Don't Just Pin Inspiration...Paint it!

I guess I'm feeling a little nostalgic about my face painting journey so I'll share this memory with you. Katherine ask on Facebook, "please could you share 3 things that you've done in your career that has taken your painting to another level?" I actually remember that time extremely well. 

About six months after I started my face painting business I was getting really discouraged. I seem STUCK in my same bad habits, my work wasn't improving much and I was ready to quit. One night browsing, I came across this Christina Davison cat design on Facebook and instantly fell in love and had to try it.

It's obvious there were a lot of techniques I wasn't doing properly when I painted my version but it was the first time a work of mine resembled a painter's that I really admired. This made me feel that...someday...I would paint as well as she and Mark Reid and Marcela and other face painting heroes of mine.

FABAtv has since come out and you can actually watch Christina paint this beautiful design and learn it for yourself. I highly recommend her "All About the Animals" class where it is featured. I, myself, actually went to Amarillo Texas and studied with Christina. She really helped me with my teardrops, my butterfly line work, my animals...basically filled huge gaps in my techniques. I could finally do a real tiger stripe!

So, if you feel like you are in a slump and don't like your work...take on the work of another inspiring artist...even if you haven't taken a class from them, even if it looks nothing like the original, even if you aren't sure what paints they used or brush....just do it. You may find that EVENTUALLY, it will become one of your most popular designs....something you never thought you'd be able to paint.

Back to My Future

I got my first face paints from a local face painter on December 31st...just before 2010 turned to 2011. You can see what I got in the photo of the receipt. It was a 90 gm white, 90 gm black and a tiny regular rainbow one-stroke cake, a small glitter and some hydra sponges. It came in a brown paper bag like a pint of whiskey and we met in the parking lot and did the "exchange" before she went in for her New Year's Eve gig. I took a double look inside...can this tiny bag possibly be holding $56.54 worth of product?

Since that fateful night, I've spent THOUSANDS & THOUSANDS of dollars on supplies and tried many new trends in the body art market. I've bought lots of different bags and cases. Tried almost every kind of brush and applicator I could find. I've bought powders and gems, glitters and glues, shirts and wings, gels and cleaners; cameras and a laminator. I've been to conferences and workshops; subscribed to FABAtv and bought magazines and books. Watched ALL THE YOUTUBES and been on forums and Facebook.

TIME TRAVELER...
So, if I could travel back in time and do a Marty McFly and stop myself in that parking lot and give me advice on what NOT to buy or do, this is what I would tell myself...

"You cannot save money by spending money."
You know those fabulous craft store coupons that beckon you to spend simply because they exist? How can you resist their siren song? DO NOT go to Michaels and Hobby Lobby and Joanns (all within a mile of your home) and browse and feel compelled to buy, only buy if you need something and even then...do you really NEED it?

"You are not a fairy or a princess."
Play to your strengths. Just because someone else is having great success wearing a costume, wig or wings does not mean that you will. I know they are pretty and sparkly and fun but they just aren't for you.

"Do more marketing and follow-up and a little less practicing."
I want you to know that skill alone will not get you jobs so take some of that time you spend doing swirls and curls and market yourself. Marketing is what makes your phone ring, your skill is what makes them pick up your card, followup is what makes them a repeat client year after year.

"Don't buy a Fat Max or other heavy kit containers."
There are many painters that have great success with large kits because they work fairs or large events and can wheel right up and start painting. You, however, only do one fair a year and every weekend have to go up and down front stairs, down to the basements, and into back yards. One time you had to go to the top of an amphitheater. Keep your kit as simple and compact as possible.

"You can live without Glitter Tattoos."
Oh, how you will love glitter tattoos from the moment you see them. So sparkly, so fun and they last days and days. Your clients will actually like them as much as face painting at gigs. BUT...they are expensive, sticky, messy, time consuming and your daughter is going to start college soon and won't be around to help you any more.

"Don't buy cheap brushes or multiples of every brush."
Don't buy 4 of every brush. You will end up with CUPS AND CUPS of used brushes that you don't use any more because you bought too many (and HAD to use the craft store coupon!) Buy a few GREAT brushes recommended by the pros and protect them from water damage and clean them properly. Good brushes will absolutely make your work look better.

"You don't have to body paint."
You've taken several classes on body painting. You bought an airbrush system because you felt that you had to body paint and didn't enjoy using it. There isn't really a market in Utah for it and there is a lot of other awesome artists you can refer gigs to. You are not a failure if you don't want to body paint.

"Good Henna takes time and practice."
Henna is a great business model. It's cheap, easy to pack around, fairly easy to mix up, great profit margin....BUT takes just as much time as face painting to learn properly. You don't have the time to do both well. If you are going to stain someone for two weeks, you really should know how to do it right.

"You don't have time for extra services."
You barely have time to stick a little gem on a face paint. Your fantasy of offering pamper parties with hair foils, foil jewelry, hair chalking and painted nails is just that...fantasy. Having these items in stock for the off chance that you will be called for that type of party is indulgent. You know you are just a crow and want the shiny things...RESIST!

