Photo Essay: Facepainting at the Body Art Carnivale

The second day of the Australian Body Art Carnivale had vastly differing categories sharing the painting tent: face painting and special effects. The face painters were allowed to paint intricate artworks down to the shoulders of their models, while the special effects artists were allowed to do pretty much anything they wanted, even creating a cyborg mermaid that had to be toted around on a stretcher! Because the two categories were so different, I am splitting them into different photo essays — this one focusing on the face painting.

The Painting

The face painters had roughly five hours to finish their incredibly detailed pieces. Sea creatures abounded, from an octopus playing a piano to cute little turtles swimming through the ocean. I loved seeing everyone’s different interpretations of the ‘Under the Sea’ theme!

Nina Megaloconomos starting her face painting on her model, Jesse. She won the brush & sponge competition on Saturday.

All of the models were so happy — and I bet at least part of it was because they got to sit down all day after a long day on their feet the day before! The model on the right, Doris Li, won best model on Saturday.

Artist - Tamara Oliver, Model - Caity Smith

Nina’s face painting was one of my favourites. It was so interesting in how it changed so much from one side of the face to the other, and Jesse was such a great model as well.

Kelli MacAlpine's painting was all about what soundwaves might look like under the sea, inspired by the fact that her model, Jenelle Sam, is deaf.

The artist's tools.

Artist - Kristy Elliott, Model - Doris Li

The first and second place winners in the category. I did not envy the judges in the slightest — they must have had such a tough time deciding!

Artist - Julie Dalton, Model - Ellie Gray

The Photo Shoot

The photo shoot was much calmer than the shoot on Saturday, where there were way too many people, not enough lights, and models melting from the hot lamps all around the room. The lights still weren’t great, and the models were still melting to some extent, but I felt that it went better than on Saturday. I didn’t manage to get photos of all of the models, but I still felt that I got some good photos that might do some justice to the amazing artists’ work!

Artist - Kristy Elliott, Model - Doris Li

Jacintha was so much fun to shoot because she was constantly dancing to her (not-plugged-in) headphones.

The missing eye really made Caity look creepy! I wish I’d gotten a few photos of her on black as well — I think it would be an interesting effect.

Artist - Kelli MacAlpine, Model - Jenelle Sam

So cute and Marilyn Monroe-like!

Artist - Nina Megaloconomos, Model - Jesse

A Squid Medusa?

Eventually, after this photo shoot, the special effects photo shoot, and the car bonnet art auction (which had some impressive work that I really should have gone to see when it was in progress), the face paint winners were announced. Lauren Edwards, who had painted her sister (the one with the boat in her hair), won People’s Choice and first prize, and Kelli MacAlpine, whose idea to paint the visualisation of sound on her deaf model was really interesting, won second prize. That was her third prize of the weekend after she won the People’s Choice and first place in the airbrush competition on Saturday!

Even though being at Eumundi all weekend was exhausting, I’m very happy I went back for the Sunday session. The face painting competition, which I hadn’t paid much attention to in the official program, ended up having some of my favourite artwork of the weekend!

Which of the face paintings is your favourite?

About Kristin
I'm Kristin, and I'm one of the clumsiest people you'll ever meet. I've given myself a concussion by falling into a parked car in England and have broken my leg chasing a bus in Arctic Sweden. Regardless, I keep travelling the world in search of my next adventure (and my next photo opportunity). You can also find me on Instagram and Facebook.
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