I have started this article so many times. It was meant to be a talk-through about how I put together a creative look. What I forgot, however, is that when putting together this grand plan, there is art concerned.
I have always followed my whims with no real idea of where it’s going to end. I learned about faces by drawing them; more specifically, by drawing the shadows. I have been a painter for decades, always focusing really heavily on drawing people. I was always fascinated by the way a face would just appear on my canvas when all the shadows joined together. It was almost like sculpting in two dimensions.
However, painting is definitely the strongest influence in my creative makeup. I have taken my interest in shadows to create a face, then used it as a jumping-off point for painting faces. What has really interested me about makeup is how I can influence the perception of a face by manipulating the shadows with different colors and textures. I love changing the shadows to affect how I perceive the lines on the face: bringing things forward, pushing other things back or exaggerating shapes to focus the eye on a particular area.
I treat makeup the same way I do paint. I sit in front of my mirror and put different colors and textures down. Then, I just see how it affects where my eye goes. I have never been good at committing to face charts, but I will happily spend hours exploring my own face with a paintbrush. This is why I love makeup: it almost invites experimentation because, if it works out then, it’s great. If not, it takes seconds to wash off.
I have definitely had my successes and failures. However, one thing I am sure about is the value of experimentation. If I had one piece of advice for any budding MUA, it would be to experiment. Recreate what you respond to and take it to your own place. Other than that, just play. This is how I am finding my voice.
