Headshot Makeup for Actors

Hi All,

Many of you may not know that my professional life sways back and forth between Gossamer Designs and the world of acting, both on stage and on camera. I like to keep my creative outlets in motion!

A decade ago, I worked with MAC Cosmetics, where I gained many freelance makeup opportunities, especially in bridal makeup. I love helping women feel beautiful and confident! 

Lauren Dutchak

Triumph Street Photography

Makeup by Allyson Grant

With my connection in both acting and makeup artistry, I often get asked about makeup for actors headshots. From what I've studied and observed, great headshot makeup is clean and natural-looking (usually) so that people can see your features and colouring with few manipulations. If your signature everyday look is a sultry, smoky eye but you have been auditioning for a lot of no-nonsense, straight-edged cops and detectives for the past year, consider getting some shots done with a barely-there eye makeup.

Your headshot look should do two things for you: represent what you will look like when you walk into a casting room and mildly resemble the types of roles you are going out for.

Claire Garner
Isaac Haig Photography

Makeup by Allyson Grant

Definitely hire a makeup artist for your headshot session but just as importantly, don't have them glam you up too much - no matter how beautiful the look is - if you aren't going in to that casting room all dolled up most of the time! I have met several actors who loved their makeup at their headshot session but feel too "prettified" in their picture compared to what they look like in auditions.

I have recently collaborated with Isaac Haig Photography and have plans for a few more project in the coming months. With over a decade of experience both in front of the camera and handling the makeup brushes, I am excited to be focusing on more headshot-specific makeup artistry again.

For inquiries about headshot makeup or recommendations for headshot photographers in Vancouver, contact me at allyson@gossamerdesigns.ca

Allyson Grant
 Triumph Street Photography
Isaac Haig Photography

www.gossamerdesigns.ca

A Decade of Vancouver Smiles

This August marks my tenth year of living in Vancouver - it is hard to believe that a decade has gone by since I drove my trusty little Civic across the country on a mostly unplanned adventure! I had been face painting for many years prior to my arrival, but started my own face painting business after having been in Vancouver only a few months. To my great joy, I have built a solid repeat clientele base, painting at many annual corporate BBQ's, community centre events, and birthday parties. It is with delight that I greet enthused smiles year after year, and discover children who have grown 10 inches taller, or have a foot more hair. And mostly, my amazement lies in their memories of remembering what they've had painted in previous years! One particular birthday girl just had her seventh birthday a few weeks ago and I was honoured to be hired again by her father, having painted faces for her second and third birthdays as well. Juliette, I hope you have a wonderful seventh year and I look forward to seeing you and your friends at another birthday party in the future.

Juliette's second birthday

Juliette's third birthday

Juliette's seventh birthday

The Honour of Belly Painting

Being a face and body painter is an absolute joy, no question. And having the opportunity to celebrate pregnancy by painting my clients is a total honour. So I was especially grateful for the bonding and intimate experiences of painting a few of my friends while they were pregnant over the past year and a half. Carmen, an intelligent and intuitive firecracker of a woman, had baby Taiga in February 2011, just days after we painted her. Her talented photographer husband took beautifully moody and peaceful photos of the process and product, which was such a treat. Carmen completely left the design creation in my hands - a nerve-wracking and delightfully creative process. Belly painting photo by www.tanakayoshinori.com Delightfully, the following year Carmen's sister Jill, a close friend of mine, announced that she was expecting. Jill didn't want a design that was a registered character or even specifically illustrative. She is influenced by some Eastern practices and philosophies in her life so I came up with a design to reflect this - a henna-inspired image full of warmth and tranquility. Jill gave birth this March to healthy little Hugo. Ella, who I went to university with and have known for a decade requested a belly painting almost as soon as she knew she was pregnant - what an honour! Ella is an extremely thoughtful, kind and talented person, not to mention an amazing Mom already to her first little one, Mia. Mia hung out with us through the painting process, quiet, curious, and content the whole time we spent together. Ella is now the proud Mom of little boy Kipling as well. All three ladies had little boys! It is profound to feel the movements of a wee human being, waiting patiently to meet the world, under the stroke of my brush. Thank you to these new Mommas for including me in your pregnancy experience. Congratulations to Carmen, Yoshi, Jill, Derek, Ella and Luca - you are beautiful parents and I am inspired by you all. I look forward to sharing many more laughs over the years and perhaps painting your children's faces some day too! The unique and intimate experience of pregnancy painting makes a wonderful gift and lifetime memories. For further information, contact me at allyson@gossamerdesigns.ca

A Shout Out to the WCFBPA!

