Expression – Zjuzdme.org

Bodypainting. It keeps fascinating me.

Like a broken record perhaps…

I know. I have written about this several times.

Family body painting — Bodypainted family.

Bodypainting is an amazing form of (self)-expression for me. It’s something that no amount of clothing can come close to, because paint on a skin can be applied in so many ways that a tailor can’t ever keep up.

And, like in the image on the left, anyone can paint someone else and go crazy. Poor tailor yet again.

Skin wins.

The efficiency of bodypainting.

I can hear you wonder what this means. But, according to me, there is an efficiency to bodypainting over clothes. When you want to be very varied (I admit, those 2 words next to each other made me grin 🙂 ), you will need a lot of stuff.

Lets start with clothes. Being varied with clothes means something like this. And maybe that isn’t even enough. You will need a pile of clothes that is going to set your wallet back quite some. We all know the price of clothes, right? Not many of us are full-time naturists, so clothes come into the picture at various stages of life, no matter we don’t like that.

This is not uncommon among naturists, for obvious reasons. Being nude is the idea, so variation with clothes is already a no-no.

Then there is paint. A can of paint can go a long way. Service a lot of bodies. And it can create anything you set your mind to. Of course, the final result will also depend on your painting skills, but using paint is a lot easier than making clothes, I hope we all agree on that.

So here we have a nice number of things in which paint is more efficient than clothes. Usually it’s cheaper, it’s more versatile, it has less of a learning curve and with less you can do more. If you have clothes, those will only fit certain people, where paint fits anyone.

The beauty of the body.

And with all this, I haven’t even brought up the beauty of the body, and how it can be emphasised by paint. And we can do that in the most personal way. If three people are asked to paint one specific model, you will end up with three entirely different designs of the same starting point.

This is why I love bodypainting.

Do you have experience with bodypainting? Either having done it or having it done to you? What was it like? I am curious.

Body painting

Body painting. The skin art.

Body painting fascinates me. It’s incredible to see what artists can do to a canvas of skin. How they transform people into walking and talking pieces of art. I took the picture on the left (click it for a larger version) at a fantasy fair here in the Netherlands. It was the first time they had a live body painting demonstration, and the fact people were allowed to take photos was quite unique.

The light on the image on the right is bad, sorry for that, but the sun was out in full blaze. (This image is also clickable for a larger version.)

This lady was being transformed in a universe. Very beautiful to witness.

It’s stunning to see how these artists pour themselves into their work, creating beautiful images. Another interesting thing to learn while watching them work was to see how long this actually takes! It’s not like tossing on some colours, dabbing a few more blotches with a brush and that’s it. The models have to stand there for hours. Literally. If you think about having your body painted one day, make sure you’re up to the physical challenge. You stand there, at times with your arms stretched out, for a LONG time.

Another (clickable) image with even poorer light. Still I want to show it to you.

This model was transformed into a dragon-like creature. Not only paint but also foam stubs, painted in the right colours.

Spencer Tunick

As I walked around there and watched these people at work, I wondered how much effort had to go into the works of Spencer Tunick, the man who created the Sea of Hull and the amazing rush of red people in Munich, Germany a while ago.

World Bodypainting Festival

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyubqoxOrMA

Here is a video from World Bodypainting Day 2016. An opportunity for you to see how much work this really is.

It is an amazing way to decorate a person. More versatile and more personal than any kind of clothing can be. If ever I have the chance to be painted in such a way I’ll certainly grab it. I already wonder what I would like to have on me.

What would your favourite colours, scenes and/or patterns be?

Clothes give expression.

A while ago I read an article about someone who was very fond of his clothes. He has many of them, in all kinds, shapes, forms and colours. Good for him and even better for the fashion industry and their often exaggerated pricing of course.
He wondered how someone without clothes would be able to express how they feel. He said he had cheerful clothes for feeling cheerful, black clothes for when he was feeling gloomy, and all other kinds for other situations.

That made me think, because I have clothes for occasions too. How would a nudist/naturist go about that provided the temperature doesn’t call for clothes? The answer proved to be amazingly simple as usual: body paint.

Body paint gives you all the benefits of expressing yourself through colour, yet keeps clothes far from the naturist’s skin. And for many people applying body paint instead of putting on clothes can add a deeper, even spiritual experience to the act, as you consciously work on yourself and making a statement about your inner feelings. Yes, body paint will take longer, but I am convinced that it is more gratifying.
Do take care with this. Not all paints are safe or healthy to apply to your body. Some suffocate the skin, and some can contain ingredients that make you sick (depending on your health and possible allergies). It pays to investigate this.