Musings - a blog on the world of face and body art

This is the page where I (Gina, the founder of Zanypaint) get to babble on and share tedious thoughts about the world of face painting.

 

Results not typical
Before I started painting, I'd take my kids to face painters at fairs. There are a couple of things that bothered me about my experiences, so I wanted to avoid them when I started Zanypaint. I noticed on numerous occasions that my daughter's face paintings ended up looking nothing like the design she chose. And when I say nothing, I mean the average person could not look through their menu and identify what was on her face.

There are a couple of things going on here and the first one is completely legitimate. I can tell you first hand that it is astonishing how different the topography and real estate can be from one face to another. Especially forehead real estate. For this reason, each design must be customized to that face. If a child chooses a tall swirly princess crown and she has a tiny forehead, it will not look the same as the picture she chose. If I am painting a full face puppy that requires ears on the forehead to actually look like a puppy, the overall look will be lacking on a tiny forehead. It's my job to make it look as best as possible with the skin available. So that's PART of the issue which is understandable. It's the other reason bothers me. Most painters want to get creative and do what they want rather than please their client. The painting on my daughter looked almost nothing like the photo she chose and her face shape wasn't different than the sample. Last I checked, I'm being PAID to do what my client asks. I will always do my best to match the design that the child chooses. That's my policy…

 

It's not about you, sister.
DEWD! What is up with these hippie face painters displaying books full of weird example paintings that children aren't interested in? And, yes some of my best friends are hippies. This issue ties in with the first one: the artist choosing to make their personal artistic expression more important than the needs of their client. Not many 4 year old girls are inspired by 4 pages of black tribal sword designs. Take a peek at your line - I'm guessing that 80% are little girls. Doesn't it seem like good customer service to display what they like in your menu? Forgive me but I don't care if you're tired of painting Hello Kitty… that's your job and you're paid well for it. If you want to have full control over your artistic expression, maybe go back to fine art and paint on canvas. I always offer a variety of the favorite designs but I tell the kids these are just suggestions and they can have whatever their wonderful imaginations conjure up. I'm all about the desires of these cuties so please understand that whether they want barbed wire across their forehead or a rainbow-princess-unicorn I'll be ecstatic to paint either.

 

Germarama
Your child has a greater chance of catching the flu while waiting in line or at school than they do from my paintbrushes and sponges. That's because I use FDA approved face paint which, like ALL cosmetics, contains antimicrobial ingredients. That's why lip gloss and liquid foundation never gets moldy. The air between Jayden and Hannah has no such anti bacterial properties and the vapor in their breath contains billions of germs, not to mention the odor of funnel cake. But if you still don't feel comfy with it, that's ok. You're a conscientious parent and think you're doing the best for your kids so I respect that. Come on over and I'll be happy to give your sweetie a sticker or paint something on their arm.

 

RED ALERT - Acrylic paint spotted again
In my never ending crusade to rid the face painting world of acrylic paint, I ask you to educate yourself. PLEASE make sure your kids are being painted with face paint or makeup. If you see those bottles of craft paint from Michaels - RUN. Acrylic paint is not approved for use on skin. What if they got some in their mouth - is it toxic or what? Acrylics are specifically formulated to be color fast for a century of exposure to UV rays in case a painting is hanging next to a sunny window!!!!! I saw an older lady camped out in front of Front Range BBQ with craft paint recently. It made me really upset. She is doing harm to my industry as well as kids. I just know sooner or later one of these poor kids faces will swell up or burn. So being the shy retiring person I am, I asked her if I could GIVE her some face paint and if she would pretty please stop using acrylic. She declined. At least I tried.

 

Should have rented that bounce house!
I am sad today. I was hired for a birthday party and the birthday boy HATED to have his face painted - and his parents knew he hated it. But trying to figure out why they would hire me wasn't the worst part. They forced him to get his face painted anyway!!!! It almost looked like he was in pain. He had his face squnched up and wrinkled, eyes shut as tight as they would go and his chin to his chest. I am not exaggerating. Several times I looked at Mom and asked if I should just paint on his arm or something. She said no. I pulled out all my bag of tricks that usually work in such instances. Telling them to relax, speaking softly, showing them how the cool paint feels on their hand. No dice. Dad stepped in and got angry with him. It was terrible. I think this boy has a tactile sensitivity condition of some kind. Poor sweet little guy. The good news is that in the end he was really happy when he looked in the mirror (it was one of the saddest looking spider men ever painted though!!!) His big smile made it better but I think I am going to refuse next time. Isn't it supposed to be fun for them?