a fantastic home-made beak to be a bald eagle as part of her USA paint.

Timelapse video here

Huge thanks to Emma, Ali and Debs of Warpaint and all the lovely judges, we need to meet up more often!

Art Couture Painswick Turtle /Plastic pollution Bodypaint

July 20, 2016October 24, 2016 by BodypaintingbyCat, posted in Body Paint, Face & BOdy Art Competitons

Sun July 17th 2016

Much sooner than I hoped it was time for Art Couture Painswick (ACP) again- I’d been busy away painting nearly every day for 8 days, and with a sick toddler hasn’t finished the props I wanted to make for it.

ACP is a stunning biennial event in the scenic Cotswold town of Painswick. Streets are closed for the day and filled with food and craft stalls, whilst competitors in a range of categories wander the 10,000 crowds in the clothing and headgear they made from unusual objects.

Angela Youngs in her 2016 creation

The main stage catwalk and judging (by celebrity/ industry experts etc) is set up in the historic churchyard with its 99 yew trees.

Photo by Tony Cook

I have been lucky enough to paint in the body art category every year since that was included. In 2012 I placed 3rd with my “Comedy Queen’ about UK TV comedies for the ‘Celebrating Britain’ theme.

The following year, again on model Laurence Caird, my Victorian Magic Man depicting stage magic & automatons from the 1800’s, won the Body Art 1st place!

This year the Body Paint Category’s theme was ‘Food For Thought’, so I based my design on plastic pollution in the ocean and how if affects sea-life which in turn affects our food-chain. I planned a huge neck ruff of recycled bottles, etc, but it wasn’t looking quite as I wanted. Its a bit tough to design things like that without the actual model to fit it too, and as the lovely Grace (god-mum of my toddler) was based in Norwich & I’m now in Bath, I wasn’t seeing her before the event. Or I needed the shop dummy to fit my props to that I typically sold when we moved to Bath as we didn’t have the space! But I liked the bottle-jellyfish I’d made.

We had to send in a statement about the artwork in advance, so this was mine – actually sent in a few weeks before, unusually for me, so I had a brief to paint to if not an actual design plan!:

“Plastic Soup/ All the Fish in the Sea

Only 5% of plastic is recycled, 1/3 escapes into oceans, a lorry full per minute. By 2050 plastic will outweigh any fish in the sea.

Marine creatures starve as it fills them, or strangle in netting and 6-pack rings. Bags look like jellyfish underwater, so if turtles catch one, their special throats, evolved to stop jellyfish escaping, mean they have to keep eating it.

Albatross eat fish eggs on floating objects. Toothbrushes, lighters, sanitary waste – all stuffed dead albatross chicks.

Ocean currents collect ‘plastic soups’ millions of kilometres wide, 5 swirling rubbish patches twice the size of Texas. The sea bed, Earth’s last frontier, is coated in tiny plastic particles.

Boyan Slat’s cleanup system, a floating barrier passively collecting rubbish for recycling, launches in 2020. But we need to stop plastic ending up in our oceans if we want to keep our seas and ourselves alive.”

Grace & Jennie stayed overnight at my mums’, then followed me over to Painswick far to early on a lovely sunny morning. One of the kind ACP volunteers jumped into my car to direct me to the competitors carpark, and luckily I bumped into a bunch of other painters who had already dropped off their kit who helped cart my stuff to the hall beside the Art Couture Gallery.

We had so much space to set up in- luxury! And ladies offering cups of tea etc.

I set up my kit, and as the briefing went on started attempting to add rollers and plastic flotsam to Gracie’s hair, which was allowed before the official start. The rules are only professional cosmetic products, only a small % of stencilling or prosthetics, and 6 hours with a compulsory break in the middle.

At 9.30 we started painting and I began to kabuki on colours in Cameleon white, yellow and celadon. I hate yellow so am trying to use it for once! I shaded the white neck / face with the Kryolan lustre powders in white & blue, dry (as they can be used wet).

