How many FP here have any kind of art background? What brought them into Face Painting?

I am an art instructor who happened, quite by accident, to be litterally sucked into FP by the delighted smiles on the new faces I created to aid another FP in need of help. Im just grateful that my training helps me break down designs for simplicity and speed which I am used to teaching in my other classes (unrelated, yet can be carried into facepainting, like the One Stroke technique).
Ive spent hours at a time on the net looking at websites, scouring new designs on Snaz photo pages and on this forum. I was awestruck at the marvelous art created and yet horrified at the major design errors.
Past training allows me to quickly pick up on so many doing it the 'hard' way. I was surprised that another FP, who attended many classes with the masters was 'fighting' with her brush and handed her one of mine to use. She was amazed at the difference the right brush made in her work & speed. I gave her two full sets of the brushes in all sizes. I was surprised that simple art basics were ignored by her previous instructors. Part of my training thru the years is to keep artists from making common misteaks and making it easier by letting the supplies & brushes do the work for them, allowing for more creativity.
I've been asked to teach FP and considering it, mostly to make things easier for beginner to talented artists.
My question for the forum is; how many FP on this board have any kind of art background? What brought them into Face Painting?
Cheers,
Susan

I've been doing artsy fartsy things since I was 10 years old. My background is painting (acrylic on canvas), photography, pottery, and architectural renderings (with markers). My medium of choice is face painting! I graduated from The Art Institute of Houston back in '98. I've been working as an artist every since.

I spent three years at miami university oxford studying art. Planned on being a teacher and it hasn't happened yet. I started by just helping at church, painting backdrops, teaching craft classes. Then they needed a face painter for an event, and I volunteered. The first time I just did cheek art with cheep face paint, then a friend of mine wanted to try the full faces at a christian summer camp. Once again we bought cheep halloween makeup, but I loved doing the faces.

I spent hours researching different paints, brushes, forums, and techniques. I bought my first pro set and can't get enough.

Winger1200, it is wonderful that you are able to help people in the way you do. I spent hundreds of dollars on paints and brushes,( not to mention the 500-600 hundred it cost for each college class) and had professors who never taught brush techniques, or much at all, to be honest with you. You should consider doing the fp classes. You could really help someone like myself, that has to practice, to just be self taught, with amateur technique.

I've been drawing since a very young age, always passed the hours away just drawing cartoons the most . I've taken art classes here and there. Have sold greeting cards on consignment at a gift shop before and have done small arts & crafts shows.

I also love painting on canvas and crafting all sorts of stuff. I do alittle coloring and drawing on the computer but I still love the old fashion way, good ol' pen on paper. I would love to illustrate a childrens book someday or do a coloring book. I just recently signed up on Etsy to sell some of my stuff on-line. Its basiclly like ebay but for art/craft work. I already shared it with Jessica ...if you are interested you can take a look at my shop here www.debisdoodles.etsy.com


I got into face painting because it looked fun and of course I could use the extra income. Even though I already knew how to draw there was and still is alot to learn with face painting. I started doing small parties a long time ago, about 13 years ago for just like one year while I was living on a base in Alabama but fell out of it when we moved. Theres sooo much more info on the internet about it now and helpful books and teachers so I picked it up again about 4 years ago and have been loving it .

Oh yeah...I forgot to say how I got into face painting....
About 4 years ago I went to a festival and saw a woman with a face painting booth. I stopped and watched her for a minute and asked her a few questions about her paints. The only things I remembered her saying were "Snazaroo" and "Wolfe for black". I googled Snazaroo and bought a starter kit immediately. I'm addicted!!

Actually, my sister is the artist in the family (with a visual arts degree), my degree is in Vocal Music... I got into clowning because after taking 4 years away from working to take care of my kids, my resume has left me pretty much unemployable. I needed the extra income and after having a clown at both of my daughters' 2nd bday parties, I saw that it was something that I could do with the skills that I had and some extra skills that I could learn quickly.

