Where does the time go?

Can you believe that December is next week?  Another whole year is almost over.

I’m procrastinating a bit on some projects I am working on … It seemed like I had lots of time and now we are about a month from one show opening, two months from another show, 100 days till the Arctic Winter Games, and then another show opens after that… I have to design for all four events and get things ordered. 

Also, committed to submitting step-by-step designs to two publications – deadlines of Nov 30 for one and Jan 1 for the other…

I also have to get my Christmas candy making done so we can mail/ship and get the presents ready.

We’ve also had to pack-up everything on the main floor of our house and move it down to the basement as we are having bamboo hardwood flooring installed on the entire main floor.  The contractor will shift around the furniture but we had to move everything else and empty the drawers, shelves, etc.

So my office files are down in the laundry room, my kits and supplies are in the downstairs dining room… I keep going to do something and realize what I need is packed somewhere!!

We are still waiting for the flooring to arrive – it has been 3 1/2 weeks so far – they said 3-6 weeks.  We were really hoping to have it all done BEFORE Christmas…

Good thing I work well under pressure! 

Book Review

Snazaroo USA Inc.’s latest book, the third in the series, is 3 Minute Cheek Art by Roberta Mandella.  (The first was Your Face or Mine by yours truly and the second was Facing the Sea by Lisa Smiley… just in case you’re interested! )

Roberta is a fantastic artist and her work in this book speaks for itself.  Beautifully executed and colourful designs that should be easy to adapt for most people who want to create effective small designs.  Roberta’s work is very detailed and her brush control is phenomenal.

The book contains 26 step-by-step designs and over 150 photos of designs and ideas.  Roberta covers most holidays and occasions as well as commonly requested items.

I really like that there are four pages at the beginning of the book explaining brush strokes with different types of brushes and the graphics used are very clear.

I have to be honest and admit that I really only skimmed the text throughout.  The 26 step-by-step designs are clear in the photos and as a relatively experienced painter I could figure out the rest.  The text was written by Gary Cole to accompany Roberta’s artwork and what I did read was quite detailed and specific.

My favourite pages are the Snakes, Lizards & Dinosaurs (pages 14, 15) and Bugs (pages 30, 31) – great designs!!  Love the ants!  I have never been asked to paint ants but I am going to suggest them to the next child I paint!!   Even if they ask for Spiderguy!   Oh… I could have some ants caught in the web… I must make a note of that so I don’ t forget!

My only comment is that the only cheek that anything is painted on is in the cover photograph (which is absolutely adorable by the way.)  None of the photos or step-by-steps in the book are actually painted on a face.  While skin is skin and all of these designs appear sized for cheek art, personally, I think seeing them actually placed on a cheek would be helpful.

I don’t do a lot of cheek art but when I do I am always annoyed with myself when I get the image so far over to the side that it is very difficult for the child to see in the mirror!  It would have been helpful to see at least a handful of designs actually painted on the cheeks of children to give an idea of placement, proportion and sizing.

Granted the term “cheek art” is being use collectively to cover any design that is small and self-contained (as in, does not involve painting over or including facial features) and this book delivers on that.  It would, for me, have been nice to see some of the designs painted on a cheek to see the scale/size that it would need to be done in to fit on a child’s face - how SMALL would it need to be to fit?

And, on a technical note for the editor… I found the Pig painting included twice (page 33 and 37.)

This book is worth purchasing.  If you are looking for ideas or are often stumped by requests for “just a small thing on the cheek” the designs in this book should meet your needs.

a day in the life of a face painter…

I find that the seasonal bookings are either massive rushes or quite slow with plenty of time to play and relax.   Our booking this weekend was one of the relaxed ones.

The party books three painters and I take along Naomi and Amy who I hire to work with me.  Both are very capable and really good with the kids! 

The day started a little off though!!  

Mom and I were sitting there watching tv and I commented that I had intended to phone the girls the day before to remind them of the gig but, since I had talked to both of them in the last two weeks and sent them both emails – and they were both so dependable…

They were both supposed to meet at my place at 11:15 a.m. and I would drive us over to the venue.

Mom laughed and said I’d better be careful or I’d jinx things… so I knocked on wood.