"A camera left at home, no matter how good, cannot capture the moment."
You will love the pictures you get with your really good camera but I wish you had bought a higher end point and shoot because bringing the big, nice one along is difficult.

"Be more picky when picking pay-per-face events."

You've spent so many miserable afternoons paying to paint and not making any money. The tent takes a while to set up and tear down. It's usually hot and lacks shade. You need to follow your gut and only do PPF when

1. It's cheap or nearly free to rent the booth space 
2. There is a carnival planned or other entertainment that people expect to pay for 
3. They aren't greedy organizers and letting just anybody buy booth space 
4. People are expecting a face painter to be there. 
5. The expected attendance is 10,000 people per day.

"Stop being late!"
Check on google maps and see how long it will take you to get there and then LEAVE ON TIME! You can stay an extra half hour to make up for it; but, chances are they will only remember that you were late.

I would give myself a big hug, tell myself "You will LOVE face painting!" and invite myself to dinner so I could tell me all the RIGHT stuff to buy and do right off the bat...but that might cause a rip in the time space continuum....so, maybe just dinner and no hug.

Breaking my Bad Olaf

I got a request for Olaf this weekend and literally failed miserably. I wiped off the first one and then at the suggestion of Lizz Daley, tried just the face and when I showed the girl in the mirror I got THAT face...the one that let's you know the child is disappointed...arrow to the heart. [thwap]

Tonight it took me until 3:00 am but I think I have a passable Olaf now and kind of discovered a cool way to do him in graffiti. I started with Youtube drawing tutorials and found a couple of good ones. This one from Disney Animation Academy is good because it shows placement with structure lines:
How to Draw Olaf from Disney's Frozen

This one is probably my most favorite from Doodle, Draw, Art because it's faster and simpler...not so artsy: Drawing: How to Draw Olaf   I like the dynamic shape of it for using in face painting. It's the same shape as the one Ronnie Mena did in his cool Olaf Design.

Ronnie Mena's Olaf face painting

What really helped push me through and get the proportions better was printing off a Disney Coloring Page and putting in a clear sheet protector and painting over it so I could get the "feel" and muscle memory of the shapes.

I finally did a nice face and then decided the round shape could actually be the "O" in Olaf so I added the rest of the letters and I love it! I can't wait to try Lea Selley's graffiti stencils with it...too hard on my own arm. :)

I WILL CONQUER YOU OLAF!

Day Seven - Ladies Day Out

Baby Bink & Baby Emma

One of my guilty pleasure movies (I feel guilty because it is so dumb) is Baby's Day Out. It came out about the time Emma was just a baby and Baby Bink was just like my little Emma, crawling around having all sorts of adventures. Emma was child #4 and so was right in the thick of all the fun like the dirt piles, crayons, dogs...and loving every minute. She was a very happy child and I honestly don't remember her ever having a tantrum. (Yes, this is an thinly guised excuse to show you darling baby pictures of Emma.) I call this post "Ladies Day Out" in honor of our big adventure being out and about; first to the sea and then the city, that was filled with sea shells and buses, coffee and vistas, pizza and pigeons, boats and LOTS of gift shops!

Our hosts for the day were Saskia de Graaf & Chris Meerburg-Wijgand. We decided we go to the sea first because it was so close to the hotel. I LOVE the sea so, for the second time, I got to take off my shoes and enjoy the cool sand between my toes and crunchy little shells under my feet. Of course, I was cleaning sand from between my toes the rest of the day...but I loved it.

One thing I love about Holland is the water everywhere. It's a normal part of the landscape. There were canals and bridges and lots of bike paths along the waterways. One thing about those bike paths that almost gave me a heart attack, though, is people will ride right up to the roadway on their bikes and every time we'd zoom right by I thought we would have a collision, but that is the way in Holland. The pedestrians and bikes stop for cars instead of the other way around. Makes sense when you think about it, which is easier...stopping a 4,000 lb car or stepping off your bike for a bit?...but it takes some getting used to. There were fields of green and flowers and Christina managed to snap a pic of a windmill out the window as we zoomed by on our way to Amsterdam.

The GVB

Saskia thought it would be easier to take a bus ride into the heart of the city so we parked at a parking station and got tickets to park and ride downtown. There was a neat little tent market set up at the station with fresh vegetables, clothes, curtains, spices...a little bit of everything. It took a bit to find where we were supposed to stand for the bus but we caught it and were headed to town. The first thing you could see from the drop off was a three story bike park. There must have been a thousand bikes just in that structure. Another thing you'd never see in America.

SkyLounge Amsterdam

Our first stop downtown was a really fancy outdoor patio called the Sky Lounge on top of the Double Tree Hotel not far from the bus drop off. Saskia said it was a little expensive, but was worth it. Well, it was! What a view and all for the price of a gorgeous little platter of treats and really good coffee or tea. There was a little block of divinity, a crispy cookie, truffle all on a little white tray. The tea was presented in a lined box and you could choose your favorite and then a personal tea pot was brought with hot water...all brought by a very cute waiter I must add.

