A1.  I discovered face painting 18 years ago after my second child was born. A friend needed a second painter for the first Harry Potter launch in Woolworths so she showed me six faces and threw me in at the deep end! I became a bit obsessed and ended up joining online forums and going to the FACE conference. The natural progression was to try body painting.

 

A2.  There was a decision?

 

A3.  I like working with as many people as I can. I find other people’s work really fascinating because of different techniques or ways or working. You can learn so much from everyone you meet. I teach at a college and I often learn from my students too because they will instinctually do things that are more efficient, or they challenge what I’m teaching so we have to delve deeper and really understand the process.

 

A4.  I’ve been to FABIAC to teach, the World Bodypainting Festival in Austria to represent Snazaroo and painted in the brush and sponge category and obviously Gibraltar Bodyart Festival.

 

Q5.  As long as I’m allowed to get away with - but generally six hours.

 

A6.  When I’m painting, particularly when l’m up against a time deadline, I have a plan in my head and if I’m really serious it might even be written down. So, you just focus on the plan.

 

A7.  Other people’s. I love seeing how a theme can be interpreted so differently by so many people. Their use of line and colour - art is fascinating. If I had to pick something that I paint - then I think it would be a paint where the model loved it, because if they don’t it shows in the photos.

 

A8.  Paintopia pants and Nippies nipple covers.

 

A9.  My preferred style of painting is more mixed media rather than brush and sponge or airbrush or prosthetics. I like to incorporate it all. I’m more interested in a commercially representative piece so some of the competition categories are a bit limiting. A client wouldn’t specify how you achieved the end result only that it is achieved in a timely and cost effective way. So, prosthetics, props, headdresses, clothing and equipment are all decided by the overall design idea and the shapes that will he creates to make a good final image.

 

A10.  Go for it! Never compare yourself to others - you enjoy taking your creative path and enjoy them as they wall theirs.