At about 11:10 the phone rings… it is Amy checking what time the gig starts.  I say, well, you are supposed to be here in 5 minutes… She screeches “WHAT!?   I thought it started at one!”  So… good thing she called!!! 

Naomi was still not here, which was very unusual as she is ALWAYS early… so I phoned her cell to check on her and it went to voice mail.  I left a message saying I was driving over to pick-up Amy and would be back to my place shortly.

I went and got Amy (who skipped the shower and put her hair up in a  pony-tail!) and then we went back to my place.  Mom was ready to go but still no sign of Naomi.  So I called her home number and spoke to her mom… she said she wasn’t there so I asked if she was on her way over.  She said no, Naomi was at the hairdresser’s as she had a party later.

WHAT?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My heart was pounding a bit by now… and I said “she’s supposed to be here as we are face painting at noon at a party.  We confirmed everything when she was here on Halloween!”  Her mom said she would get in contact with her.

We had to leave to get to the venue so I asked Naomi’s mom to tell her to get there as soon as possible.

We got there a bit later than planned but still in time… Mom, Amy and I got the tables arranged and set-up and Amy and I started painting.  It was a relaxed gig so no line, just a couple kids coming up at a time…  so it wasn’t horribly stressful without Naomi BUT…

Naomi came flying in about 35 minutes after the gig officially started… said her mom had got ahold of her but she had foils in her hair so had to wait for them to be removed.  She also thought it was a 1 p.m. start.

She plunked herself down and started painting the next kid.

We painted an additional 10 minutes each to make-up the missing painter’s 30 minutes… and it was relaxed the whole time.  Painted quite a few moms too.  And there was time for me to paint both Amy and Naomi – and then forgot to take pictures of them, although I did remember to take a couple of the set-up!

My mom is coming on all gigs now as the official brush washer… Amy and Naomi got a kick out of that.

We all reconfirmed the next gig they are both booked for… several times!!  And I will be calling them a couple days prior to make sure we all have the time right!

Naomi had to leave for her party, so I took Amy and Mom to dinner at Original Joe’s and then dropped Amy off on our way home.

As expected we didn’t get  “Christmas” requests… got some winter theme requests of course, snowflakes and winter scenes… camouflage, skulls, spider-kids, Tinkerbell, princesses, a fox, a red panda… But no Santas or Rudolfs.

Some of the little guys chatted away telling us about their Halloween costumes and scary things they had seen when out trick-or-treating.

The next Christmas parties should be a little more seasonal… the snow is here and once Santa is in the mall everyone should be more “in the mood!”

seasonal winter faces

This weekend my Christmas Party bookings start for the season.

First party is one of my multi-year repeat corporate parties… three face painters booked.  They also have lots of other entertainment and are booked at the largest facility in the area.  There are a lot of kids to paint in three hours so over the years we’ve gone from just me, to two painters, to three – which works well for the numbers.

I put up my usual display, but add-on the Christmas Designs – there are 16 specific winter/seasonal designs added in.  Kids actually do pick quite a few of the seasonal designs – but I have to say it is usually in December!!

Being so early this year, I’m thinking these designs won’t be as popular – Santa isn’t even at the mall yet!

Here are some of my winter designs:

My Christmas Design sheet has 16 different seasonal designs on it and it available at www.facepaintingproducts.com if you would like some ideas (I give permission to use it for display purposes too.)

controlling your face paint shopping impulses

Okay… so you’re going to convention or a jam and there will be vendors there selling all those lovely things that we all love to buy or maybe you are feeling a little down and cruising the internet looking at all the nice new colours and tools that are now available from your favourite stores.

I am the first to admit that I have a tendency to buy anything shiny and pretty and have a weakness for books and glossy printed paper, but I have been very diligent over the last several years about keeping my purchases at events to a minimum and I don’t buy on the internet at all.

Yes, sure, I did buy something at the last event I attended but I honestly only bought what I had planned to purchase in advance of arriving, well, okay, I did give in on one small thing!