We were closed to the public for the 1st few hours, out of respect for the models and to let artwork cover over underwear etc (even though all models wear underwear and female models have breast covers on) but I made sure I had blended colours on Gracies back too before the doors opened.

The turtle in yellow, orange, bollywood pink, purple & inkheart blue, I based on several photos I found on the internet and a bit of memory from living in Belize. From then until the lunch break we chatted to extremely interested public as I painted.

After snacks / lunch we started again but sadly I’d not switched on the plug so my camera ran out of battery & stopped taking time-lapse pics. I had planned to paint or make paper netting strangling the turtle but Gracie held a poll with the public and they decided I wasn’t allowed to! I did love the turtle too so I left that out.

On the back I painted a whale & baby and a colourful, healthy reef. I added freehand glitter tattoos over the abstract bobbly layer I had painted around her shoulders (to represent the layer of plastic shapes) and decorated that with glitters from Facade and Kryolan.

Her face I re-used some zombie paste prosthetics I had sculpted when Gracie was being Sc’Ariel at the Prosthetic Event last year. I added flat-back pearls and some heat fused film and then added more pearls and recycled plastic to her hair

I stopped painting about an hour early, after the public were ushered out, as I knew I would be a while sorting out the not-quite finished props.

After a lot of messing about we decided the bottle-ruff was too bridal if worn over Gracies head, and too awkward if worn on her shoulders. I also ended up ditching the isis wings, and stuck to the jellyfish, gems and beads, all made of plastic bottles or recycled from ornaments etc. It gave a slightly netted/ dancer effect tangled around Gracies arms and neck, but I loved it. Sadly (?) it was so sunny the glowsticks inside the jellyfish weren’t visible outside the hall though.

We all trooped out into bright sunshine to applause from the waiting public which was fantastic.

Following Paul who was once again our charming cheeky Town Crier, all body artists took their models through the streets and across the churchyard to the photo rooms for official shots. Grace & I then took a few photos and she posed for the public in the churchyard.

The models were then presented onstage whilst our design statements were read out.

Whilst judges deliberated, and the other category awards were given, Paul took most of the models (some couldn’t walk too far due to the heat or uncomfy shoes or props) on a tour of the churchyard, streets, and finally the main road.

I really loved this paint and was a bit over-excited through the whole day. I’m so happy that it turned out like I had imagined (and that now it is out of my head I will sleep a bit better!).

Huge thanks to all the staff, sponsors, volunteers, organisers, the hugely appreciative public, and of course my genius model Gracie! Also my mum who wrangle my 2 boys (the toddler being hot & sticky & awkward!) all day….

I will add a timelapse etc video when I finish it…

Art Couture Painswick Promo Time-lapse Body Paint 2016

July 20, 2016October 24, 2016 by BodypaintingbyCat, posted in Body Paint, Face & BOdy Art Competitons

I’d been invited up to do a quick demo body paint at Art Couture Painswick as the BBC wanted to film a time-lapse to promo the vent on their social media. None of the usual models were available at such short notice mid-week, but luckily Sally the ACP Body Art Co-ordinator had the details of a member of the public who’d been so impressed by the photos in the ACP gallery he volunteered his body!

I drove up on the 1st sunny day we had had in ages, and met Libby (the director, who rather marvellously had the winning paint I did on Laurence at ACP 2013 on her business cards ), Sally, Bob the model and Hayley from the BBC.

As I’d only had a couple of days notice and was painting every day that week, I had made a quick stencil of the ACP name & date, and that was about it.

I wanted to depict all the themes for the different categories as well as advertise ACP so designed a slightly circus/ festival themed ‘poster’ on Bob’s torso, with rainbow rays coming out behind it. Clouds blended the white poster into this colourful background to represent ‘flight’, areas of cogs and machinery were for ‘Moving Parts’, green leaves meant ‘Food For Thought’, the body art category, orange brickwork and ‘splats’ for ‘Graffiti’, and Blue bubbly splooshes for ‘Underwater’.