While we were there I brought out my new friend Tulip. I've always loved stuffed animals and she was trying to get my attention in the hotel every time I passed the gift shop so I finally gave in and adopted her. I brought her along in my white crocheted sling purse and had to bring her out to enjoy the view. I think I will be bringing her along on my adventures in face painting. She's a good companion...quiet and doesn't take up much room.

Hop On Hop Off Tour

We decided to do a combo "Hop On, Hop Off" package where we could ride the bus around the city and see the sights and then do a tour by boat. There was a recording in different languages that would talk about the highlights of the city. Our first stop was at the Royal Palace Square. We were getting hungry and so we went to a pizza place right off the square. They did the pizza in an odd way. Instead of mixing all the toppings together all over the pizza, they put the ingredients in wedges. Christina figured out a way to split ours so we'd each get a taste of all the different ones. I saved my crust and we went out to try and feed the pigeons. I guess you aren't supposed to feed the pigeons bread because they'll keel over...or that was just a tale told to Svetlana from a guy selling bird seed, I'm not sure which....but it was fun! Christina was the bird whisperer in the bunch and had a good conversation with one particular very brave fat pigeon.

Pizza, pigeons and Indonesian

We got on the bus and did the rest of the city, the only problem was, the pizza was the first bread I'd had in long while and with the cool breeze coming in and sitting down listening to the narration, I was having a hard time staying awake!

We hopped on the boat portion of our excursion and they took us all around Amsterdam through the canals. It was amazing how many houseboats there were. The recording said that there were 2500 docked permanently throughout the city. Some had gardens growing on top. I saw one that had been turned into a tiny cafe. Another entrepreneur had posted a sign "See a real houseboat" and was selling tours of his boat.

The old world look of Amsterdam is like nothing I've seen in America. I'm from the west and everything is relatively new here. It's so fairy tale that there was even a "crooked house" from the Mother Goose rhyme. I guess older Amsterdam is built on wooden piles driven into the ground because the earth is not stable so you don't see buildings more than 3 stories high and some of the older ones are sagging. But everything is beautiful in a way. Even new construction matches the old world feel of Amsterdam. We did finally find some tulips in bloom as we got off the boat and had some girls take our picture, my favorite picture of the day, the one with us all peeking over the flowers. We had to say goodbye at this point to Sylvie because Saskia had to get her to the airport to catch her flight.

Well, the rest of the day was spent ducking into gift shops, trying to find the perfect gift for family. (Be warned, regular stores close at 6:00 pm, even in a tourist town like Amsterdam.)  I wanted some more of the seashell type candy that Ferry had gifted we instructors. Chris was a good detective and finally found me some in a little grocery store downtown. We did find a little shop that was different from the rest and had interesting imports like seashell necklaces and blown glass and skeleton art. I ended up getting a tiny glass cow for myself and a sea shell hair comb for Emma.

Christina had mentioned that she had wanted to try Indonesian food earlier and we finally found an Asian restaurant that served it. It was called Restaurant Mandarijn. It was on the second story and small but nicely decorated in black lacquer and Asian prints. We noticed that a lot of locals were there having dinner and animated conversation which we took as a good sign. I was brave and shared an Indonesian dinner with Christina. It wasn't bad but I was jealous of Svetlana's stirfry. The waiter didn't even know the term "stirfry" but we described it to him and he came back with a great dish for her. We got some ice cream with our dinner and even that was pretty with cream and caramel drizzle.

Before we left for the night to go back to our hotel, Svetlana treated us to admission to a very interesting museum that you would only find in Amsterdam. Let's just say that I have now had the full Amsterdam experience!

I can truly say that this whole EFABE experience was one of the best of my life. To be able to mix my love of face painting with such a beautiful place and make friends with such wonderful people as the organizers and the instructors and students...it still fills me with sunshine to think of it to this day.

Muse of the Week - My Little Esther

I was invited to paint at a Jewish Community Center for Israel Independence Day this Sunday and as my time there was winding down, husband put bracelets on the last remaining children in line to be painted.

I soon heard a commotion. A father was INSISTING that his daughter come out of the line because they were going home. She protested. She had been waiting at least the 15 minutes since my husband put the bracelets on and was only one or two away from getting to the painter. He insisted again and said they were going right now. She stuck to her guns and wouldn't budge. I offered to paint on her arm because he kept mentioning how he didn't want it on her face, but she shook her head at me. He now said "I don't LIKE face painting, let's go!" She resisted...only one more before her!

I continued painting and didn't really get involved but didn't know whether to be shocked or amused (but did turn around for sure) when Dad said "Face painting is against the TORAH!"...now mind you, I was HIRED by the community center. He was not attired as an Hasidic Jew and I KNOW there are many a talented face painters in Israel who paint for Jewish holidays....so.....

