I recently read that body and face painting might have been the first form of art used by humans dating back to the prehistoric times, and apparently archaeological data is there to support it. How cool is that? They would use it for rituals, or when going into battle or for a hunt. The discovery of pigments in an early Middle Stone Age deposit in Zambia dates back as early as 400,000 years ago, according to Lawrence Barham of the University of Bristol. Throughout history body painting was used extensively by tribal cultures across most continents as a means of self expression. They would use natural dyes from fruits and plants, clays and charcoal to decorate and distinguish themselves.

One of these was Henna, used by Sikhs, Hindus and some Middle Eastern cultures. I would often come across it while growing up, a fashionable trend for wedding parties, its been part of the culture for centuries. The henna plant is ground into a paste and mixed with oils to get hues. The designs you can make are something quite remarkable and the imprints can last on your hands for a couple of weeks.

In more recent times body and face painting appeared to have been discarded, no longer fashionable. Relegated to the realm of clowns and bank robbers. Or a symbol of some sort of unwanted paganism. I tried to find out how it all came back into vogue. Apparently a famous cosmetic artist created a full monty body paint in the 1930s, which created such a stir that the model was arrested four times in one day. Talk about double jeopardy.

Till probably the party culture brought it all back. Be it a hippie party from the 1970s, Halloween, a NRL game or a kids birthday party at present face painting has made quite a comeback. So its probably a good enough time as any to be a face painter.

A step away from face painting, I tried some pregnancy belly painting in the last few months. A few small pieces of art to remember those special moments. And in case you are wondering the paints used are non toxic and completely safe for mom and baby.

The trend seems to have picked up in the last few years and there are loads of pregnancy art ideas on google. So some face paint, a mirror

and here is my little one trying to break through.

Or a goldfish swimming merrily in his little fish bowl

Always a good way to make an announcement,

Or you can go for smaller body paints, there are loads of ideas limited only by the imagination.

And talking about fishy stuff here is a body painting design I had to make for my daughter.

My fish from a distance 🙂

Thanks to all of you wonderful people for supporting me over the last year. I am enjoying face painting more than ever! Message me in for face painting in Western Sydney or elsewhere in the city. And before you know it Valentines Day is here again.

I will update the gallery with a few great new face painting designs soon.

What do I think is needed to be a face painter? An interest and aptitude in art and yes, if working as a children’s entertainer definitely having a way with managing and entertaining kids would go a long way. And maybe a proper kit with quality brushes and all. Also important are hygiene practices to keep both myself and the clients safe. A friendly smile and I think you need to like the job as well otherwise its hard to smile for too long. Its great to have albums or showboards with your own work so clients find it easier to choose. And a willingness to try out new things for sure because no two days or events are the same. If working as a children’s entertainer a complementary skill will also help, I do ballooning which goes well with the face painting. Other complementary ideas to try out are craft making, colour play or other similar party games but you might need some equipment for that. I think you also need to be prepared to be mobile, the travelling, packing and unpacking for face painting gigs can be stressful sometimes.

But the perks are worth it.

After months of planning Peppermint Smiles Art Classes is finally a real thing as I have been teaching a few budding artists over the last few months. It took quite a bit of time to get the place ready and make this dream a reality. I am starting out slow due to the current restrictions, so no advertising or booking forms yet. But I am sure things will change for the better soon and I will be able to take in more people.

Face painting is a lot of fun as I get to meet a lot of wonderful people, share in their events across Sydney and make little kids smile. But most face painting gigs are on weekends and painting on canvases is something I love far too much to let those weekday afternoons go free. Since I wanted to start out slow I have taken in just a few kids from my daughters school (who were super interested), and so far so good. The kids have loved every class and along with their skills I have watched my own confidence grow as a teacher.

It took a good amount of time to get to a place where I am comfortable starting my own art classes. Over the last three years I have been, off and on, teaching art to my students at the local girls guides chapter. Even though I didn’t charge for those classes, they helped me try out different teaching styles and nothing beats first-hand experience (actually dozens of experiences) in handling a classroom full of noisy kids. As restrictions ease over the coming months, I will be putting on more updates on my Facebook page (facebook.com\nitasfacepainting). Till then I am restricting it to people I know and very small groups so I can manage within the prevailing guidelines.

So watch out for that space, and wish me luck over this new venture!

I love my job. But I never dreamed of being a face painter. Not because it wouldn’t have appealed to me but simply because up till about a couple of years back I did not even know what face painting was. But I have always been an artist, ever since I was very young. And even though oil on canvas was my staple I always loved to experiment with different mediums – like charcoal, fluid paintings etc. So upon being introduced to “Kids getting their faces painted” in a kids party I had attended a couple of years back I thought I would try it too.

My drawing canvas at the very beginning- my dear little daughter who jumped at the idea of getting her face painted. Of course I looked up the safety precautions and well being rules. I made a few face paintings and got incredibly positive reactions. Started face painting at children’s parties with people I knew in the very beginning and then it just took off, better than I expected. Now I am booked every weekend, and get to meet some incredible people – which I enjoy even more so because events like birthday parties, christenings, baby-showers etc just bring out so many beautiful elements of different cultures that I feel I am very lucky to witness.

What worked for me I think was that I have been dabbling in art all my life, AND I love kids. Some face painters may not have been doing art before face painting and many artists (many of them better artists than me) might be tied to a particular medium of art, or may not like the idea of painting on wiggly little faces. I never thought that the idea that I find little ones so cute would one day help me. I really wouldn’t have been able to do or like this line of work if I did not enjoy kids so much.

Thanks to all the little bubs and their parents for making me a part of their world. Even if it is for a short while.