Body Painting Festival

Body-painting is all about embellishing the beauty and mystery of the human form in a provocative, competitive and we've got to admit, a titillating environment using paints, props, music, and above all imagination.

"Body Grass!™", the host of the Canadian Body-painting Championships, was set in motion in the summer of 2002 when its founders convinced nearly 20 artists, and just as many models and stylists, to compete in a new body painting competition staged in Nanaimo, B.C. – a tough, yet artsy former coal town graced with one of the most amazing harbors on the entire West Coast of North America.

During the debut competition, nearly a thousand people over the span of three nights took in the spectacle! Three evenings filled with rousing, often boisterous entertainment, artistic fineness - and certainly the most provocative feature of this extravaganza - body painting teams competing for prize money and the chance to be in the well-covered spotlight.

We invite you to enjoy some of the unique creations we have had the privilege to showcase in our "Body Grass!™" shows since 2002.

This week-long festival is a mixture of live bands, DJs, dance and the art of body painting. With five or six live acts on during the day, a Ministry Of Sound tent and acts in the Red Bull Academy there should be plenty to choose from before a two hour presentation of some of the best body art in the world.

There are also musical workshops that can teach festival-goers percussion, didgeridoo, how to DJ and much more.

The main days of the festival are from Friday to Sunday, 16-18 July, daily from 10.30 am in the "Body-paint City". The artists start painting in the public park and later in the day the artwork is judged by a professional jury. The models are then presented to the audience on the main stage. During the day lots of music and show acts are presented. There are music concerts on program till late...

Face Painting Party - Birthday Ideas For Children

Arranging a birthday party for your child is a great way to make that day very special for him. These days, when everyone is so busy in their routines, these kinds of party arrangements bring few hours for kids to have fun.

There are many ways in which you can plan a birthday party. You can ask children, who are invited in the party, to come in the costume of their favorite cartoon characters. Or, you can have a theme; for example, if you are arranging a party for your daughter, you can have the theme of royal family; all kids will be wearing gowns and crowns etc. and your daughter can be the princess.

Although there are many other options available for birthday parties but face painting is a great activity for birthday parties of kids. Your child will feel special by having his/her face painted, and it will also help him/her to engage in creative imaginary play. Such birthday parties make people feel that it is a special experience for everyone in attendance.

Face painting includes whole face painting, partial face painting or simple designing. Well, if you paint the whole face of a child, it can help to create a mask effect, allowing him/her to take on the character of an animal, cartoon character, princess, or other popular character. You can hire a person for face painting or you can do it yourself as well. If you are willing for this, begin by practicing various designs on a paper so that you know how you are going to execute each design. It will be a great thing if you consider learning to paint a cat, dog, butterfly, princess, favourite cartoon character of your child and a clown. One important thing when painting faces is that you will have to do it fast, because children do not like to sit for long periods of time.

As kids have very low level of patience, you can have partial face painting activity as well; it takes less time. In partial face painting, eyes of the kids are painted to look like the character of their choice. Boys can get cat eyes instead of a whole face painted like a cat, and a girl may like to have fairy or clown eyes

If you want to save time for other activities as well then there is also an option of simple designing on the face; you can paint anything from balloons to hearts, to animals, to cartoon characters. It is not at all difficult to learn these things, but you should practice before hand so that you can make the event special for your child.

If you want to have more fun and attractions, you can also use safe cosmetic glitters to make things more interesting. Give options in a copy or on the board to select their favorite design; this would be a great time for all.

You can also ask the other parents to help you out in this party. You can have a small competition as well for the interest of all attendees.

Fantasy Festival Body Paint on Duval

Fantasy Festival is well under way and Key West is hopping with partiers, body paint, and sexy costumes. This year's Alice in Wonderland theme is revealing itself (pun intented) with fun body art and creative costumes.

Look at the Top 6 Festivals in the World

Dragonmen, Alien Mermaids, Fantastic Fire Dancers, Barebacked Santas, and even a Painted Labrador Retriever; you can see all these and more at the fantastic body painting festivals now occurring annually around the world.

There is a wide range of body painting festivals today. All include painted bodies, of course, and all include some kind of competitions; however there is a quite a range of skills and size among the different festivals, and some are more 'family friendly' than others.

Here's a quick look at the top 6 body painting festivals, where they happen and what you can expect to find there:

1. The World Body Painting Festival

This festival includes some of the most stunning professional body painting to be seen in the world today. A 3 day program includes dance, music and fireworks displays, as well as many competitions. Many of the body paintings here should fall under the category of 'fine art' with some of the dancers body paintings simply defying belief. A very large event and certainly worth traveling for.