When I was at the Living Canvas Convention in San Jose in September I bought the latest copies of American Face Painter, a couple of books that I wanted to look at before buying, and two small DFX rainbow cakes (these were the ONLY impulse buy – but I had taken Rebecca’s class with the Arty Brush Cakes – and the DFX cakes were less expensive…)

And, while in San Francisco I planned and executed a shopping mission to the Kryolan store – I even emailed my list to Joe in advance so the order would be waiting for me. But I had planned to make this purchase. Although, when I got there they had a sign up “30% off orders over $50”… well, I mean, give me a break… So I picked up several more cakes – but still stayed within my original budget!

In the past I have gone a little crazy in the vendors’ room at conferences and conventions… not as crazy as some, but I would buy colours and brands that looked really pretty only to discover when I got home that I either already had it or something really similar.

Who REALLY needs all this?????

I also would buy products that were very interesting and I admit I was impressed with the pitch or demonstration enough that I though I would have a use for it – I have several storage containers full of special effects products and tools that I am still trying to find uses for.

That’s not to say that purchasing new products or tools at a conference is a bad thing! I’ve made some excellent purchases such as discovering Reel Creations Tattoo Inks at the 2001 Make-Up Artist Trade Show in Pasadena or my first bottle of Fardel Green/Gold at my first UK Convention… those were excellent buys and I would never have seen or purchased them if not for the vendors at those events.

The point of this discourse is to say that you should have a plan when you go into the vendors’ room or decide you need to buy something, know what you need versus what you want or like but don’t really need.

This may seem a little extreme to some of you, but, it does help you focus on what you are spending and why.

The first step is to actually take stock of what you have on hand. It is not a formal inventory you just go through all your supplies, in your kit and everywhere else you store them, to see what you have and what you are short of.

Make a list of items that you are interested in as well – maybe a new brand or colour that was highly recommended by other artists or a particular brush or book.

Then make a list of things you are interested in or need to stock up on. Put everything on it that you think you would like… this is a wish list to start off with and you will weed it out so don’t be afraid to include those dream items. It is helpful to sort this list by brand or supplier as that is how the vendor’s tables will be set-up. If you know the prices of the items you are interested in note those too as you make the list.

Once you have your list read it over. What on the list do you actually need? By need I mean, for example, you are almost out of that colour, your last brush only has three hairs left, you need a specific colour for an upcoming job, etc. Mark these items – you can number them 1 or A, or colour code with a highlighter – to indicate they are your highest priority. Then mark the items you seriously want such as the new book or magazine, the highly recommended colour/brand you don’t have, the new DVD, etc. – use number 2 or B or a different colour highlighter for these items. Then mark the items that would be nice to have by that you really don’t need right now. Anything that is left is obviously not important at the moment and you can disregard them from the rest of the exercise.

Rewrite your list out in priority order based on your sorting. Then consider it carefully. What are the items that you really do need and what is the cost of those going to be? Find out the price of items that you have on your list if you haven’t already noted them. How much money can you comfortably afford to spend? Keeping in mind that if you are attending an event that there will be other costs to cover such as meals, etc, and then figure out how much money you have left.

Check out the event schedule or website to see the list of vendors or exhibitors to see if all the items on your list will be available from them. If some of the products won’t be available take them off your list.

At this point I always end up reorganizing my priorities on the items… I decide that I have an alternate colour to replace one I’m running out of so don’t need to buy more, or that the new book is more important than another pack of those nice sponges. Decide what items on the list are the most important to you right now as the other items can be purchased later on – if they are for sale you can obviously order them from the vendor at a later date.

With me the biggest factor is that everything I buy has to be shipped to me so if I can buy heavier or bulky items in person and carry them home I save on shipping costs. I have to keep in mind, though, that I need to go through customs on my way home so keeping the value of my purchases within my allowable duty free allowance is important… I don’t want to have to pay duty and taxes on my purchases as that will defeat the purpose of buying in person!

I like to see new colours and books in person before I decide to buy them. Vendors often have their whole lines on display at events whereas your local supplier may not carry all of the line so it can be a great opportunity to pick-up those hard to find products. And many vendors offer special conference prices so you can actually spend a little less than planned.

