Frank Lewis Photography wrote:
I've watched a couple of the shows and it is interesting as is SyFi's Face Off. What I have difficulty with though, is the massive pieces of adhesive tape used to cover the model's nipples and aureolas and the bikini briefs they are made to wear. The artists do accomplish some terrific bits of body paint art.

Yeah, TV is funny that way. I keep thinking someone will get smart and offer an "unblurred" DVD without all the silly croppings and blurry bits. Maybe more footage of the actual process too. I would pay for some FaceOff dvd's that actually showed how they actually do what they do instead of cutting every 5-10 seconds.

Lisa Berczel wrote:
I've not been able to bring myself to watch it......

Knowing what goes on *behind the curtain* on the typical reality show allows me to be more jaded than normal.

It's not too bad. Very similar to Face Off in many ways. I'm just glad to see bodypaint being presented in a positive light and (mostly) non-sexually charged manner.

BodyPainter Rich wrote:

It's not too bad. Very similar to Face Off in many ways. I'm just glad to see bodypaint being presented in a positive light and (mostly) non-sexually charged manner.

^^This^^

Cat Camp wrote:
It's been fun to watch, since I know about half of the current season's contestants. There is, however, a rather contentious debate going on in Facebook over the portrayal of the sexual side of body painting. While some say that it should be portrayed as completely non sexual, you also have 1 contestant saying, basically, "I get to do my artwork on nekkid girls".
One must point out that the mere fact that we DO paint on "nekkid girls" is the primary reason people want to see our art. How many of us would be as active if all our art were on plain, square, canvas in a frame? How come the reality show was named "Naked Vegas" if there shouldn't be any emphasis on nudity?
Some of the FB comments are very indignant that anyone would even suggest such a thing. How dare they imply that our art has a sexual component???
I'm afraid I find such priggery rather naive AND pretentious.

Does anyone besides me hope they get asked to compete in a future season? Don't know how my day job would feel about an employee being gone for about a month, though.

That debate is bothering me as well. If there is NO sexual component to bodypaint... there would be very little interest in it at all. However, that does not mean that it has to be primarily sexual in nature, or overtly sexual, or tastelessly sexual. I think many people have a hard time finding balance in this part of their lives and it reflects in our attitudes towards nudity, sexuality, and art. To me, they do pretty well (for "broadcast" TV) at striking a balance... titillating the viewers a bit to keep them interested but focusing primarily on artistic and creative merit. TV and bodypaint are similar in many ways... you need to get and hold your audience first or you get no chance at higher minded aspirations about message and intent.

I also am getting a bit tired of people who are hassling the painters because the show makes claims like "Ten of the best artists in the nation" or whatnot. EVERYONE who is ANYONE in this business hypes themselves as best they can. It's all subjective anyways.

Cat Camp wrote:
@ Rich, yep, a balance would be great! SW does seem to be trying to keep it clean & I certainly appreciate the heck out of that.
While I have done both sexualized & non-sexualized body paintings, my personal aim is to make art on a 3 dimensional canvas that shows the beauty of both together.
lol, Loretta! I think I'd like to at least be approached for the same reason that there's something flattering (if stoooopid) about having someone misappropriate my painting as their own! Nice recognition. Is that weird?

Having been misappropriated at (?) a few times now... the flattering part wears off and leaves annoyance behind. The really funny ones is when I am doing my job as a moderator and find people trying to join MM using my own images. (or those of Pashur, Craig Tracy, Joanne Gair, and other artists much more noteworthy than myself)

Sweet Loretta wrote:
Painters asked to audition for such shows varies a good deal in skill level...in fact surprisingly so. They are not only looking for the top talent but worthy TV.  So being asked to audition rests in more factors than skill and portfolio.

I pretty much agree with what you said.
For the most part at least half the competitors have a unique look that makes them seem more like a cartoon character than an average Joe.  Dutch and Gear have the colorful spikey hair, Mythica with no hair at all, and the recently removed contestant that dressed in a bow tie... I think the producers are looking for that just as much as they're looking for talent, if not even more than they're looking for talent.

It makes for a good story.

SayCheeZ!  wrote:
According to one of the contestants they lived in the house and filmed everything over a 45 day period.

I was surprised because I thought they filmed an episode every day or two, thinking it would be less than a 2 week stint... but they had to also do stuff for ads, P.R., the web... etc.
.

Are you one of Gears friends??

Yeah, from what I have heard there were some SERIOUSLY long days and they didn't stop for much over that time period. If I were to get on the show the physical stamina may be one of the biggest challenges!

BodyPainter Rich wrote:
Are you one of Gears friends??

Sort of.
More like close acquaintances... he's friends with allot of my friends type of thing, and we're often at the same parties and events.  He's a very outgoing and friendly guy, so it's pretty safe to say I think he's friends with everyone he meets!

Cat Camp wrote:
I know Kyle from Orlando; he's going to be fun to watch, I think!

I'm soon shooting a local model that's also worked with Kyle, but I don't know him.

Reminder to anyone in the LV area, the Premier Party is tomorrow night beginning at 6pm at the Inspire Theater on Fremont at LV Blvd, kitty corner from Neonopolis.

Former "Skin Wars" All-Stars Mentor Non-Body Painting Artists In One-Hour Special

Hosted By Entertainer RuPaul Charles



August 10, 2015, SANTA MONICA, Calif. — GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, plans to expand upon the popularity of its hit series SKIN WARS with a new one-hour special, SKIN WARS: FRESH PAINT, where three of the show’s most memorable former contestants will mentor artists who have never body painted before.  Airing Wednesday, August 26 at 8pm ET/PT (7pm CT), the self-contained spinoff is hosted by entertainer and master of transformation, RuPaul Charles, who also serves as a judge on SKIN WARS.

SKIN WARS: FRESH PAINT features six highly accomplished artists, each at the top of their game in their own disciplines, as they leave their creative comfort zones to compete in body painting for the first time.  The artists must conquer three difficult challenges, as they are mentored by three top artists from the first season of SKIN WARS: Dutch Bihary, Gear Duran and season one champion, Natalie Fletcher.  The artists will work closely with their body painting mentors as they try to quickly master the craft and win the $10,000 prize and become a Skin Wars: Fresh Paint Champion.

Cat Camp wrote:
"For each contestant I've worked with, participating was a deliberate, calculated choice in self-marketing. Eyes wide open as to the up-side and down-side of everything that was out of their control. They had to be able to walk away from 4-6'ish weeks of work to go off the grid, not counting the pre-production calls, meetings and design work that may be required. More power to them for those willing to roll the dice. "

This is pretty much why, for me, going on the show would be fun. I researched leaving work with my employer & it's fine; I like traveling, like seeing new places, etc. Competition always ups my game; that would be a plus. I do my best work under stress, so hopefully the time constraints wouldn't completely throw me off.  It's definitely something that, at my age would be a blast! Just think, I'd almost surely be the body painter who has been painting the very longest! Anyone else being pro at this continually since 1983?

You got me beat by 8-9 years!