Body Painting on HOT DJs

by Kristin Grant | Urbanheart

Being an airbrush artist has it’s advantages… including painting on hot bodies!

My art comes to life as it moves, poses & dances infront of the camera, held by the photographer, a visionary who caputres the subject in just the right lighting, angles and expressions. So far I’ve had the pleasure with working with Sunset Lab’s 2 female Djs… Marlee and Lyssa. Both of these girls are known for their killer house music and bubbly personalities. They are both extremely hard workers, constantly creating art in their own lives and sharing it with the world.

HOT DJ #1: DJ Marlee

“VOLTAGE” Project | Photos by Steve Lukinuk Photography

The theme for the Dj Marlee shoot was “VOLTAGE”.. based on her new series of events at Sunset Room. These nights are full of hard, driving music that keeps the electricity flying on the dancefloor! For the “VOLTAGE” shoot, Marlee and I teamed up with Steve Lukinuk Photography. Steve has this amazing little studio which features an array of props, backdrops, furniture and beautiful photography equipment. It has become a favorite spot of mine for body paint photoshoots as it is a private space that me and the (sometimes bare) model can take the time to prepare, and then also do the shoot in! Steve has an amazing eye for lighting and composition, and is fantastic at incorporating my creative vision with his own.

The prep for the shoot involved facepaint, body paint and accessories. It also involved preparing some giant sparkler “claws” so that I could hold 5 sparklers in each hand at a time. Once Marlee was ready, we did a series of photos with her posing in the paint, and then a series where I did some”light-painting” with the sparklers. The resulting images appear as if there is electricity moving all around her. Marlee would pose, the camera would ‘Flash!”, and in the following darkness I danced around her with the lit sparklers. The photoshoot ended with a hot burning ember sizzling into Steve’s beautiful couch– eek! Lucky for us the burn mark blends right in with the leopard print– and the photos look ELECTRIFYING!

HOT DJ #2: DJ Lyssa

Stitched Doll Project | Photos by Evan Boyd Photography

DJ Lyssa has an alter ego… “Evil Sally”. We thought it would be a fun idea to protray Evil Sally in a photoshoot where the pictures would be used for the Sunset Labs website, and also to promote Lyssa’s alteration & costume business called “Lyssa’s Stitchery.” (Please visit her facebook group!) Lyssa had the perfect outfit for the shoot, including a tutu & corset, all in black and white checkers and stripes– LOTS of inspiration for body paint patterns!

We teamed up with Evan Boyd Photography. New to the scene, Evan has been capturing beautiful images of dance events at Sunset Room, including gorgeous portraits and amazing photos of the live painting. In the art room, I transformed Dj Lyssa into an evil doll decorated in stitches, checkers, crazy makeup… and a little bit of blood. She and Evan headed out behind Captial Iron, an industrial area filled with shipping containers, giant machinery and a beautiful backdrop of the ocean. In the last moments of the setting sun, Lyssa posed with her headphones and scissors, staring insanely into the camera… a DEADLY interpretation of Evil Sally.

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