Bobs neck was bright pink and had the stylised ACP face on it. I finished this off with a circus top hat I made for Grace at the Professional Beauty London Excel paint, but removed the flowers etc to add a colourful ACP flyer to.

Hayley edited it all into this video, and not only was it on BBC Gloucester’s sites,

but national BBC picked it up! Great for ACP and thank you to everyone involved.

My video clip is here.

Paintopia 2016 UV bodypaint by Bath facepainter Bristol body artist

June 26, 2016October 26, 2016 by BodypaintingbyCat, posted in Face & BOdy Art Competitons, Uncategorized, UV Body Painting, UV Face Painting

I’d got to Paintopia by Tuesday evening to help Jennie & the rest set up.

Wednesday was helping host the Pre-Paintopia workshops with the amazing Madelyn Greco (headdresses) and Maria Malone Guerbaa (animal transformations).

Thursday I was the runner for the brilliant Kryolan masterclass whilst typing up the running order for festival announcements.

Thursday evening, more and more artists and models were arriving for the first ever Paintopia UV Jam. I’ve worked in UV clubs a lot doing small bits on the faces & bodies of clubbers, and done a couple of UV backs on clients, but had never had the chance to do a full UV body before.

The lovely Grace had asked if I would paint her, and then arranged a vague collaboration with a Dutch artist Tanya Hommes and her local model. I’d already thought we’d maybe do something on a Tim Burton theme as grace & I loved his work, and set the Oogie Boogie UV scenes from a Nightmare Before Christmas as our idea.

I’d not had time to sketch and hadn’t done more than print off some reference photos, so started with a giant Oogie Boogie on her front. Her hair was already slicked back with clay from the look by Gemma Horner at the Masterclass, so I decided to attempt a Jack/ moon look on her face.

I kept stopping to do announcements or find things for people, and soon realised I wouldn’t have time to do a full body. I drafted in the fab Jade to fill in the black around my outlines, and cut back my vague plans to get a finished paint on Graces front and legs.

David Cook and the crew had set up the stage Mik painted and it looked amazing.

The UV lighting was super-bright when it came on and the artwork was brilliant. Everyone whooped it up and had a great time, a super way to kick off the festival.

I shot a small timelapse and some videos of it here

Hand -animals Painting for WWF-UK #WearitWild #GiveAHandToWildlife 2016 Bath face painter Bristol body artist

May 19, 2016October 26, 2016 by BodypaintingbyCat, posted in animal zoo face paint, Face Painting, Hand Painting

https://wearitwild.wwf.org.uk/news/giveahandtowildlife/?_ga=1.180938471.1381375318.1462310016

I’d just moved to Bath (boo – bad timing with Paintopia coming up!) so drove back to Norfolk on Monday night in torrential rain and crashed in Jennies’ office on her very comfy Tim Burton sheets.

The next morning, still in rain, I drove to Kings Lynn to take a booking I’d managed to squeeze in whilst I was up. The WWF-UK had contacted asking if I could create Guido Danielle or Emma Cammack style hand-art on a school they loved working with.

They had hired Anna Lingis to do studio shots of some hand-imals, and I was to do my own launch examples on kids. We agreed on simpler faster designs as I know the exquisite examples they sent me took hours, and didn’t think I or the children would have the patience/ time.

The school was amazing, all decorated throughout with various themes, from Bewilderwood stairs mural to a Hogwarts library – and the headmasters’ hall was entered via a Tardis then became a Dr Who homage!

In the hopes it would brighten we decided to set up under their outdoor eco pod, a sort of large wooden open gazebo (sadly it rained harder). I had a small group of Year 3s to decorate and they set to on their ipads (every pupil gets one) to look up images of their favourite animal, preferably from the endangered list WWF-UK had sent.

I began with a panda on the back of a hand, and was able to chat about the pandas I saw every week with my youngest son when we lived in Hong Kong and had a season ticket for Ocean Park there.

