Anyone Interested in Teaching a Newbie?

I am totally new to the art of face painting, although I do have a strong artisitic streak which has manifested itself in clothing emellishing, etc. I live in Cranford (exit 135 on the GSP in central New Jersey) and would love to find someone who would provide face painting lessons to me on a regular basis. I would be happy to have these lessons either individually or as a member of a group. What matters to me is that I learn consistently and practice with somene who has done this for many years and feels confident in her skills. Of course, I will gladly pay for these lessons. If you want to wait until the holidays are over, that is fine with me also. If you ever would allow me to help you out on gigs with managing your line, cleaning your brushes, etc. so I could watch you in action, that would be great My phone number is 908-616-0387 and my email address is istrausberg@comcast.net. I have a background in teaching, I'm great with kids, and easy to work with. Please consider taking me under your wing... Thanks


Warmly,
Ivy[/size]

Ivy, Welcome to the forum. You have a great wealth of info right here on the forum. Just look in the archives & read away. You'll learn tons. You can also go to a convention or if you have an instructor coming to your area, take a class. Then get your paints & practice like crazy. This is how most face painters learn.

Hiya Ivy,

Welcome! I don't want you to get discourage so I am going to really refer you to Linda's advice. You see you are going to have a hard time finding someone local to you who is willing to do this. Because they would essentially be training their competition.

Yes, you would be paying them, but then you would be competing with them. Not the smartest thing for a face painter to do.

I do wish you the best of luck though. I just didn't want you scratching your head wondering why no one is willing to do this.

Good luck!
-Metina

Ivy, I am relatively new and have learned so much here. Also Youtube has so many great tutorials even on the basic brush strokes. I am in the middle of nowhere and not in a position to attend any conventions right now, but honestly you can get a great start by just these two things. And don't forget that when you need to order your paints, Metina has great prices and the best customer service right here in the Forum shop.

Welcome to the forum Ivy

Welcome, Ivy!

I never took a class for face painting. I'm hoping to get some classes under my belt in the near future though

I learned through Youtube and here on the forum.

Get some good paints and some good brushes and just start practicing. It took me a good 6 months to a year before I was really confident enough to charge for parties. I started doing birthdays and church events for free and I got my name out there.

Welcome Ivy! You've found a great place to learn here on the forum. I learned to facepaint by reading online and looking at pictures, so be encouraged that even if you don't find a local FPer, we're still here to help. Have fun!

Ivy, as the others have said, there are lots of resources available to help you as you get started, without having to take lessons. I think that many if not most face painters start without the benefit of lessons; I know that I just got some paint and brushes and started practicing.

However, since you seem to really want to take lessons, here is a link to the Snazaroo page about classes: http://www.snazaroo.us/hold/classes.htm If you go to the bottom of the page, there is a list of people who do private lessons, and I see that RoByn Thompson is listed in the NYC/NJ area. The website they have for her there is no longer valid, but you can find her here: http://faceandbelly.com/ I don't know if she still teaches facepainting, but you can always send her an email and ask. Or ask her if she can recommend someone in your area.

Good luck!

Hi Ivy! I'm am 3 whole weeks new and I can tell you that this is FAR better than being 'taught' by one person.

When you research it all here it's like have 40 expert teachers! YOUTUBE is like having teachers at your disposal day and night! Any actual questions, you just type in key words on this site and it answers almost anything from sponge hygiene, brushes, paints, paint comparisons, opinions, experiences to learn from (good AND bad).

One teacher is great, but having something like this if you are artistic is better to develop your own style! You only have one perspective with one teacher. In 3 weeks I've gone from my first attempt (when it was just a lark, but I got bitten by the 'FP bug') to my model, to my first time in public.
first shot:

I then learned here the importance of brushes and paint consistency. My first one on myself:

My first one on a model:

and my first 'party':


I understand wanting the speed of a teacher in front of you to fire questions at, but I think if you don't find a teacher, (and you may not in your area) this is a fantastic alternative! Everyone here has been beyond helpful and kind! Welcome to your new and awesome addiction!!

I agree with all that the ladies have said - I got my first set of paints & brushes last week, I joined here & watched youtube videos - yesterday I went to my kids' school & did face painting ( there was a fun day scheduled but was cancelled due to pouring rain) so I asked the teachers (of my kids) if I could paint the class & they were happy for me to do it. the teachers were impressed with what I did, the kids LOVED it & the principal just happened to pop by while I was painting & she was super impressed..

I got tips of what to take from here & all the artwork came from youtube videos

When I learned there wasn't the internet ... gasp... I had two books that had face painting in them and a box of Kryolan Aquacolours... I didn't even SEE live face painting (done by someone else) until I'd been painting for about 4 years and doing make-up professionally for about 7 years.

And I have to say that I do not train locally... I've been approached, yes, but decline. This is a business for me and while I am okay with competition and happy to refer work back and forth, I have no desire to train them!

Hello and welcome! If you are artistic, you're already ahead of the curve. My suggestion to you is to practice as often as possible and absorb all the great advice available. Good luck!

We'd love to see pics of your journey! FYI, a year ago I'd didn't know about the forum & just finding it has boosted my business, my ability & my confidence! You can do it & best of all there's a great group joining you along the way!

Welcome Ivy...just wanted to say HI! You can also take classes at some of the seminars and things that come up. Most of the time there is someone posting on here about a place they are going LOL. Heather from Silly Farm will be teaching classes at the Louisiana Clown thing...not sure of the exact name. It is in Feb. Good luck!

Welcome to the forum, Ivy! Not exactly sure where Cranford is (even though I'm from Philly, not as familiar with NJ), but there are 3 different NJ-based guilds: the Mid-Atlantic Face Painting Guild (run by Kim Baker--http://www.partyfacepaint.com), the Central NJ Face Painting Guild (run by Eve (TheSparklingLady is her username on this forum)), and the North Jersey Face Painting Guild (run by Diane Spadola--http://www.bellafacciapainting.com). In your case, even though you're a beginner, I think you would really benefit from joining a guild.

I don't know about classes in your area, but I have learned tons from this forum and from youtube tutorials!

welcome Ivy..