Year: 2012

Sunday morning and afternoon I had the opportunity to paint at a Christmas brunch event that I’ve been doing for several years now with Santa.  My mom has joined me for the last few years too, as they definitely require at LEAST two painters!  We both paint with a steady line from 10:00-2:00. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the chance to paint some more of my new designs.  I used some red Liquid Bling for gingerbread man eyes, and that ended up being a very popular design! 

Here are some photos…

A few more Christmas cheek art designs that I didn’t already show in my last post

Mom painting

Santa Carlucci and Mrs Cheryl Claus

Our area, before the kids started to pile in! The velvet ropes were a life saver this year!

Santa Carlucci talking to the ladies

Many thanks again to Santa Carlucci for bringing us along again this year!  I have a little break in the action now, but next weekend will be busy painting more Christmasy cheeks so stay tuned!

Tonight I had a fun time painting at the Village at Mendota Heights’ “Mendota Lights” Christmas event!  It was very busy and we were both painting non-stop from 4:00-7:00!  This year we had the most mild weather we’ve had for the event, so I think a lot of people came out.  It was perfect for the horse drawn hayrides!

Hayrides going by the building we were in

This year I totally re-did my Christmas design boards, so I had quite a few new ones to do which was really fun.  Some of them I simplified so that I could handle the crowds better, like Rudolph and the angel which I turned into just wings and a halo.  Here is a little montage of a few of the designs painted tonight:

Simplifying a few designs allowed me a little time to step it up a bit by adding a few acrylic rhinestones and using some Liquid Bling.  I used the star rhinestones on the tops of the Christmas trees, attached with Spirit Gum, and they were a HIT!  The Liquid Bling was really cool for the Grinch’s red eyes.

Christmas tree with a rhinestone star

The Grinch and a fun Snowman eye! I used a white StarBlend for the snowman eye which worked great.

Liz working her magic!

Had to get a shot of this little cutie with his stuffed Rudolf and his Rudolf cheek!

We really love it when the roaming carolers come in our building for a few songs!

Liz with Santa and Mrs Claus!

Friday night I had a blast painting a sweet 14 (and a half) year old girl to look like the Wicked Witch for her school’s Wizard of Oz play.

Her fabulous mom picked up the great nose and chin at a local theater shop and had them attached with spirit gum and ready to go when I arrived.  Which is a good thing, because it ended up taking twice as long to paint as I thought!  The reason was mainly due to the Kryolan UV Dayglow paint I was using for the green base.  Don’t get me wrong of course, I’d highly recommend using the fluorescent green for the wicked witch!  It was such a nice, bright green.  But, being that it goes on very thin and transparent (unlike the standard Kryolan Aquacolor basic colors), it takes a few thick layers with dry time between each one to get good coverage.

I wish I had a clean “before” shot but above you can see it in progress at the beginning.  I started by painting the nose and chin, knowing that the paint would take longer to dry and layer on plastic vs skin.

To get the dark wrinkles and creases in the correct places, I had her do her most wicked witchy face and then painted in her natural creases.  The black is Wolfe black, the blackest black out there, which worked great for the eyebrows!  I used a mix of the UV Dayglow green with some of my other darker greens for shading and dimension.

Once I was done with the wet makeup, I dusted it with some Kryolan transparent setting powder, then blended all the greens with a dry green StarBlend.  This really helped to smooth and blend the various greens together.  It also gave the whole face a nice, soft finish.  I used some of Mehron’s INtense Pro Pressed Pigment Powders for the green that went up to and around her eyes, and some bright lime green for highlights.

To finish her off I did a little black eyeliner and some bright red lipstick, which was requested by the school play’s organizers. Here are a couple photos that her mom took at the school after she was all in costume! (I did some editing to black out the background…)

All in all I think she turned out pretty cool! I wish I could have gone with to watch the play!

Tonight I’m off to the 7th Annual “Mendota Lights” Christmas celebration at the Village at Mendota Heights with the friendly and talented miss Liz!  Come on out to get your free face painting from 4:00-7:00 tonight, and enjoy a visit with Santa, as well as free hayrides and music…it’s going to be a gorgeous night to enjoy the festivities!

Just had to try an election related face painting this week, and here it is!

I used Wolfe Metallix red, white and blue with a BAM star stencil for the background.  The reds and blues are Kryolan makeup and the black and white outlines and highlights are Wolfe.

Check out my how-to tutorial over at SnapGuide!

