Month: June 2013

Hello my painty friends! Today I put together a new step-by-step of a Japanese Beetle for you.

When we moved to our current home a few years ago, I saw them in the yard and thought they were so pretty, I took close-up photos of them.  And then I learned that they were thriving because they were feasting on my roses.  Arrgh!  Well, while we have been spraying the roses to keep them away this year, I still think they are kinda pretty.  So I painted one on my leg.  Here’s what I did….

1) Paint the body with Kryolan Metallic Copper.
2) Add the green…I used TAG Pearl Green.
3) Add some shading to the shell.  I used a watered down Kryolan black with a #4 brush.
4) Outline the body with Wolfe black and a #1 round brush.
5) Begin adding the legs and antennae with Wolfe black & #1 round brush.
6) Finish off the legs. I also added some highlights to the green parts with Kryolan metallic gold.
7) Use a dry, fine rake brush with Wolfe white to add the fine hairs on the legs and all around the back.
8) Now block out the white hairs on the back end that shouldn’t be there with your Wolfe black to form the spotted white pattern around the back.
9) Brighten up the white “spots” and add highlights with Wolfe white and your #1 round brush.
10) Finish off with a shadow.  I use a watered down Kryolan black.

I like to use Kryolan black for the shading and shadows underneath because I feel that it behaves more like a watercolor paint, allowing me to blend it and have transparency.  Wolfe is just SO nice and solid black, and super bright white and I simply must have both brands in my kit! 😉

Cheek art on my “GramRita,” done about 10 yrs ago

If you follow me on Facebook you already saw these photos of my gramma Rita, who passed away last week.  She used to visit my booth at the county fair and would always let me paint her!! 

So, today I thought that I would paint daisies in her honor!  Her middle name was Daisy, and they were of course her favorite flower!

My original intent was to do a step-by-step of just a single daisy….

 …but then I added a little bud.  And then thought I’d add another daisy from a different angle, with another bud.  And then thought I’d add a sky blue background with curlies and swirlies and dots and sparkly bursts.  And then I realized my boys were done with their naps and I had to start some dinner.  Aah, well, I think I went just crazy enough with it in the end!  Here are the steps of the whole design…

I didn’t do anything fancy with this one….no stencils, one strokes, or fancy brushes.  Just used two round Wolfe brushes (#1 and #4), Kryolan Aquacolor paints for the colors and Wolfe Hydrocolor paints for the black and white!

And since I’m showing some flowers, I’ll include my tried and true hibiscus how-to that I posted last week on Facebook as well…another one done “au naturale” with just simple brushes and paint!

We have an all new Business Starter Kit available now in the shop!  I have totally re-vamped the old kit and am really excited to introduce the new product selection worth over $150 at a special discounted price of $125.  You save over $21.00! 

The kit comes with all of the essentials you need to get your professional face painting business up and running.  You will receive 8 Paradise Makeup AQ colors in the large 1.5 ounce professional size.  You’ll get great line work out of the Wolfe black and white paint that comes in the kit as well.  The three sizes of Wolfe round brushes are great for main color areas, larger areas, and fine outlines.  You’ll also get a taste of the one stroke technique with a genuine TAG one stroke brush and TAG rainbow cake!  The round makeup sponge and round foam daubers are great for large color areas and will also come in very handy with our two most popular BAM stencils, the swirls with tiny hearts and leopard print!  Top it all off with some FDA approved cosmetic glitter in pink, blue and white from Amerikan Body Art. Finally, you’ll receive a Loew-Cornell brush well, which functions as both a storage container to keep your brushes in tip top shape, and a rinse water container!

Here is a list with links to each of the items included in the kit:

• 8 1.5 ounce Paradise Makeup AQ Paints (pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown)

• Wolfe 45 gram White Hydrocolor Makeup

• Wolfe 45 gram Black Hydrocolor Makeup

• #1 round Wolfe Synthetic brush

• #4 round Wolfe Synthetic brush

• #8 round Wolfe Synthetic Brush

• Loew Cornell Brush Well & Holder

• TAG #12 One Stroke Brush

• TAG One Stroke Rainbow Cake

• 1 Round makeup sponge

• Amerikan Body Art Pink Cosmetic Glitter

• Amerikan Body Art Blue Cosmetic Glitter

• Amerikan Body Art White Cosmetic Glitter

• Foam Daubers, Set of 3 Sizes

• BAM 1035 Swirls Stencil

• BAM 1002 Leopard Print Stencil

I am confident that you will love all of the products in this kit, and they will give you a great taste of the professional products available!