There are always items that appear that you didn’t consider in advance and there is nothing wrong with buying them if you figure you will make use of them. Often vendors will launch new products at conventions that are worth considering too, so allow some flexibility. Leave a little spending room for those unplanned items not on your list. Just consider carefully whether you will actually use the item/product when you get home. What I do is look at it, try it if there are testers then think about it overnight if possible. I take the time check my list and think about what I already have at home and whether this new item will fit in my kit easily or will it end up being one of those items that sits in my office to only be used occasionally.

The last thing is to make your final list and make sure to take it with you. I have a small hard cover coil bound journal that I take with me on every trip and this is where I record my list and I tick off items as I get them. I also get receipts for all purchases and try to keep to my budget.

I have found that once I made the decision to only buy what I REALLY NEEDED as opposed to impulse buying of new, pretty, and interesting products that my business bottom line improved. I was spending WAY too much on supplies – once I stopped the buying for the sake of buying I reduced my spending about 300%… which increased my profit margin; and since this is a business operation that is a very good thing.

I still occasionally make impulse purchases – I’m not saying you shouldn’t treat yourself once in a while, but, remember that if you are making your face painting a business you need to think like a business person and control your inventory and purchasing.

Shannon Fennell©2009

my halloween

I am exhausted and my right shoulder-blade feels ready to explode! 

The last of my Halloween clients left shortly after 10 p.m. off to a local club… and as I sit here the clocks all say 10:15… tonight we switch back to standard time and mom had changed them all upstairs while I was downstairs in the studio.

Started off with my 8 a.m. being a no-show… so I had time to shovel the driveway and sidewalks.  It snowed about a foot in the last 24 hours…

Then I headed off to my two-hour booking at the Co-Op to paint the staff.  Did a zombie named Rob (took me a week to get that joke…), the grocery manager as an evil skull, lots of pretty stuff, and one of the service clerks who is Chinese had me paint her as an evil assassin named Mimi – complete with dragon tattoo - she was really cute… in a nasty way!   

Then packed up really fast to get down to the park to apply some prosthetics and apply some make-up to the actors in the Haunted House that is put on every year.  (Apparently one of the reporters I know from the paper was there taking photos and commented on “Shannon’s make-up” although it wasn’t really known that I was doing it… maybe there will be photos in the paper next week!?)

Then headed home to scarf down last night’s leftovers… and got a call from my 8 a.m. no-show who apologized and still wanted to come over so I squeezed her in… and the mask with peacock feathers turned out really nice I thought.  She was happy (and felt guilty) and gave me a 150% tip!

Painted a few more people… then had another no-show – family of three children that booked back in August.  No call, nothing.  So had a break before the big rush started…

I had a call last night from a guy that I painted last Halloween but I wasn’t able to give him an appointment later in the day, but told him to call and if I was able to I might be able to squeeze him in between appointments if I was finishing up faster than expected.

He called as I was working on a group of four women – turns out they all knew each other, so, I told him to come on over since I was getting through the girls fairly quickly and they were all friends.

The four women all had printed off photos of make-up they saw on the internet – mostly from YouTube how to videos.  Some had a couple photos that they wanted pieces of… they all turned out really nicely…  sort of zombies but not bloody really…

Their phones kept ringing and it was the guy that  was coming over… and inviting other friends over to get painted… he came, his brother came, and a bearded guy in a giant bee costume…

I kept painting…  Told them as long as we’re done by 8 p.m. you can invite over anyone, I just had another group of women arriving then.

Lots of tips… I like tips.

Turns out the women got my number from him in the first place, they phoned me and booked their appointments but HE didn’t… apparently that is “a guy thing”… so they told me.  As he was leaving he said to book his appointment for next Halloween now…

My last group was my friend/model/assistant Naomi and three of her friends who were going out as “Mardi Gras Girls”… they all had made dresses, had masks and wigs and I was painting them down the face, necks and arms to match their colours.  One was gold, one was silver, one was red and one was blue.

Did swirly things in their colours, with black accents, lots of liquid bling in their appropriate colour, matching lips… applied their false lashes, some gems, helped with the wigs and masks… they all looked pretty hot!

I always paint myself for jobs… and I was just looking at photos of myself and realized – I’m in a rut!!

