Once upon a time there was a 16 year old girl who attended high school by day, and worked behind the counter of a Burger King by night, saving money for college. Although she loved herself a good flame-broiled burger, her true passion was for art. This became especially evident by the small, black, wax pen illustrations she would leave on Whopper wrappers and the various stainless steel structures throughout the kitchen. Despite the fact that they wiped right off, this form of artistic expression was frowned upon by management as it added yet another step to the rigorous nightly cleaning ritual of the burger kingdom. Her name was named Gretchen. And she needed a new job that provided a more creative outlet, perhaps with a non-edible medium.
Realizing she had already won the greatest treasure that the Burger Kingdom had to offer her, the heart of the noble Burger Knight day shift manager to whom she would later give her hand in marriage, Gretchen came to the realization that it was time to move on to new adventures. Through the connections of her artistic family, she learned of a position requiring artistic skill in a new kingdom…a kingdom of amusement rides called Valleyfair in a faraway land called Shakopee, MN. This particular job not only allowed her to create artwork on unconventional surfaces, but actually required it, paying her minimum wage plus $0.20 cents per design to paint cheek art on thrill seekers. Gretchen loved getting paid to paint, even when she had to offer free touch-ups to those young lads and maidens who chose to enjoy the water park afterwards. However, even fairy tales come with tragic turns of events, such as the annual, forced closing of this seasonal kingdom of Valleyfair as a result of the harsh Minnesota winters.
After her seasonal banishment from the kingdom of Valleyfair, the fair maiden Gretchen’s journey took an indoor turn, as she brought her new set of skills to yet another great land known as Knott’s Camp Snoopy, an indoor amusement park at the enormous kingdom called the Mall of America. For years she would journey far to the east every week to attend college in a land called Wisconsin, returning on weekends to court her knight and paint faces in the land of MOA. For one week each summer she would act as the queen of her own tiny kingdom, her county fair booth, painting faces and booking private parties in her own village.
Then, one day, Gretchen’s knight in shining armor whisked her away in his trusty Ford truck to the far away land of Chicago and proposed to her. Together they journeyed even farther east, settling in the land of Columbus, Ohio. Gretchen transferred to The Ohio State University, earning a degree in Industrial Design, all the while maintaining her annual tiny county fair kingdom back home. Four years later they would return to their home land of Minnesota, and while Gretchen would begin a career in design, she still maintained her county fair face painting booth, and in 2005 opened up her online store, Paintertainment.com, selling only the small assortment of Kryolan products that she currently used herself. Realizing that in the worst case scenario, she wouldn’t sell anything and would end up with a lifetime supply of face paint at wholesale cost, Gretchen gave her online store a go. It took off, and has since grown into not only a major online retailer of face & body art supplies, but also a source for henna, balloon, and glitter tattoo supplies.
Besides peddling wares to painty lords and ladies worldwide, Gretchen has expanded her painty kingdom to become a provider of quality, professional artistic talent for events all around the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs. Gretchen and her artists are available for hire, providing face painting, balloon twisting, glitter tattoos, henna body art and caricatures for celebrations large and small. For her latest business venture, Gretchen opened up the “Glitter Glamper” in 2019, a body bling booth at the Minnesota State Fair.
Just as strong as Gretchen’s talent in face and body art is her desire to teach others and spread the painty joy throughout the land! Because of this, Gretchen has published many books on the subject of face & body art, is the editor of Wet Paint Magazine, maintains a YouTube channel and blog, sends out free monthly e-newsletters, hosts monthly paint jams in her home, and travels the globe teaching at face and body art conventions and workshops.
What our Retail Shoppers Say
Gretchen is quick with responses, and shipping. I have been buying from her for several years now. She has never let me down!
Hannah
I had an excellent experience with Paintertainment. Not only was the product of extremely high quality, but the customer service was top notch. We will not hesitate to use Paintertainment in the future!
Tammy
Every aspect is excellent. Customer service, products, shipping is super fast. Awesome!
Debbie
What our Entertainment Clients Say
Our experience was awesome! We used them for my son’s 5th birthday and they did an AMAZING job! They were early to set up, extremely good with kids and were so talented! SO WORTH THE MONEY!
Kristie
We hired Paintertainment for our corporate event last weekend. They did an amazing job! I would HIGHLY recommend them for your next event. The quality of work is OUTSTANDING. They are very professional!
Jena
Our company had 2 each for face painters, balloon artists & caricature artists. Every person was great! They seemed to enjoy the day & engaged the people…adults & kids. I highly recommend using their services.
Rande