I started with balloons because that's what my mentor clown needed me for, but definitely wanted to get into face painting soon after. Clowning has been great! I really love it and I can't wait to go to Mooseburger Camp this summer where I'll be taking a class in face painting as well as birthday parties, balloons, character development and puppetry.... It's gonna be the coolest week ever!

I do have an art background too. All I did was draw when I was young. Got my art degree (concentration in printmaking) then did nothing with it : / I recently got my current job working in a costume shop. The owner knew I was artistic (I originally went into the store to inquire about selling my hand made fairy wings there.. which after a year I still have not done) and she asked if I wanted to help her volunteer face paint at an elementary school fund raising event. I had done cheek art many many years ago with water colour crayons. She had me doing full face art with real professional face paints. Then I did another store sponsored event. I got hooked, blew most of my wages buying a sampling of everything. I helped Heather at a couple of her events too. Now I need the practice, then maybe some more "gigs"

Kathy

I don't have any art background. Other than the art classes I took in Middle School. I took an oil painting class with my Step Mom when I was 18. That was a lot of fun. I've done a small amount of craft painting when I was working on some Christmas gifts one year in the '90's. At around that same time period, I bought a book that came with face paints. I think it was the Osbourne book... that's when I discovered face painting. What fun! I used it on my son for Halloween for years!

My sister gave me a book, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" and that got me interested in drawing for a short while.

How I got into face painting? A little over a year ago, I was trying to think of ways to earn money and face painting just popped into my head one day while driving. First I bought some face paints at our local Wal-Mart... all they had was Palmer... pretty awful! I tried it out on my kids and the kids I babysat. Since I'd previously used the face paints that came with the Osbourne book, I knew these weren't good face paints, so I started looking online to find out where to buy the good stuff. That's when I discovered the whole face painting world! I had never noticed any professional painters anywhere that I can remember, so I really didn't know this whole face painting world existed.

So, I'm no natural or trained artist, but I do enjoy it and hope to get better each year!

BTW... love your cards Debi! How cute!

I dabbled in painting in all mediums as a teenager and have always been artsy. I've had only limited training though, not a lot of technique. Some people have differing opinions on whether art training is a help or hindrance for face painting though, since it's such a different "medium". What I knew before starting didn't really help that much since I wasn't able to apply it. All that I use for face painting has been discovered since beginning my business.

I've taught a few classes and spent a lot of time on-line looking at others' work, and I've found that sometimes people "get it" and sometimes they don't. One person with no training can quickly grasp blending, colors that compliment one another, and following a central point relevant to the shape of the face. Others seem to be completely oblivious to these "rules" for harmonious designs.

I don't have any formal training in art except one ceramics class in high school and the college ceramics class I took last semester. I've always liked doodling and creating things. When anime hit it big in America I started drawing a lot of the characters and just learned from what I saw in magazines and a few anatomy books. Also, I was fascinated by tattoos ever since I was little. LOL My mom got so frustrated with all the parents calling her, asking:"Why does my child have marker tattoos all over their arms?"
When I was in junior high my mom asked me what career I wanted to go into, but I couldn't give her an answer. I didn't want some boring regular job. She came across a face painters site not long after and I was hooked! She is always really supportive of what I want to do. I decided that this was my calling, and I started studying everything I could get my hands on. Now that I've got my little business off the ground, nothing could make me happier!

I agree alot with what Angie said. Sometimes you just 'get it' and sometimes it takes a bit longer and sometimes you just don't get it...

Some canvas painting techniques might be helpful, but sometimes are a hindrance because you try to use them and they just slow you down.

I have only been face painting as a business since September 2008.
Before that, I did a few 'birthday parties' (winging it) for family/friends and had volunteered at a few Fundraiser events and just had looked at books and pictures for ideas as time was a limiting factor and the 'learning curve' was still on the low side! /grin

My only training was looking at pictures of designs online and reading a few Face Painting books and looking at youtube videos. I think my learning curve benefitted from not having to 'unlearn' too many other 'traditional' art techniques. /shrug But if I'd known of and could have afforded a 'face painting teacher' I'd have loved to take a class before those events!!