Now I am multi-tasking - blogging and watching horror movies.  And thinking, I am really hungry but too tired to get up and make something to eat… and why bother when we have 75 full size chocolate bars leftover from trick or treating???  And Glossettes are raisins and therefore healthy… right??

proper professional face paints are safe cosmetics

There has been a flurry of media coverage over the last couple of days about the safety of various brands of face paints and cosmetics.  The Daily Green – The Consumer’s Guide to the Green Revolution,  published an article on a “report” released by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics on the levels of contaminants in several brands of face paints.  This group has an agenda and their posts and the study they have released is skewed and misleading.  Even the animal rights group PETA is critical of this organization!

Unfortunately, this rather biased report was picked up by the media and has garnered a lot of attention on the news given that Halloween is this weekend and people are considering wearing make-up and face paints or putting them on their children.

The major professional brands that this group names are responding, but as is usual in cases like this, the sane and responsible responses from the experts will get little coverage in the media.

This group’s opening statement in their post is “Some children’s face paints are laced with undisclosed heavy metals that are known to be both acutely poisonous and to cause long-term health problems, ranging from skin sensitivity and brain damage.“  Alarmist? You bet!  That is their intent.

What they don’t say is that the levels are so far below the allowable amounts that they aren’t required to be noted on the label.  And most of these trace amounts end up there as they are contained in the pigments.  In the US the FDA has approved all of these ingredients and they are considered SAFE for use for cosmetic purposes.  There is no more of these contaminants in face paints than there is in regular retail beauty cosmetics.

Ben Nye Company issued the following statement (they are one of the brands that was “tested” by this group):

Ben Nye Makeup  has been committed to the highest standards of product

quality and safety for over 42 years.  We adhere to responsible

manufacturing procedures to meet the rigorous safety standards set by

the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Several reputable organizations and experts have issued opinions

regarding lead in cosmetics.  As the CTFA states below, lead is

unavoidable.  It is present in our environment, in foods that we eat

and even in water that we drink.  There is no conclusive evidence to

confirm how much lead is actually absorbed through contact with

cosmetics.  Further, there is not one single recorded case in U.S.

medical literature substantiating lead poisoning through cosmetic use

(SNOPES, NOVEMBER 2008).

CTFA Statement Re: Lead and Cosmetics (from the CTFA Website)

It is impossible to live in a lead-free world. Lead is ubiquitous in

the environment. It is in the air, water, soil, in short, it is

unavoidable. However, compared to the amount of lead a person would

ingest from eating and drinking ordinary foods, the amount expected

from the use of cosmetics would be extremely small.

Under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) has the responsibility to take action if it finds

a product to be unsafe and has abundant legal authority to do so.

Cosmetics are safe products that millions of consumers use and enjoy

every day. It is alarmist and irresponsible to suggest otherwise.

Below are links to websites with useful information that specifically

address and invalidate the concern that lead content in responsibly

manufactured cosmetics are at hazardous levels.

http://cosmeticsinfo.org/HBI/31

http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductandIngredientSafety/ProductInformation/ucm137224.htm#at/

The Daily Green article goes on to recommended making your own face paints from ingredients like toothpaste, mashed avocado, raspberries, turmeric, squid ink, food colouring… yeah right.  Do YOU want to wear a goop of mashed up fruit and spices on YOUR face?  I think not!!

Many of the ingredients they suggest either 1) stain, 2) sting, 3) trigger allergic reactions – people DO have food allergies 4) smell, 5) discolour with oxidization (have you seen what happens to avocado?)

Snazaroo USA Inc.  issued a statement pending a corporate release from the parent company.  Here is a link to the statement by Gary Cole, the owner of Snazaroo USA Inc.  

http://www.snazaroo.us/PDF/faqreply.pdf

And here is a statement from the Personal Care Products Council pertaining to this issue:

http://www.snazaroo.us/PDF/PersonalCareProductsCouncil.pdf

Personally, I want to reassure my clients and everyone else that I use ONLY products that have been approved for cosmetic use.  This means that they have been tested and meet the guidelines of the various regulatory bodies in the countries they are being sold in to be applied specifically on live human skin!

Every product I use and apply to you or your child I also apply to myself and my family.  I have no doubts as to their safety.

