Body Paint Swimsuit

Who would have thought that a body paint swimsuit could make such a splash? That's exactly what has happened since Sports Illustrated began featuring paint on swimsuits in its yearly swimsuit edition. The suits look so real, but in a case of art imitating life, they're only here to enjoy for a short time.

Paint Bathing Suits

LTK Swimsuits decided it was time to take a look behind the scenes and get the low down on painted swimsuits from the artist's viewpoint. Meet Mark Reid, international body paint artist and 2004 International Face and Body Art Champion. To judge the caliber of his work for yourself, you need only look at the images sprinkled throughout this interview.

I started face painting in New Mexico in 1994, and moved to Dallas in 1999. In 2002, I was painting at a festival there and a women found me and introduced me to Professional Make-up. Two years later, I met Marcela Murad who asked me if I taught and if I body painted. I told her I taught, but had never painted a body. She told me to come up with some new face paintings and a body painting, and she would put me in her International Magazine. I went home and told my girlfriend, and she was totally against it. I did it any way and she left me. Oh well!

I have been addicted to body painting ever since.

I was in Jamaica doing body painting for a calendar shoot for Penthouse and I had the opportunity to paint a Native Jamaican. It was a spur of the moment thing, and that's all I could think of doing at the time. It worked.

The following month, I was body painting at a Biker Rally (Hawgs N Hills) in Llano, TX, and on the last day I had the chance to paint Miss Hawgs N Hills. I just had a vision of a one piece Texas flag swimsuit on her....I think she wore it well!

Not at all, but that's just me. I love to paint clothes. Clothes are the hardest thing to paint. It all has to do with mastering highlights and shadows to get a 3-dimensional effect. You can make them look like a decal stuck to the body, or you can make them look like someone is actually wearing clothes. Don't get me wrong. I do a lot of fine art on people as well as animals, robots, abstracts, etc. I am not stuck on any one style, but swimsuits are always fun.

Models need to be showered and free of any lotions or cosmetics that may react with the application of the make-up we use. Sometimes the slightest bit of lotion will not allow the make-up to stick to the skin, so to speak. It also helps to be completely shaved....well, that's a given.

Although it is called face painting and body painting, we actually use the finest FDA approved make-up. I use Paradise made by Mehron in New York and Kryolan made in Germany. They both supply cake make-up as well as liquid. These are water based products made specifically for the skin.

For applying the cakes, we use brushes; soft body brushes about 1" x 1" bristles for the base coat and smaller brushes for detail work. The liquids are made for airbrushes, but they can also be applied with a brush.

Yes. There are waterproof products available. I once saw an under water photo shoot at the Face and Body Art International Convention in Orlando. The model was body painted and photographed in the pool. I don't know how long it lasts though.

It can take at the very least two hours. It just depends on what you are painting and the amount of detail in the design. I would say for a bikini, about three to four hours for intense detail and a true to life look. The only challenge really is finding a model that can stand still and not have a time limit. It is very stressful for them and we must give them breaks periodically. They need to eat before they show up and restroom breaks can be a pain. We always paint the bottoms last.

I got to paint for the Penthouse Club Calendar last year in Jamaica. My work appeared on the back of the calendar and was only a top, but the experience was phenomenal! I got to paint several of the models while I was there, and was involved with the photographers and make-up artist as well.

Take a class and give it a try. You don't have to be an artist to learn this technique; the basics will get you by. You will learn which products (very important) and tools you need and how to apply them. I teach face and body painting all over the world from beginners to advanced. Contact me through my web site, and I can direct you to an instructor in your area. Don't miss out on this incredible art form. Once you start, you won't want to stop.

If you'd like to see the full scope of Mark Reid's work or hire Mark to paint at your event, visit MarkReidArt.com.

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