I am thrilled to have placed in the top 3 for a few more contest entries with the West Coast Face and Body Painting Association's bi-monthly contest and I wanted to thank you for your votes. This past contest was Easter Faces and I entered two designs and won first and second place! Thank you to Wolfe Face Art for sponsoring this month's contest. Wolfe Face Art products are vibrant and a great choice for professional face and body artists. (www.wolfefx.com) The contest entries can be viewed at http://www.westcoastfacepainters.com/contest_april2012easterfacepainting.html

I also won first place for the Valentine's Legs or Arms contest with the following entry below:

Thank you to Kristine and Nicole for being such lovely and cooperative models. Stay in tune with my facebook page for postings about my public face painting events and newest contest entries. Here comes the summer!

Thanks for your support!

Happy New Year! I am off to an exciting start for 2012 - lots of creative opportunities coming my way in various avenues of my life.

One of my commitments to myself artistically over the past several months has been to start creating face and body painting that is outside of my comfort zone. For me, this means anything that isn't part of my book of designs - unicorns, Spidermen, butterflies - my "easy" range.

I found an online forum that offers contests to North American West Coast Face and Body Artists and decided that I would enter at least one design every contest, no matter what the theme is. I can't believe I'm writing that here! That means I REALLY have to stay committed!

Well, as some of you know if you follow my facebook page, I garnered 1st place for my first entry in the Monster faces category. Thanks to an intense looking model and the votes of the public, my Snakehead Monster design (pictured)beat out the other entries. Fun!

The second contest I entered was Princess Faces. I really decided to go out on a limb for this one. I knew that most entries would be beautiful and full of swirls and flowers and wonderful girlieness and although I find that very appealing to paint and view, it didn't feel like an inspired challenge to me this time. So I took a risk and interpreted the theme my way: I painted the faces of iconic fictional princesses onto my models face. I placed third for this contest and felt brave for having submitted an "out there" entry.

Pictured here on my model: Princess Leia, The Paperbag Princess, She-ra Princess of Power, and Snow White (my interpretation, not the Disney version! I had to do research to be sure she was, in fact a princess).

The point of blogging about this isn't to brag (although it is a good opportunity for me to thank those who voted - thank you!!) but rather to publicly announce my artistic commitment to continue pushing myself outside of the box. I LOVE my birthday parties and my corporate events AND I need to continue developing my interpretations of how I paint, for my own fulfillment.

Having said that, watch for my latest entry coming soon on the next West Coast Face and Body Painters website. http://www.westcoastfacepainters.com/contestindex.html
The contest will be up by February and my entry will be the bee's knees! (That's a hint and that's all I will say!)

Thanks for your support,
Allyson

Getting creative

Hi All,

It's been a long time since I posted here but my good excuse is that I had a busy summer full of birthday parties, farmer's markets, corporate events, community barbeques... the list goes on!

Now that the busy season is slowing down, I am feeling the pull to create outside of the box a bit. Unicorns and superheros are great fun, but I am craving challenge outside of my comfort zone.

I recently asked a friend if we could do a back painting and this is what we came up with. I was fortunate to have the wonderful Will Minsky take photos in the forest for this project and am thankful that my model braved the wet and cold to create this lovely... er... "interesting" character.

Makeup and body painting by Allyson Grant - www.gossamerdesigns.ca
Photography by Will Minsky - www.williamminsky.com

Alice in Wonderland

Last month, I had the pleasure to work with a talented and hard working cast of young performers in Abbotsford for a production of Alice in Wonderland, the Musical. Their energetic and enthusiastic production director, Mr. Paul Lilly, was a joy to work along side and gave me artistic license to create unique looks for the 4 characters I was assigned to: The March Hare, The Cheshire Cat (played by three different actors), the Dormouse and the White Rabbit.

The excitement of the students was contagious! I had a blast helping them bring their characters to life for the run of the show. And with my background and training in acting, it was a joy to be backstage at a beautiful theatre complex. Thanks to Chief Dan George Middle School for such an enriching opportunity!