A lot of the time it was so warm that keepers had rigged up ‘refriger-rocks’ that the pandas lay on or hugged to cool off. The kids googled to find out what pandas ate when they couldn’t answer that one.

Next came a snow leopard.

Colin, who was on my Biological Imaging Bsc with me many years ago, became a wildlife film-maker who shot a stunning episode on them, so we chatted about those too. I couldn’t quite recall what eye colour they had& the photos I had varied, so we went yellowish but now I’m thinking blue….

After that I did a mountain gorilla. I knew a bit about them from researching an unused design for the Norwich GoGoGorillas statues I painted for Break Charity/ Wild in Art.

Then a jaguar. I was lucky enough to grow up in Belize near the worlds 1^st Jaguar reserve and had read Alan’s book on it. I’ve never seen one wild, just a fresh footprint so new it was still filling with water on a soggy jungle path.

The dolphin was harder; it was an awkward pose to fold in fingers and open the ‘mouth’ but it just about worked. I didn’t want all the pics to be of the back of hands so was trying to be a bit more creative! Again we’d played with wild dolphins in Belize so I could talk about them.

Then I had daft stories about tigers ….

…. and giraffes from when I was the Education officer for Banham Zoo & Africa Alive.

A quick elephant finished off the designs.

By that time we were all wet and frozen as the weather hadn’t improved, so the kids went off to their late lunch.

But very happy to do something so creative and fun that would also be used to help save species.

#WearItWild is on Friday 27th May and we’re challenging you to get creative and #GiveAHandToWidlife.

The photos on here were taken by myself, assorted press and the lovely ladies from WWF-UK.

More press here

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This was an unusual booking; the client wanted ‘walkabout’ mobile painting at an outdoor event in Bath’s Southgate Shopping Mall.

I used to have the Snazaroo walkabout ‘ kit wheel’ which you gripped in one hand, but found that too heavy and cumbersome. Plus you really need both hands free, one to work, one to steady/ rest on the customer as standing people are even more likely to wibble about than seated!

Basically its 2 of the magnetic panels I use in my face paint kit, taped together, taped onto 2 of the Ikea pots I sometimes use as brush holders which fitted tightly into the ‘apron’ pocket.

The kit worked reasonably well but I need to re-think the brush holder being under the paints – my fingers got horribly messy as I kept having to grab the brushes by their painty tips to reach them. I have an idea for a brush holder for next time…

Not many photos as we were so busy & it was dark, but an interesting evening!

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Sept 2016

I had borrowed the amazing headpiece Jenny Marquis built for Gracie when they came 2nd in the Professional BodyPainter of the Year Category at Paintopia this year (her Gangs of New York paint for Paintopia’s Urban Jungle weekend).

So, we did Gracie’s face and neck as the Statue, mainly in Cameleon Celadon and Inkheart, which Jennie had to spend ages blending whenever I added or changed wrinkles on it.

Then I went on with a (very grumpy looking, sorry!) American Bald eagle over her chest. Its feathers I mainly one-stroked with Cameleon “Buzz” colorblock. I stencilled a hint of Native American dreamcatchers behind the eagle to denote the original americans who so revered wildlife.

Everyone thought the ‘top’ was fab but didn’t realise the jeans were fake – Gracie had to keep moving the waistband of her knickers to show the paint line. One lady actually welled up which was a first.

It was also the warmest PBNorth we have been to, so after we packed up Gracie decided to walk back to our Melia Innside hotel in her paint, which gave us some fab photo ops!

We saw several cars circled back so they could film her, and a coach-load of oriental tourists were overjoyed and waving/ snapping pics like mad.

We headed to a location with interesting architecture we had found last year to get pics, and were lucky enough to be approached by a bunch of Instagram Photographers having a meeting!

Result!… headshot mikeycolebourne, blurred background JS_Spring, archway AndrewYee

Huge thanks to Emma, Ali and Debs of Warpaint and all the lovely judges, we need to meet up more often!

