Before entering the body artistry world I was very intimdated by the thought of becoming a body artist entertainer. I knew I could paint and draw from the time when I was 8 years old trying to sell homemade bookmarks and sketches in my elementary school library. I couldnt afford to go to fine arts school fresh out of high school so in my young brain I thought I was inferrior to the fine arts trained artists.
When i was in middle school I dreamed of eorking for Disney as an professional animation artist. I thought how cool is that? Being able to draw all those images by hand, and see the movie come to life. By the time i was in high school I spent the majority of my time drawing tattoos and sketching faces at $8 per detailed portrait sketch. In my mid twenties I became a face and body painter as well as a Caricature Sketch Artist for various canadian entertainment agencies before starting my own. I then began body painting dancers and models for productions, company branding promotional events, and fashion shows. What I found was that adults and children would always request unique and custom face painting designs that i had to finish very quickly, without room for errot. Sfter all with a line up, and a garaunteed pre-set amount of faces or bodies to be painted or tatooed in an hour per thr client, I naturally got faster. I learned to think out of the box, and great customer service skills as I provided services for divetse age groups, ethnic backgrounds, and physical environments. it wasent my way or the highway as an artist, it was what the model/ customer wanted. This in turn made me a better artist as it challenged me to learn to draw things I did not have an interest in before, and sharpened my drawing and painting capabilities. It also gave me inspiration from all the amazing chats I had with people I was #artifying. I also learned that you would be surprised with your artistic ability if you challenge yourself to try something new. So do I think Body Artists or Tattoo Artists are just as good as Fine Arts trained Artists? Yes! They simply have a different skillset or have approached art differently. Personally, us Body Artists thrive off of human interaction, and love to engage our models/ customers in the process by explaining how its done, and getting a feel out of what you desire positivley from the experience. Basically, I think we are alot more fun ;)
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Author Stephanie A.E Strugar
Certified Grumbacher Painting & Drawing Instructor. She is a retired Certified Face/ Body & Temporary Tattoo Artist. Caricaturist. She is currently an active Public Speaker, Consultant, and Arts Educator in the Manitoba and greater Canada area. Archives
May 2020
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