My Little "Esther" insisted that Father go get her Mother. Now she was right behind me and I was finishing the last child before it was her turn. Mother was trying, but I could tell she was softening...so I turned and said "She has been waiting for quite awhile." She relented and said "Now you will enjoy this all day, right?" and the girl nodded and got in my chair.

She wanted a tiger eye I had on my eye design board, only on two eyes...and maybe a black nose. What a great choice for such a fierce opponent. Well, I got out my brilliant bling cake and I was determined that this little queen was going to get the best face painting of the day. I said "Good thing there is a long history of strong Jewish women in history." and smiled.

I started hearing "Oh, that's really good" from adults who I soon realized were none other than the parents. "That's really first class face painting!" Dad said. "Wow!...oh, you look so beautiful!" I did my pointiest tiger lines, added dots, a nose and then to finish it off brought out the gold bling (the only time that day) and added it in celebration of her victory.

She was already smiling from all of the comments she was hearing and gasps from the little audience left in line. She was thrilled when I showed her in the mirror. I almost cried when I realized that Jeff had captured this moment for me...her peaceful, proud, pleased smile as she received her well deserved prize. Priceless.

Little Esther

Day Six - Playing Princess

I wasn't able to arrange any post classes so Tuesday was a free day for me as the other instructors were hauled to different locations and classes around the area. I felt very spoiled because it was an opportunity to enjoy my beautiful surroundings; both the hotel and the acres of flowers in bloom.

I had a country grandma & a city grandma

Hollyhock ballerina

I grew up as the only girl with two brothers 9 & 7 years older and a younger brother 7 years younger so I used to spend a lot of time playing alone in one grandmother's big old house with all sorts of cubbies, closets and extra rooms and the other grandmother's ditches, fields and pastures.  I would spend hours pretending to iron washcloths with one of those old irons (that were really iron) my city grandma kept by the fireplace, swinging on the swing set or lining up nicknacks on the shelf. At my country grandmas I would be picking mint by the ditch for mint tea or rubbing the noses of the horses or making holly hock ballerinas. I feel lucky that, as a child, I got to enjoy the wonder of being present in the moment and experiencing "old fashioned" entertainment that seems to be extinct in these days of video games and 24 hour television programming.

Beautiful NH_Leeuwenhorst

This day of my EFABE experience was a gift for me that made me feel a child again; completely relaxed with no time table. I woke up JUST in time for breakfast and while I ate I read emails and saw in my inbox that Kerry Ann DePetro had uploaded a new Face Paint Podcast. I went back up to the room and packed my swimming suit and changed into my workout clothes and went to the exercise room and listened to her interview the crazy good Ezia Leach about her experience at LaFete while I did the elliptical machine and lifted weights.

I went in the locker room and changed into my swimming suit and went to the pool where they were holding an in-pool exercise class. I decided to check out Facebook while they were finishing and found a pool-side chair. I guess I was there too long because long after the class left, a young man decided I'd surfed the internet long enough so he got of out the pool and chastised me in Dutch, and then English when he realized I didn't understand, for being at a pool and not getting in the water. He was right, in a way, although his companions apologized for him...but it got me in the water. I got in the spa and someone took mercy on me and turned on the bubbles (I couldn't find the switch and couldn't read the signs) The spa was actually only lukewarm but it was good because American spas are so hot that you can only stay 15 minutes...so I had a good time floating around in the bubbles for a long time.

I went up to the room and showered and, like our American forefather Ben Franklin, took an airbath in the cool air coming in through my hotel window that was open to the nature surrounding the hotel. I could hear the birds singing and a few trucks coming and going but the cool sheets and sounds soon had me fast asleep. I had a big breakfast so there was no need for lunch so when I woke up in the late afternoon I checked with Saskia Timmermans to see if they happened to be coming back to the hotel for dinner or would be dining out. She texted back that she didn't think they were going to make it back but I might check with Pashur and Sean who were coming back to the hotel. I tried to text Pashur but I guess they were working on a body paint so I decided that I should go explore the hedgerow around the hotel before I got dark. I could always eat later...sooo glad I did!

As I rounded the corner of the hotel the smell of hyacinths was heavy all around. It was dusk and the warmth of the earth was helping the flowers release a strong fragrance into the air. I followed the paths around the hotel and there were acres and acres of daffodils and hyacinths before me....right behind the hotel! I could see a plowed field from my hotel window but I hadn't seen these fields on the other side. The sun was just setting and giving the flowers a halo of light and enhancing the colors and it was beautiful! I took pictures to remember but I know that a picture won't express the whole experience of colors, smells and peace. Even the weeds had crowns of purple. There were volunteer bulbs everywhere sprouting along roadsides and ditches.

Before I lost the last of the evening light I came back to the footpath and walked around the hotel. There were benches and little viewing areas scattered all through the hedgerow but I bet that only a handful of the occupants of the hotel would ever come out here. They would be too busy studying graphs and charts and getting coffee to look. I know I would have missed it and only had my view from the window to remember if I hadn't had my "Princess" day.

