I discovered my latest obsession on a whim when I decided to try watching an episode of Skin Wars on Netflix. One episode quickly turned into 4 and soon spiralled into all three seasons. Skin Wars has contestants competing in body art challenges to ultimately win $100 000. Hosted by model Rebecca Romijn, who I was quite impressed with and always has killer outfits, each episode has two challenges and one elimination. The contestants are judged by RuPaul Charles (who you probably know from RuPaul’s Drag Race), Craig Tracy and Robin Slonina. I was blown away by the talent and creativity of the contestants on the show and now I really want to try body painting myself.
Throughout the seasons I got to see the many techniques and ways body painting can be used. One of my favourites is camouflage, where the artist has to make the models disappear into their surroundings.
Another popular form of body painting is apparel, where it’s hard to believe the models are in paint and not fabric.
Body art can also be used to create amazing optical illusions.
Artists can also utilize flexible models and simulate animals or create pieces with multiple models.
Body painting is not new to popular entertainment – you may remember that Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” used body painting in his music video or that there was a feature in Sports Illustrated with all body painted swimwear. Body painting competitions are held all over the world and the community is growing every year.
If you want to see some talented artists at work and get some creative inspiration, I highly recommend Skin Wars. It is also a great show to watch on an eating break or a study break because there are no cliffhangers so you won’t NEED to watch the next episode and can get back to studying instead. Happy watching!