August 2010 Just Face Painting Entries

191 people voted in this contest

1st Place

Carolyn Manchulenko-Streifel

I got my face painting start when I was attending esthetics & make up artistry school in 1990 and was asked if I might want to try doing face painting for the local Berry Festival so I spent all week trying to come up with ideas to paint different animated berries... I found out quickly that kids were happier with super heroes & butterflies lol.

I went on to have 3 children of my own & have done the face painting at a lot of their school carnivals. It wasn't until the last few yrs though, that I have gotten a lot more into face, body & pregnancy tummy painting. I also now coordinate a face painting booth at our local community ‘Party in the Park’ every Friday night in July & August. Our town of Chilliwack, BC, Canada sponsors this great weekly event with local bands providing the music, & there is a huge kid’s zone. We have around 3-4 thousand people there every week & so the face painting booth is quite busy. I have a great crew of incredible 17 yr old art students that I have trained that rock the kid’s zone every week, painting around 300 faces each night. It’s super rewarding!

My day job is as a nail technician & artist, working in my home studio & I also make reborn dolls & dabble in photography. I also paint wall murals, with my daughter Miranda’s bedroom being my fave project by far. I have 3 great kids & a wonderful partner. He is very supportive of all my artistic endeavors! J

My favorite brand of paints is Diamond FX. I started out all those years ago with Kryolan & love the metallic colors but I love how the Diamond FX dry & don't smudge & the colors are just amazing. Lots of glitter & bling is good to!

My favorite things to paint are organic shapes, flowers, trees, birds, butterflies & the like.

See more about this awarding winning face, body and pregnant belly painter

2nd Place

Debi Winger

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN FACE AND/OR BODY PAINTING?
I dabbled in Face Painting in 91 but put it on the back burner for a
long time. I started up again and been Face/Body Painting for about 6
years now.

WHAT DO YOU NOW BESIDES FACE AND/OR BODY PAINTING?
I draw alot, paint whimsical & cartoony paintings on canvas,
illustrate on-line education comics and I'm also working on
illustrating a children's book.

WHAT PAINT BRANDS ARE YOUR FAVORITES? WHY?
Wolfe Brothers is defiantly my favorite for line work. Some Kryolan
and DFX for bases...I love metallics in most brands.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO PAINT?
Something colorful and fun!

3rd Place

Marcela Murad

There is only one Marcela Murad! Marcella has lived the life of her alter-ego "Mama Clown" since 1978, and is known by many of us as the "Mama" for the face and body painting industry. She is recognized as one of the premier face painters in the country and has been influential in revolutionizing our art form. She is an award-winning clown, international events organizer, face painter, public speaker, instructor, author, magazine publisher, entrepreneur and all-round children’s entertainer – With her highly successful Face and Body Art International Convention (FABAIC) coming up to it's 10th year and Silly Farm Supplies flourishing after more than two decades in business, Marcela has earned a reputation for stunning work combined with innovation and business acumen.

Marcela Murad is native of Colombia, South America, and a pioneer in the world of face and body painting. She has won numerous awards for her contributions to the art of clowning and face painting.

To help the world of face, body painting and clowning, she created Silly Farm Products, which manufactures her own line of magic and props, and distributes supplies to the trade. Later, she sold the company to her niece, Heather Banks, who runs and operates it today.

A well traveled entertainer and educator, Mama Clown has been all over the world. Australia, England, Austria, Costa Rica, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, performing and lecturing on the art of clowning, and face and body painting. She has been called a "Home-Town Hero" by the Miami Herald for her work with the Cuban refugee children, and an "Angel of Cheer" by the Associated Press for giving so much of her time to comfort those affected by Hurricane Andrew.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN FACE AND/OR BODY PAINTING?

When I first started clowning I saw a group of Canadian painters at a local county fair and was facinated with what they were doing. I had always been artistic and loved crafts so I was mesmerized with this artform. I watched them for three days and secretly took lots of notes and sketch some of their designs and went home and started to practice. When I attended my first clown convention I took out my paints (kryolan and Mehron liquids were the only ones available at that time) and proceeded to paint. Bob and Cathy Gibbons who produced the Laughmakers Conference took notice and invited me to teach at their event. After my first class people wanted to know where to get their supplies and Silly Farm was born. After that my life has been a series of being at the right place at the right time and being so lucky that most of the chances I took paid off.

WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE THAT?

Before I was a clown and facepainter I was a stay home mom in the process of becoming a midwife. After a while having to be on call 24/7 was taking a toll on my marriage and the choice to leave midwifery for clowning and face painting was logical at the time and I have stayed with it ever since.

4th Place

Lilly Walters

I am best known as an expert on the world of professional speaking. I have written several books on the subject, and others, one of the best selling being about how to type with one hand.

I got into painting by doing those silly painted Christmas yard sign. Now we have one of those tacky homes with a zillion painted yards signs for every holiday (see videos of our house at Christmas). The more I painted, the more I loved it. Next I tried stencils, and other types of patterns. Finally I tried a few simple things freehand. This lead to my first art book, Cobblestone Cottages From Junk Jars, then an ebook, Paint A Cobblestone Courtyard On Your Cement Floor. Now I have all kinds of paint patterns for sale on-line and a book on how to paint on fabric. Then one day my church asked me to help at a Festival painting faces. "Oh, I can't do that!" They insisted, and I fell in love. At the Festival we do from 600 - 850 faces in two days. I train their volunteer staff of painters and help coordinate it all.

But this once a year event was not enough to get my fix. So, I created a little website for my face painting, to see if anyone would actually PAY me to paint! Today I am very fortunate, my phone rings just about every day with someone wanting to hire a professional face painter. Now I get to say, "that's me!"

Although I use just about every paint, except Snazaroo, my favorite paints are mostly Diamond FX and pressed powders.

In June of 2008 I founded the West Coast Face Painters, which is a support group for other professional face painters.

See more about Lilly Walters, Face and Body Painter