After my walk I went back to the buffet and had a great Asian dinner accompanied by my husband as we text back and forth across thousands of miles about our individual days; he at home fixing dinner and doing a few loads of laundry and finishing the last tasks of his university classes, me...playing princess. I still owe him many homemade meals!

Saskia & Youri

I made my way to the bar at 8:00 waiting for the other instructors to make it back from their adventures. Saskia de Graaf came along and I told her about my day of playing princess and how grateful I was for my time there. I told her about Lissette and my classes, how fun the jam was...things I've talked about here on T&TS. I was nice to have some quiet time with her before everyone arrived. I didn't know until then that her son was the handsome young man, Youri, that had helped me earlier at the Mehron booth!

Colab body paint with
Pashur, Sean & Richard

When everyone got there we gathered at the big table near the bar and chatted. I noticed that something was off with Pashur and even Sean seemed a little down. Well, it turns out that they hadn't eaten yet because of the body painting and were both running on fumes, ARTISTS! :) Saskia caught the kitchen before they closed and ordered them a pizza and poor Sean waited at the busy bar for a long while trying to get a drink and gave up. So while they were eating, I bought those poor guys something to drink. Between a little food and something to drink they were feeling better in no time and we were all snapping selfies and joking and enjoying the rest of our evening. We had to say goodbyes to some that were going back home or to other places to teach and this would be last day we were all together. Lots of hugs and kisses on the cheeks for all.

I retired around 11:30, a modern day Cinderella leaving the ball before midnight to Skype her prince of a husband back home.

Christina & Denise making
 a Sean sandwich

How does she do it? We're all in the shot!

Lea broke the previous record of the
most people in an EFABE selfie.

Day Five - The Most Fan-tabulous, Fraîche Face Painting Day

This day couldn't have been any better if I'd made a dream board and tried to apply "The Secret" to brew up the best painting day of my life. I was just expecting a workshop with Mark Reid...what I got was a fabulous experience that I will never forget. It was like all three years of my face painting life coalesced into the manifestation of this...the perfect day. Perfect class, perfect venue, perfect hostess, perfect chef, perfect painter, perfect city....JUST....

Inspiration of Mark Reid

Anyone that knows me knows me well knows that I am a huge fan of Mark Reid's art. I've joked often that I'm not in competition with my local artists, I'm in "competition" with Mark Reid because his work is the perfection that I strive for in face painting. I love that he and his Texas State Fair partner Christina Davison (another of my favorite painters) work together create face painting designs are are simple yet perfect; I don't know how else to describe them (Brace yourself, I'll be using that word a lot!) Perfect placement, perfect thick to thin line work, flattering to the wearer and quick enough that I have used many of the designs in my business to wow my clients. When I found out that I wouldn't be teaching Monday, I jumped at the opportunity to take an intensive workshop with Mr. Reid while I was there in Holland. I honestly didn't know how perfect my day would turn out.

We met down at the breakfast room of the hotel before heading out and Richard Nijboer was going to take myself, Mark & Sylvie Ghidalia to class. When I got in the car I was a bit worried because there were no seatbelts in the back my Mark assured me that Richard had driven him all over Europe safely. It was a little bit of a drive to Amsterdam but it was fun to listen to Mark's painting adventures...one even temporarily landed him in jail! He's so full of fun an humor that I could listen and laugh with him all day!

Restuarant Fraîche in Amsterdam

Our hostess Jon

We made it to Amsterdam and found this darling restaurant where the class was to be held. It was called Fraîche. It was super small compared to the large chain restaurants you see here in America, but it was very quaint...nah, that's not a good word for it, it's cooler than that. It was like you were being invited into the very large cozy kitchen of a friend who happened to be a fabulous chef! There was Jon (pronounced Yon) of Face Paint Stuff to greet us. She had introduced herself to me in the hallway at the hotel a few days before and told me she was hosting the Mark Reid workshop and she also attended my class so it was nice to see a familiar face there. What I hadn't realized before is that her husband, Tony, was the owner/chef of Fraîche. She was the perfect hostess. She made sure that everyone had tea or coffee or whatever they needed and that we were all settled in.

Class was really fun for me. I'd never taken an official hands-on workshop from Mark...only quick classes at conference, FABAtv and he'd come through Utah for a demo class...but I'd never painted and been critiqued by him before. I believe that criticism is always better than praise if you are trying to learn a craft. We covered painting the perfect teardrops (of course!) and flames so that it would help us understand the blending we would be doing later. Then we got into the good girly stuff! We started with a simple butterfly and then Mark showed us how to pump it up by adding shading and bling.

Jon & I painted cats

He did a darling quick tiger cat type design that I plan on adding to my boards this year. Then he did a Bat Mask on Richard but instead of tear drops added a Glittermark filigree. (I actually ended up painting that on myself for Comic Con.) He challenged us to paint one of those designs on each other. This is Jon & I in our attempts to paint the kitty design...needs a bit of practice to match his perfect line work.