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Sun July 17th 2016

Much sooner than I hoped it was time for Art Couture Painswick (ACP) again- I’d been busy away painting nearly every day for 8 days, and with a sick toddler hasn’t finished the props I wanted to make for it.

ACP is a stunning biennial event in the scenic Cotswold town of Painswick. Streets are closed for the day and filled with food and craft stalls, whilst competitors in a range of categories wander the 10,000 crowds in the clothing and headgear they made from unusual objects.

The main stage catwalk and judging (by celebrity/ industry experts etc) is set up in the historic churchyard with its 99 yew trees.

Photo by Tony Cook

I have been lucky enough to paint in the body art category every year since that was included. In 2012 I placed 3rd with my “Comedy Queen’ about UK TV comedies for the ‘Celebrating Britain’ theme.

The following year, again on model Laurence Caird, my Victorian Magic Man depicting stage magic & automatons from the 1800’s, won the Body Art 1st place!

We had to send in a statement about the artwork in advance, so this was mine – actually sent in a few weeks before, unusually for me, so I had a brief to paint to if not an actual design plan!:

“Plastic Soup/ All the Fish in the Sea

Only 5% of plastic is recycled, 1/3 escapes into oceans, a lorry full per minute. By 2050 plastic will outweigh any fish in the sea.

Marine creatures starve as it fills them, or strangle in netting and 6-pack rings. Bags look like jellyfish underwater, so if turtles catch one, their special throats, evolved to stop jellyfish escaping, mean they have to keep eating it.

Albatross eat fish eggs on floating objects. Toothbrushes, lighters, sanitary waste – all stuffed dead albatross chicks.

Ocean currents collect ‘plastic soups’ millions of kilometres wide, 5 swirling rubbish patches twice the size of Texas. The sea bed, Earth’s last frontier, is coated in tiny plastic particles.

Boyan Slat’s cleanup system, a floating barrier passively collecting rubbish for recycling, launches in 2020. But we need to stop plastic ending up in our oceans if we want to keep our seas and ourselves alive.”

We had so much space to set up in- luxury! And ladies offering cups of tea etc.

At 9.30 we started painting and I began to kabuki on colours in Cameleon white, yellow and celadon. I hate yellow so am trying to use it for once! I shaded the white neck / face with the Kryolan lustre powders in white & blue, dry (as they can be used wet).

We were closed to the public for the 1st few hours, out of respect for the models and to let artwork cover over underwear etc (even though all models wear underwear and female models have breast covers on) but I made sure I had blended colours on Gracies back too before the doors opened.

The turtle in yellow, orange, bollywood pink, purple & inkheart blue, I based on several photos I found on the internet and a bit of memory from living in Belize. From then until the lunch break we chatted to extremely interested public as I painted.

On the back I painted a whale & baby and a colourful, healthy reef. I added freehand glitter tattoos over the abstract bobbly layer I had painted around her shoulders (to represent the layer of plastic shapes) and decorated that with glitters from Facade and Kryolan.

Her face I re-used some zombie paste prosthetics I had sculpted when Gracie was being Sc’Ariel at the Prosthetic Event last year. I added flat-back pearls and some heat fused film and then added more pearls and recycled plastic to her hair

I stopped painting about an hour early, after the public were ushered out, as I knew I would be a while sorting out the not-quite finished props.

We all trooped out into bright sunshine to applause from the waiting public which was fantastic.

Following Paul who was once again our charming cheeky Town Crier, all body artists took their models through the streets and across the churchyard to the photo rooms for official shots. Grace & I then took a few photos and she posed for the public in the churchyard.

The models were then presented onstage whilst our design statements were read out.

Whilst judges deliberated, and the other category awards were given, Paul took most of the models (some couldn’t walk too far due to the heat or uncomfy shoes or props) on a tour of the churchyard, streets, and finally the main road.

I really loved this paint and was a bit over-excited through the whole day. I’m so happy that it turned out like I had imagined (and that now it is out of my head I will sleep a bit better!).