Snazaroo in particular has met the requirements of the Child Toy Safety Rating.  The latest tests were done in 2008 in the United Kingdom.

Reputable brands of cosmetic face paints such as Ben Nye, Snazaroo, Mehron, Fardel, Grimas, Kryolan, Wolfe Face Art & FX, all meet the standards for cosmetics.

But you do need to be aware that all items that are being sold as “make-up” or “face paints” particularly around Halloween do not necessarily meet those standards.  Check the package carefully, read the warning labels and country of origin… if the product says “not for children under 8 years” or “do not use near the eyes” you may want to reconsider using them on your child.

Look for the notations that state the product is “FDA Compliant” or that it has the emblem of the regulatory body of your country’s authority on it signifying it is “approved” for cosmetic use.

Recent recalls of “face paints” were for products made in China and were not being sold by reputable cosmetic retailers.  So be aware of what you are buying and make sure that you read the labels!!

Media Relations for Face Painters

As a face painter, body painter and make-up artist it is always great to see photographs of your work in the newspaper or on the local television news.  But it is even nicer when you are mentioned by name.

Local reporters usually attend events in the community where you will be face painting and often use photographs of cute face painted children to illustrate stories covering the event, typically with no mention of who did the painting.

How do you get your name to accompany the photographs?  Make sure that the local media know who you are!  Introduce yourself to them by doing the following:

Compile a list of media contacts – get their names, titles, contact information, email addresses and create a mailing list.  You can find this all on the internet for most media outlets and publications.  Most newspapers, televisions stations, magazines and other publications have websites and they always list all their editorial staff and include email addresses for them so it is quite easy to get this information.  Don’t forget on-line publications too!  E-zines, internet newsletters and local bloggers can be useful resources as well so include their contact information on your list.

Periodically check your list and confirm the information on it – keep it up-to-date as names of staff change regularly at newspapers and television stations.  You want to be as accurate as possible when sending material to them.  Remember, you like it when they get your name right… so it follows they like it when we get theirs correct too!

Create a “press kit” to send to all the media outlets in your area. 

A general purpose press kit typically would be a presentation folder that contains:

-          A personal letter of introduction

-          Your biography/resume

-          Services offered

-          Past Client/Event list and upcoming events

-          Photos of your work (suitable for publication with proper releases) in digital form (on a CD)

-          Contact information

-          Some business cards

Make it attractive and professional looking.  Use a good quality presentation folder (the type with the pockets) or have some custom made with your business name and logo.  You can personalize generic folders with full-size printed labels that you attach to the folder cover.

You can also create a digital press kit that can be attached to emails rather than a mailed/hand-delivered version.  This is less expensive as you do not have the cost of the folders and CDs to send out.

You decide which to use – I use a combination of both hard copy and email.

Send out your press kits – address it to the Editor, or to the Entertainment or Living Editor (you can send each of them a kit if you have the resources available) of every newspaper and periodical in your area, as well as to the local television and cable stations.  You can also send them to your local radio stations.  If you are aware of marketing and promotion companies in your area you can also send them a kit too.

The press kits serve the purpose of informing the media about you and your services and also lets potential clients know about you – this is why sending them to marketing and promotion firms is a good thing to do too.

Keep the media informed – when you are doing a high profile event send out a “Press/Media Release”.  Use this release to remind them of your business and where you will be and what you will be doing.  If you have or will be doing something interesting or significant such as attending an international conference, a workshop, won an award, published a book, doing a high profile public event locally, etc. send out a press release.

A press release is usually brief no more than one page, and contains the date, your contact information, a title/headline and a brief summary of the information listing all the key points of interest.  The purpose of the press release is to provide the basic information and catch the attention of the media.  You want them to then contact you for further details to flesh out the story you have provided.

Also, when there is something major happening and you have an “expert” opinion or advice to be given take the opportunity to submit it to the media.  Write a brief article or proposal and submit it to the local newspaper or magazine publisher – an example would be an article on how to paint a game face for the gold medal hockey game using easily obtained supplies, or, where to find safe Halloween make-up locally… give them ideas they can tie into other local interests or businesses.

For certain events or activities you can customize your media kit and include event specific information and photographs and specifically invite them to attend if you feel it important.