The freshest ingredients cooked perfectly

Beautiful table setting

One of the things that made this day so perfect was the food we were served for lunch. I'm glad Mark took photos so I could show you here. Just as the restaurant says, everything was FRESH! We had arugula salad (my personal favorite), beet salad, pea pods with baby green beans, sliced prosciutto, tomatoes with fennel (or some licorice type herb), crispy fried potatoes that were fluffy as clouds on the inside, homemade bread...Tony even took time to de-bone the chicken before frying it so it was all meat and juicy and tender. I guess they have a pretty famous Sunday brunch that I wish I could go to every Sunday. They buy food in season and modify their menu to reflect the produce and meats they are able to get fresh. We are a culinary family of sorts and my son, Adam, is chef at From Scratch in Salt Lake City; so I appreciate the talent that goes into having these perfect ingredients AND cooking them in such a way to enhance the flavor and not cover it up.

Getting painted in class

Perfect Model

I was so thrilled that I got to model for Mark as he demonstrated a gorgeous half butterfly design. He attempted to have all in the class, if we wanted, to leave with a design on our faces. It's amazing to watch how he can take a little pat of paint, some glitter & a liner brush and make these fabulous designs. A little after 5:00 pm Tony brought their beautiful children to the restaurant. Mark painted Jon's little girl and she looked amazing. What was cute is she KNEW she looked beautiful and was posing like a professional in no time. Around 5:30 pm it was getting time for Tony to close up shop. Everyone had to go their separate ways except our little group that we had started the day with. I wish they had stayed and gone to dinner with us because they would have experienced the adventure that Sylvie and I got to have.

It took us quite awhile to park, walk and try and find somewhere to get a drink and something to eat. As we were walking the streets of Amsterdam, people would notice my fabulous face painting and one time even got stopped for pictures. It was such a treat to be walking along the streets of Amsterdam with one of my face painting heroes, wearing his creation and I felt beautiful and sooo lucky to be there in that moment.

We had packed a bit of paint in the white Mehron bag I had with me and had plans to paint Sylvie because we ran out of time at Fraîche. We finally hit upon a pub that had umbrella tables on the sidewalk and so we plopped down and got some drinks. I felt badly for Mark because he's been on his feet all day painting and we'd just been sitting in class.

As tired as he was, he set up the paints right there and started painting a gorgeous eye design set on Sylvie. If you thought walking down the street got attention, you should have seen the people stopping to watch the actual painting happening! I recorded the whole thing on Sylvie's phone so she'd have proof that it actually happened. We were losing light and so Mark took us both across the street and used his photography posing magic to take a picture of us. I'm happy just thinking about it. You can just tell by watching Mark paint and take photos that he LOVES his craft and making his subjects as beautiful as they can be.

Sylvie & Denise on the streets of Amsterdam

Mark painting Richard at the pub

We decided that Richard needed something to match us now so in the last minutes of light Mark painted Richard with a flame & tribal design that swooped across his entire head. I think Richard got stopped for his design even more than we did!

We were all starting to get tired and hungry. We left the pub to find somewhere to eat and stopped at a little corner pizza shop. It was surprisingly pretty good and I definitely felt re-charged after that.

Richard was our tour guide and took us for a walk around the city on our way back to the car. The city is interesting and eclectic. There are some weird places like smoking shops and sex toy shops and yes, we did a quick tour of the Red Light district but what struck me was the age of everything. It was an interesting juxtaposition of beautiful old architecture and modern age marketing.

We ran into a bit of trouble when our cola hit our bladders and it was getting late and places were closed. Luckily, we found this little closet of an English pub on a corner and the bar keep was nice enough to let me use his restroom. One of my mottos, from when I had kids and as I've gotten older, is "never pass up a perfectly good bathroom"...I was so grateful for that tiny little WC in the middle of Amsterdam. I wish I'd had some change to put in his jar but all I had was 100 euro note and even though I was grateful, wasn't quite THAT grateful so I just had to thank him enthusiastically.

In addition to Mark being a great painter, he's also a gentleman. He told me not to tell anyone this because they might get the wrong impression of him! LOL! He was making sure that we all traveled together and he and Richard were making sure that we didn't fall into the canal or step in horse droppings. He carried my little Mehron bag for me and in general, just made sure that we were taken care of. It was very nice, especially walking in the dark in a strange and foreign land.

Amsterdam at Night

The city was just beautiful at night. Twinkling lights falling on the canal and lighted buildings made it seem more magical that ever before. I snagged this photo from Sylvie's facebook. We were passing a canal and trying to take photos of the beautiful scene and she handed the camera to Mark and he snapped a really nice photo for her. Doesn't it look just like a painting?