I’m excited to announce another new BAM stencil package deal available only at Paintertainment!  We have a great assortment of 5 winter themed stencils for just $18.00.  That’s $2.00 less than you’d pay if you purchase them individually! Snap ’em up now while you still have some time to practice for your upcoming Christmas gigs!

This set comes with BAM #’s 2005, 1040, 1011, 1038, and 1036. They can help you achieve great wintery textures of snowfall and cool winds!

I wanted to announce a little update to my Smile Painter Set face painting kit, which I put together about 6 years ago to help out those who have been asked to volunteer face painting for their local church or school. 

Smile Painter Set – Available now for $64 (you save over $8.00)

I have just decided to swap out the previously included sable brushes with two Wolfe synthetic brushes, in a round #1 and #5. While it is true that sable bristles are the highest quality and most long lasting bristles you can get in a brush, I have come to the realization that they are not necessarily the best choice for the beginning face painter.  Sable brushes are finicky and do require a little more TLC to keep their tips nice and pointy, and without the proper care can soon become “fluffy,” making it hard to be precise when painting cheek art.  I personally own several sable brushes which have “fluffed out” on me, and I now use them for things like blending colors and creating textures like fur, where a fluffy brush comes in handy!

I personally have found myself using my new Wolfe synthetic brushes more and more as my go-to brush for all my main painting now.  The synthetic bristles are still of a great quality, and they really hold their shape nicely even if they have been used and abused.  High quality synthetic brushes are more likely to give you a steady and predictable outcome every time, and I think that by swapping these out, new painters will have less frustration with stray bristles!

Halloween is just two and a half weeks away!  What?!  You’ve been invited to a party and you don’t have a costume yet?!

It’s okay! Don’t cry!  A professionally done makeup job can turn your last minute costume idea into the hit of the party!  You may remember one of my posts last year, where I painted Father Frost and Mother Frost…they ended up taking home the GRAND prize in the costume contest they were entering!

I am currently booking a limited number of private Halloween sessions this season at my home in Mound, Minnesota.  Sessions start at $20 for up to 15 minutes of painting.  The amount of time required depends on the design you choose, but we can go as simple as a cat face or eye design, to more complex designs like a mask, to full-face designs like this comic girl that I painted on myself.  Check out this previous post for ideas of what costumes face paint would be perfect for!

Contact me today to discuss how we can help turn heads with YOUR costume this year!  Email me at Gretchen[at]Paintertainment[dot]com.  Be sure to check out my Halloween page and my private session page for more photos!

If you like the smooth, velvety coverage you get from Mehron’s StarBlends, You’re going to love their new INtense Pro Pressed Pigment Powders!  Many artists love to use dry pressed powders for the base coverage for full face designs, and especially for designs that go around the eyes and over the eyelids…especially for children who don’t like the feeling of cold, wet paint around their eye.

From Mehron’s website: “Mehron’s INtense PRO™ Pressed Pigments are super long-lasting matte finish shadows that are edgy, bright, and sophisticated. The pigment rich, high-performing shadows offer an essential range of intense hues and a velvety matte texture. Formulated without shimmer, these completely matte shades have an incredible silky finish which allows for amazing color payoff.”

Samples of WIND Palette colors shown on skin

The INtense Pressed Powders are available now on Paintertainment.com in three different sets, each including 8 colors ($50.00 each).  Above are some samples of the “Wind” palette brushed on my arm, and below, the “Fire” palette.

“Fire” palette samples on skin

Earth, Wind, and Fire palette colors

Each palette comes with a makeup brush! I find that the sable brushes that we sell are also great for applying powders. Sponges also work well for covering large areas.

Closed palette box shown in my hand for scale.  (On the right is a black Starblend.)

I’ve recently added a few more new items to my online shop!

We are now carrying two new synthetic flat brushes, Kryolan Torey brushes made of synthetic Japanese fibers, in 1/4″ wide ($4.00) and 1/2″ wide ($6.50).  Synthetic bristles hold their shape well, making them great for crisp lines! 

After painting a few pregnant bellies lately, I realized that the moms I’ve painted would have liked to keep their designs on as long as possible.  So, I’ve also added some Kryolan fixing spray to my assortment!  Apply it thinly and evenly and allow to dry, to help prevent smudging and protect your work from perspiration and cold water.  Removes easily with warm water and soap.  I’m not quite sure where to put it in the shop, but for now it sits at the end of the paint section!  Check it out, available in 2 ounce spray pump bottles for $10.00.