If you don’t let the media know about what is happening they can’t report on it.

If you want to be known to the local media it is up to you to be sure that they have your information.  Try to meet them in person, introduce yourself to photographers you see taking photographs at events, give them your card.  If they get to know you personally it is more likely that your name will be mentioned in their articles and photograph captions.

© Shannon Fennell 2009

www.shannonfennell.com

www.facepaintingproducts.com

For more information about marketing and the business of face painting check out my e-book The Business of Face Painting at http://www.shannonfennell.com/bookcontent.html

How I spent my Saturday

I had a really great day yesterday.  I painted for four hours at an arts and craft fair in a neighbouring town.  Not hugely busy but nice as I got to be a little more creative with the designs…

Painted a couple of the models from my book.  Didn’t recognize the boys – it has been over two years since I saw them!!  The older one is the lion on the cover and the younger  brother was the monkey and the pirate.

Bought myself some peacock feathers from one of the vendors – $3 per feather.  Last time I saw someone around here selling them they were asking $5 each.

Then last night I painted at a birthday party.  So what’s so exciting about that you ask?  Well, I was booked by a gal I know from the theatre to face paint at a surprize party she was throwing for her friend  (I think they said he was 30?)

The party had a theme of Rock N’Roll and everyone was going to dress up I was told… so, I printed off some photos of Kiss, Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, Adam Ant and David Bowie (you need to get these things right you know!)

It was the most fun I’ve had painting at a birthday party!!  EVERYONE got a full face painting!  I did the birthday boy with Gene Simmons Kiss face, the hostess got a skull – but, not just the usual, it was a copy of the skull on her shirt – very cool skull with a glitter flame pattern on the brow done in silver liquid bling, a zombie with cut throat, a Joker (Heath Ledger version), a full face tribal on a gold base, a full face spider mask in greens, a rocker chic in UV pink/golds and red liquid bling, a variation on the starchild kiss make-up, a white abstract face and neck design with lots of glitter, and Optimus Prime!

The funniest thing was Becky’s dog “Smalls” (I have no idea why that is his name) who is a sweetie, decided that my bucket of water for my used sponges was HIS.  He squeezed between my legs to get to the bucket when I sat it on the floor to drop my used sponges into while I worked (I was setup in a tight corner behind the couch, in front of the piano and using about 8 inches along the edge of a table that also held a computer!) I pushed him away, and then forgot about him.

I painted my first few faces, then, looked down… bucket was there but… no sponges?  I  went blank for a second and though “did I use any sponges yet?”  But, the water was coloured.. so I must have dropped some in there?

So I looked over the other direction… there were the sponges!!  And a trail of murky water leading to them!  Smalls had removed all the sponges from “his” bucket!!  lol  Needless to say… I let him keep them!

And… as usual (duh!) I forgot my camera.  I’ve asked the hostess to send me some cause they really were nice paintings!

After I finished packing up my kit I was invited to stay and play games… we split into teams and they had to come up with names for the teams.  Optimus’ team was ”the Autobots” and the other team that I actually ended up on was … sigh… the “Megan Foxes”… I suggested ”the Decepticons”…

When I left the Megan Foxes were leading by 11 points!

And at work I was told that the store wants to hire me again this Halloween to paint staff… I just have to let the  marketing manager know what times I can attend.  So that is Halloween Day completely booked solid now from 8 a.m. till 10 p.m.

So far the most popular request for Halloween is Zombies…

going batty

In keeping with the Halloween theme today’s topic is bats… lovely things bats.  They are mammals… often actually quite cute and fuzzy… except for the blood sucking vampire variety! 

Bats can eat almost 600 bugs in one hour!!  I like that!  Anything that will eat mosquitos is elevated to “hero” in my book!

Bats in various forms are also very popular face painting designs at all times of the year.  Bat Masks, Bat Signals, Bats in the form of Vampires… they all come up all the time as requests.

Bats was the theme of one of my designs for the US Body Painting Festival in 2007 (I placed Second in Sponge and Brush) – there are more photos on my website of this painting.

The usual bat face paintings are more like these:

You’re sure to get asked to paint a Bat at this time of year!