We made it to the car and Richard drove us home in the dark. After a full day of teaching, painting and walking all over Amsterdam, Mark was so tired he was falling asleep on the way. We were all worn out and as soon as we got back I hugged everyone and made my way up to my hotel room and Skyped my husband about my fabulous day. I had just as hard of a time expressing how cool it was as I am you now. I just kept saying "Hun, it was perfect" and it was!

Day Four - Mobster and McDonald's

I decided that I was going to go to one of my fellow teacher's classes and I had never trained with Svetlana Keller, so I quickly ate breakfast and went to her class. It was very full and I sat toward the back near Tineke Cloet, a Face Paint Forum friend.

Svetlana Keller

I have to describe Svetlana a bit, she is very, VERY pretty and very petite and has this soft Disney Princess voice with a wonderful accent. I just loved listening to her speak...it's like her whole demeanor compels you to want to hug her. But she's not a softy though, she also likes organization and order so her class was given that way, which I actually appreciate. It's one of the things I love about Pashur's classes...we get a lot done because there aren't so many distractions because they both maintain order.

Class Demo

Another thing you should know about her is she is a photographer, a good one. If you look at her gallery on her Kinderschminken website, you'll see her handiwork. Very bright and beautiful pictures. She took a photography course and it shows. Makes me want to take one. But what was cute about that is she knew how to POSE for the camera also. It was darling and we all got a good laugh in class because whenever a cameraman would approach her, she would adopt this serene smiling pose (like the one to the left) that was beautiful and could be in a magazine! I'm sure her "on-the-job" teaching photos are going to be fantastic! The class was good. We learn three designs and I picked up some really good ideas. I loved that she added some texture stenciling to her zombie face. She used crystals on her girl designs that really looked super and I love her use of color.

Innocent Mobster Shonna at lucheon.

After class we instructors went to lunch and there was a beautiful buffet with salmon and curry, which were great together. I sat by Christina and Shonna was across the way. Well, I mentioned that hardly any vendors were taking cards and there were so many paints that I wanted to try. Shonna said she had lots of euros that I could borrow but then she got this really serious face on and said "but if you don't pay me back I'll have to kill you." Well, I started laughing and that just got her going...she was telling me how she was going to chop me up and feed me to the gators where she lived...mobster style. She had all sorts of creative ways of exacting revenge..."No, Denise...I'm not kidding!" LOL! I'm sure the wait staff thought I was crazy! She had me laughing so much I had to put my face up to the ceiling to laugh out loud! Then Christina sweetly offered some euros to me. I know that Christina lives in Amarillo, Texas so I teased her that she would tie me to an anthill and pour honey on me if I didn't pay her back! I was laughing so hard! What fun company I get to keep! Needless to say...I never did borrow any euros!

Arjan the Zombie

My two classes went well. We had a lot of fun breaking up Starblends and repotting them. I had been painted by a student in the first class so I sprayed my face to show that the Starblend sticks even when the paint washes off. Made a mess of my face I'm sure!

I painted piggies and tigers this time on the models instead of traditional boy designs and in the second class, an EFABE helper Arjan had come to class to be a model for one of the students. I grabbed him and turned him into a zombie to show custom Starblend colors (I make Brownple and Ivory so I can do quick zombies.) He heard me bragging on how Starblends holds up to sweating and heat so he told me after class that he was going to put the Starblend to the test and work in the vendor room. I thought that was a great idea. I know they work pretty well because I've worked in the yard in them for a video tutorial I made.

Denise & Nathalie Cloet

Denise & Gonny

I let the students try the Starblends and they did great. I was painted as a Wolf in the first class by the darling Nathalie Cloet. Michelle Triepels-Verkaart did a really cute tiger on me and a nice skull on Gonny Kokee, first time using Starblend and she really seemed to get it and did great blending on the skull.

I hope that everyone in the class learned something about Starblends and tried them. I wanted the students to get a chance to see that you can get good results and even better results for some things than you can with traditional paints.

We took a break to clean up the classrooms and put together a small kit for the last activity of the day. It was actually really fun and turned out better than I thought it would. We were tasked, as instructors, to demo for the students for 15 minutes in teams of two. I was paired with Christina Davison. That was fun for me because I'm a huge fan of her work. We did the traveling instead of the students moving from class to class. I decided to do one-stroke roses like I had at the jam the night before so I used that grey and teal combo that looked so pretty on Elke so I only needed the two one-stroke cakes, white and black and of course...BLING! Christina did a cute heart tiger the first class and then her signature horsey design in the other classes. We were a little behind on the first class, figuring out our groove, but then in the following classes we got too fast and had to fill in the time a bit! It was fun to paint full speed and not do much talking...more like a gig and the students would clap at the end...much better than a gig!

Shonna and Mark crackin' up!

It was funny because the courtyard doors behind us were opened and we kept hearing this uproar at the beginning of each class and laughter coming from another classroom. We were pretty sure it was Mark but we weren't sure what he was up to. Turns out that he and Shonna were just having a blast being silly with the students. I guess at some point Shonna was making sexy balloons??? Is this true? LOL! Lucky students! I would have loved to have watched that!