Huge thanks to all the staff, sponsors, volunteers, organisers, the hugely appreciative public, and of course my genius model Gracie! Also my mum who wrangle my 2 boys (the toddler being hot & sticky & awkward!) all day….

I will add a timelapse etc video when I finish it…

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I’d got to Paintopia by Tuesday evening to help Jennie & the rest set up.

Wednesday was helping host the Pre-Paintopia workshops with the amazing Madelyn Greco (headdresses) and Maria Malone Guerbaa (animal transformations).

Thursday I was the runner for the brilliant Kryolan masterclass whilst typing up the running order for festival announcements.

Thursday evening, more and more artists and models were arriving for the first ever Paintopia UV Jam. I’ve worked in UV clubs a lot doing small bits on the faces & bodies of clubbers, and done a couple of UV backs on clients, but had never had the chance to do a full UV body before.

I’d not had time to sketch and hadn’t done more than print off some reference photos, so started with a giant Oogie Boogie on her front. Her hair was already slicked back with clay from the look by Gemma Horner at the Masterclass, so I decided to attempt a Jack/ moon look on her face.

I kept stopping to do announcements or find things for people, and soon realised I wouldn’t have time to do a full body. I drafted in the fab Jade to fill in the black around my outlines, and cut back my vague plans to get a finished paint on Graces front and legs.

David Cook and the crew had set up the stage Mik painted and it looked amazing.

The UV lighting was super-bright when it came on and the artwork was brilliant. Everyone whooped it up and had a great time, a super way to kick off the festival.

I shot a small timelapse and some videos of it here

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I’d just moved to Bath (boo – bad timing with Paintopia coming up!) so drove back to Norfolk on Monday night in torrential rain and crashed in Jennies’ office on her very comfy Tim Burton sheets.

The next morning, still in rain, I drove to Kings Lynn to take a booking I’d managed to squeeze in whilst I was up. The WWF-UK had contacted asking if I could create Guido Danielle or Emma Cammack style hand-art on a school they loved working with.

They had hired Anna Lingis to do studio shots of some hand-imals, and I was to do my own launch examples on kids. We agreed on simpler faster designs as I know the exquisite examples they sent me took hours, and didn’t think I or the children would have the patience/ time.

The school was amazing, all decorated throughout with various themes, from Bewilderwood stairs mural to a Hogwarts library – and the headmasters’ hall was entered via a Tardis then became a Dr Who homage!

I began with a panda on the back of a hand, and was able to chat about the pandas I saw every week with my youngest son when we lived in Hong Kong and had a season ticket for Ocean Park there.

A lot of the time it was so warm that keepers had rigged up ‘refriger-rocks’ that the pandas lay on or hugged to cool off. The kids googled to find out what pandas ate when they couldn’t answer that one.

Next came a snow leopard.

Colin, who was on my Biological Imaging Bsc with me many years ago, became a wildlife film-maker who shot a stunning episode on them, so we chatted about those too. I couldn’t quite recall what eye colour they had& the photos I had varied, so we went yellowish but now I’m thinking blue….

After that I did a mountain gorilla. I knew a bit about them from researching an unused design for the Norwich GoGoGorillas statues I painted for Break Charity/ Wild in Art.

Then a jaguar. I was lucky enough to grow up in Belize near the worlds 1st Jaguar reserve and had read Alan’s book on it. I’ve never seen one wild, just a fresh footprint so new it was still filling with water on a soggy jungle path.

The dolphin was harder; it was an awkward pose to fold in fingers and open the ‘mouth’ but it just about worked. I didn’t want all the pics to be of the back of hands so was trying to be a bit more creative! Again we’d played with wild dolphins in Belize so I could talk about them.

Then I had daft stories about tigers ….

…. and giraffes from when I was the Education officer for Banham Zoo & Africa Alive.

A quick elephant finished off the designs.

Then a jaguar. I was lucky enough to grow up in Belize near the worlds 1^st Jaguar reserve and had read Alan’s book on it. I’ve never seen one wild, just a fresh footprint so new it was still filling with water on a soggy jungle path.