About 14 years ago I did a few 'Bob Ross' 1-day art classes and that was the first time I did anything like that other than being a 'doodler' when I was much younger. After taking the Bob Ross classes I was introduced to a 'traditional art' instructor and I ended up taking about 8 'one week' art classes over the next few years. We used oil paints and liquin and I hated the smell, but loved the results.

I really loved those as we did alot more detail, but it was a 'layering process' where you had to let the stuff dry in between the layers before moving on. But that teacher taught me more than any about how to use your brushes correctly, for that technique and about perspective and focal points.

I'd not painted in about 7 years when I did the face painting (busy having kids)...so the Face Painting was a wonderful and refreshing way to get my hands back into doing something creative and that I really loved doing...and no smelly oils/liquin/thinner!! I'm just in love with using the body/face as a canvas!

Art is in the eye of the beholder. I have found I learn the most from looking at pictures of people's art that I find 'most beautiful' and then trying to utilize those techniques and come up with my own interpretations.

The only 'formal' class in Face Painting I've had was with Mark Reid on December 6/7th, 2008 and that was more than worth the cost to me!

So I do see the value of having teachers specifically out there teaching face painting techniques. But everyone seems to have a slightly different technique...so I'd suggest finding a teacher who's art inspires you and then learning how they do it. But I also think that if you are just artistically inclined, you can 'self learn' many things...and will eventually figure it all out!

Just as any other endeavor in life, a mentor/coach is extrememly valuable to your success and learning process if you want to 'step up your game'.

Good luck with your teaching endeavors Susan!

I don't have an art background and I didn't even concider myself as an artist person. I took only one art class (drawing 101) when I was in college and didn't do very well. I was very suprised when I took up a brush and started face painting in 2003. I can't draw well with a pencile but I can with a brush. I was clowning in 2003 and saw a face painter at a local clown convention and watching her lit the spark and I have been doing it ever since. I took me a good 2 years to teach my hand to do what I wanted it to do, but once this communication happend I just got better and better.

You definitely got "better" Kathy!!

I have also always been a doodler and drawer since I was a little kid. Always intrigued by everything around me, the lines, the contrasts, the colors, the way they blend and complement. I took a few classes in school years and self taught from a few books. My mom and bro are very artistic (he has done album covers and shirts for bands in California). Artsy craftsy endeavors are "my thing". I have painted, beaded, stamped, drawn, etc.....I believe I needed a satisfying creative outlet. I loved doing the faces of myself, friends and kids for Halloween with the "inferior" product and always got complements.

Discovered face painting as a real art in March 2008 and my daughter was addicted to having it done every week and would sleep in it and try to wear it the next day to preschool with varying results. I Fell in love with it in April and with encouragement from a wonderful artist and friend bought the supplies and started playing. Went to the FABAIC in May 2008 and was absolutely blown away by all I saw. It was like a lightning moment I found what I love and the icing on the cake was I can make a few extra bucks while I am still at home with the kids. It is the "funnest" job I never had. It isn't like work at all!!!! The people I have met are so kind, open and inspiring. Loving this "tribe"!!!

p.s.
We should all be gentle on what we "out there". People come from all walks and backgrounds and experience levels. Face painting has really come a million miles in the last 7 or 8 years. Some of the work on the Snaz site is older and I love that it documents the evolution of face painting. Already it is hard to look at some of my first paintings....

Happy Painting Out There!

Wendy...OMG...I have a painting in a box in the basement...I've been tempted to throw it in the trash TOO many times...but I keep it as a reminder!

I agree about the Snaz site, it's interesting to look at the pictures from years ago. The same for older Face Painting Books. This really is a 'young' industry that is evolving really fast! What a wonderful place to be right now!

I think this website is extremely valuable as a teaching resource and a place to grow as a Face Painter. I look forward to loggin on whenever I get a chance!!