After class everyone changed and we were going to meet and go somewhere for dinner. I met Pashur and Sean waiting downstairs. I still had drink tokens left because I hadn't had any adult beverages all week so I thought I would try something. I pled with Pashur to help me because I didn't know "how to" drink. I've had a few drinks of wine at a friends, a plum Saki with my sushi at Red Rock and one super strong martini that I couldn't even finish but I had never ordered something from a bar. So he recommended a cider called Strongbow. It was actually good. It reminded me of Martinelli's that is a Cold family tradition at New Years but just a hard cider version. It was so nice to sit with those two wonderful guys and enjoy the last of the golden sun of the day.

Stopping at the beautiful Hyacinth fields

We didn't officially plan on dinner as a group because the conference was technically over but the EFABE team was nice enough to take us to McDonalds near the hotel. I know it doesn't sound like much but it was one of my most memorable meals of my life. We piled in a car and I had Mark, Sean, Pashur & Christina in there and me. I guess we were quite the sight when we saw a hyacinth field and pulled over to the shoulder and piled out clown-car style, like the tourists we are, and took photos of the beautiful field of flowers. Brenda Rosendahl caught this photo of us...I think there is even a video floating around somewhere of the spectacle!

 When we first got there at McDonald's we weren't sure what to do so Pashur told me I could go first so I started ordering and was right in the process of paying and Saskia de Graff dove after me and stopped me. The reason we were waiting was to gather everyone together before we ordered. I teased Pashur that he was punking the newbie and he swears he wasn't! I think many of us got the "traditional" Big Mac and fries and because they were busy the fries were nice and hot. My zombie, Arjan, showed up and looked as gruesome as ever! The paint ran a little but the Starblends tolerated the heat and worked well. He tried to get the McDonald's clerk to react by ordering BRAINS...but I guess she was too professional.

Sean Avram captured one of my best meals ever!

I can't tell you how happy this evening made me. I got to sit at the table with all of these great painters and instructors. Even the silver haired man across from me is Ferry Zeeman, a body painting pioneer in the the Netherlands. We were talking about Ferry's beautiful landscaping, Sean's funny kids, crazy stories from the trenches of face and body painting and one particular crazy story about Wiser's narrow escape from a dark "snake" infested bar in Key West! They weren't really snakes... but he'd have to tell you that story himself! I love that everyone loves to laugh as much as I do. It was also a little sentimental because the conference was over and I didn't want the fun to end. Little did I know that the next three days would be just as fabulous.

Léa Selley - Muse of the Week

Lea with a happy customer

I first met Léa in Las Vegas at my first conference ever, FPBA, before I even had my first paid gig. She was the web mistress and had done a great job designing their website. I could appreciate the work she'd done for them because I'd managed websites and programmed them back in the OLD HTML days. She gave a great class on internet marketing and gave us some great ideas on cross marketing with other painters, blogging, linking to other painting content...she had a LOT of great ideas. So she was inspiring me way back when.

Wiser painting Lea at FPBA
Photo: Kim Millen

Fast forward a couple of years and Léa has put out some AMAZING Youtube tutorials, has taught a great class on FABAtv and is now taking the world by storm teaching her graffiti eyes around the world. Oh, and then there was that marriage thing to WISER ONER, the graffiti body painter, in an amazing sugar skull extravaganza at last year's FABAIC! Wow! I guess they had met at that same FPBA conference too!

Great Youtube Tutorials

Léa is not only a painting muse for me, but she's also an instructor muse. I love her high energy enthusiasm approach to teaching. I also love her Youtube channel and she's given me a high standard to shoot for in the future. She's also come up with a stenciling system that makes her graffiti design style more adaptable to all painters. She's making it easier for painters to get her great design results with her great teaching style and tools.

She's also got a great personal way about her that exudes peace and love. She seems very comfortable with herself and with others and wants to bring happiness to the world. So in this way, she's also a personal muse. Kerry Ann DePetro just did an interview with Léa on her Face Paint Podcast (and gave me a shout out too!) and I was so taken by her positive attitude about teaching and painting and getting to meet painters from all over. I was thrilled when I got to meet both her and Wiser (again) at EFABE. What a fun couple and great huggers too! Can't wait to see them at FABAIC.

I just got my Ultimate Graffiti Eyes Stencil Kit in the mail and did my first eye design. I'm getting ready for Comic Con here in Salt Lake City and I'm excited to match graffiti eyes to customer's t-shirts and outfits. I think they will be a great fit for superhero designs. That's one of the beautiful things about graffiti eyes. There are endless combinations of colors and designs that you can do so that each one is unique.

Here's where to find Léa:
Kerry Ann's interview of Léa : Face Paint Podcast
Website: TheTattooedLady.ca
Blog: The Tattooed Lady Blog
Facebook: TheTattooedLadyCA
Graffiti Eyes Group: The Tattoo Lady's Crib
Buy the Stencils: Ultimate Graffiti Eyes Stencil Kit