Where: Seeboden, Austria
Duration: Three days
Events Include: World Championships in 3 categories; night contest for UV effects, Special Effects awards; classes and workshops; BodyCircus (fantasy ball); music and dance performances; an international photo contest; and a huge fireworks show.
Artistic Range: One of the very best, with stunning range of styles and surprising themes.
Family Friendliness: Not clear, but it is in Europe, so not likely to ban under 18. However this body painting festival does not advertise itself as family friendly, as some others do.

2. The Canadian Body Painting Festival

This is another body painting festival that showcases simply stunning artists and finished work. The quality of the art here is similar to that seen at the World Body Painting Festival. The Festival is themed from year to year, with the recent theme being "It's A Jungle Out There." Also includes the Canadian Body Painting Championships.

Where: Nanaimo, British Columbia
Duration: Two days
Events Include: Competitions in overall body painting, brush and sponge, and airbrush; includes the Canadian body painting Championships
Artistic Range: Most stunning, and one of the best overall. Very life-like and fantastic double-take images.
Family Friendliness: Not stated - would be worth making a call first.

3. The International Body Painting Festival

This festival takes place in Mainz, a city with over two thousand years of history. It is located on the river Rhine, has strong Celtic roots and may have been founded by the Romans as early as 13 BC. One can imagine that body painting has a long history here, if you remember the Celtic tradition of painting their bodies before going into battle. Once again, the artistic ability and range is stunning at this International festival.

Where: Mainz, Germany
Duration: Weekend festival
Events Include: Competitions include special effects and face painting
Artistic Range: Very stunning; high artistic skill.
Family Friendliness: Not known but again, it's in Europe. I would call ahead.

4. Welsh International Body Painting Festival
This festival is a bit younger and less established than the top 3, although it has some impressive artwork considering that they are just getting started. Also the atmosphere is more 'fun' orinted, less 'high art' and family participation is strongly encouraged. A good festival to consider if you want to make it a family outing and see some amazing work in the process.

Where: Wales (of course)
Duration: Two days
Events Include: Hands on demonstrations; horror specialists and flower specialists
Artistic Range: High, and impressive for a smaller sized event; not as subtle or creative as some of the others
Family Friendliness: Very good; in fact they encourage families and camping, with an 'all ages' atmosphere and events designed for younger participants

5. The UK Body Painting Festival

This festival showcases some of the least impressive - although most amusing - body painting, although it should be said that it is not presented as a stuffy 'high art' affair, but more a circus or county fair type outing for the entire family. Fun, relaxed and un-selfconscious atmosphere allows for some of the more surprising and purely 'fun' body art to be seen. If you're not a supermodel and would like to get your body painted without worrying about snide comments, this might be a good option for you.

Where: Ashford, UK
Duration: Two days
Events Include: Family-oriented face painting, body painting competitions for professional and amateur categories, craft fair, children's activities, workshops, and a 'bouncy castle.'
Artistic Range: Fair; more of a family outing with a lots to do than a showcase of spectacular art.
Family Friendliness: Very high; advertised as family event. Lowest cost of all the body painting festivals - comparable to a movie ticket.

6. The US Bodypainting Festival (or New Mexico Body Painting Festival/US Bodypainting Competition)

There is definitely some impressive body painting to be seen at this festival, and a lot of creative innovation with hair and unusual designs that you won't see anywhere else. One example that springs to mind is a model dressed in racecar theme with red, white and blue hair sprayed out behind her as though flying in the wind. Also, if you're in the US this festival obviously doesn't require a plane ticket. However this is not a family outing, as it explicitly bans anyone under 18.

Where: Alberquerque, New Mexico
Duration: Three days
Events Include: Demonstrations, workshops, competitions in body painting
Artistic Range: Good to poor - there is a mix of very impressive artistic works and things better left unpainted here; although it's all 'interesting.'
Family Friendliness: Not at all. We are in the US remember; no one under 18 allowed.

So that's my brief overview of the top 6 body painting festivals in the world. Would you like to take a vacation this year that's not your ordinary 'hum-drum' trip? Pick one of these festivals and you can pack light (you know, you could just bring a can of paint and a paintbrush for evening wear)!

Body Painting Festival

This year the “World Bodypainting Photo Award” will be given in the categories “Photo print” and “Digital Art” and is also awarded with cash and product prizes. Additionally the winners get, (like the artists), a wonderful, handmade glass trophy, which is specially produced for the festival.

In March the World Bodypainting Festival announced that they will hold a second event in Asia. This event with the same structure as Seeboden, Austria will be held from 25 - 31 August in the World Cup Stadium in Daegu, South Korea.

Airbrush, or paintbrush and sponge are used to paint the subject. The most common paints used are face paints or professional make-up, of various brands.

At the festival the artistic disciplines of, bodypainting, photography, modeling and special effects all come together.