IMATS London | My Experience Day One
Writing the title of this blog post alone feels very… surreal. My very first IMATS London experience certainly was not one I ever expected. I had always wanted to go, as every make-up artist would, to check out all the different brands on offer, to see the most amazing special FX and to learn from industry legends. I never thought for a second, I would be representing Crownbrush UK and performing two live body-painting demonstrations. But, I did, and it is something that I will never forget.
I love drawing and painting. I always have. Ever since I was a child and my Dad showed me how to create different shades of purple from just one Crayola pencil. I was hooked. Only a handful of people will fully understand what I am about to share with you. I never wanted to be a make-up artist. I wanted to create the next Toy Story, animation was my calling. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, I was never able to reach my goal. Nevertheless, my passion for comics and cartoon characters, in particular super heroes, has never gone away.
For a long, long time it was hard for me to pick up a pencil and draw. When I started illustrating again, last year, it wasn’t really done out of love, it was more the draw of money. I haven’t been able to allow myself to love drawing and painting for a long time. A reminder of the degree I never finished.
So when Crownbrush asked me to put together two demonstrations for IMATS this year, I was both mortified and honoured. In that order. I knew I could not turn down such an opportunity, as that would be something I would always regret, but I also knew this was going to be a personal challenge.
I am not a special FX make-up artist. I would not have the foggiest on where to start. I am not a costume designer, a wig maker or a nail technician. I just like to draw and paint. So body-painting was my only option. Of course, I could have had a team of people creating something with me, but I wanted this to be about what I could do, and nothing more than that.
And so I came up with a design incorporating my favourite Marvel Avengers characters, quite fitting really seeing as the new Avengers movie is currently being filmed. A mash up of Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man and Quicksilver.
En route to IMATS, I asked my work collegue Helen to throw me down a set of stairs. Yes, the idea of sitting in A&E deemed much more appealing, my nerves were uncontrollable. Luckily, my friend Laura saved the day, along with a plate full of banana pancakes before a tour of IMATS itself… I felt a little calmer.
3-4 hours of bodypainting later, I stepped back and took in all of our hardwork. Only on the last brush stroke did I finally completely relax and let the tension pent up escape me. Day one was over. I was still alive, and nobody had thrown rotten veg at me or booed me off the stand.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my two wonderfully
talented assistants. Lauren Coombes and Danielle Roberts. Without these
girls I would never have pulled this off. We made the perfect team and I
cannot wait to do it all again with them next year. (Seeing Team Zoe Newlove on the back of a tee shirt was very, very strange).I also must thank the star of the day, my model, Sean Lerwill. An absolute pleasure to work with and a man full of the most interesting stories, there was never a boring minute. Of course, none of
this would have been possible had Crownbrush not asked me in the first
place. So, thank you Jackie and Oli, for trusting me with this and
allowing me to represent your company.
talented assistants. Lauren Coombes and Danielle Roberts. Without these
girls I would never have pulled this off. We made the perfect team and I
cannot wait to do it all again with them next year. (Seeing Team Zoe Newlove on the back of a tee shirt was very, very strange).I also must thank the star of the day, my model, Sean Lerwill. An absolute pleasure to work with and a man full of the most interesting stories, there was never a boring minute. Of course, none of
this would have been possible had Crownbrush not asked me in the first
place. So, thank you Jackie and Oli, for trusting me with this and
allowing me to represent your company.
I honestly never thought I would feel happy drawing and painting, with passion, again. Yet, here I am with a smile on my face, sharing my real feelings behind my IMATS experience. I am proud of what I achieved last weekend, and I hope my Dad is too.
Products Used
Superstar BodyPaints
Crownbrush Make-up & Body Painting Brushes
MAC Fix +
and a lot of water…
Come back tomorrow to hear all about Day Two…
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IMATS LONDON 2015 | Day One Twisted Alice & Mad Hatter with Anna Lingis & Crownbrush UK – Zoe Newlove
[…] at their stand. Of course, I said yes. You can see what I got up to last year if you fancy just click here. I love drawing and painting but body painting is whole different skill set, and one that […]
IMATS London | My Experience Day Two – Zoe Newlove
[…] Yesterday I wrote about my very first day, of my IMATS London experience. In case you missed it, you can read it by clicking here… […]