Inside her crowded basement studio, Naomi Smith transforms her clients into Mad Hatters, devils, tigers, Mother Natures and geishas, to name a few.
On Saturday afternoon, client Andy Sauers turned to a March Hare from “Alice in Wonderland,” was particularly pleased with her getup. See that glittery bow tie? That polka-dot vest over the buttoned-down shirt? That regal black suit?
Yeah, that’s all paint.
When Sauers stepped into the artist’s Vancouver studio, she was wearing nothing more than a bra and underwear. After a couple hours of Smith applying a base paint, air brush and the detail work of her suit and rabbit face, Sauers was all ready for her Halloween party in Camas.
“Everyone says it’s amazing,” Sauers, 31, said of the body painting that she gets done every year. “It looks like real clothes.”
Sauers was among 25 people who showed up at the artist’s studio, ready to get their elaborate costumes created for that evening’s Halloween parties.
In business since 2004 as Time Honored Designs, Smith performs face and body painting at events and venues throughout the Vancouver-Portland metro area and sometimes in other parts of the country. But, she says, Halloween is her most booked holiday — for obvious reasons.
“It’s really our most exclusive time of year,” she said, where customers pre-pay for a short-term transformation.
To create each “costume,” Smith finds pictures of the character or draws a sketch herself to get a visual. Then, she begins with a base coat and then goes to the fine detail work, using cosmetic paints special ordered from Europe. In all, she uses about an ounce of makeup on one client.
“A little bit goes a long way,” she said. “Once people are painted, they don’t feel the makeup. It’s a lot like the makeup you put on your face.”
And it’s not cheap, Smith warns, usually only bringing in the most die-hard Halloween fans: A full body paint costs between $150 and $600.
Sauers and her brother and sister are her most loyal customers, Smith said, undergoing the body painting annually for the last four years.
Why all the effort just for one night? Sauers sister, Alyssa Peter, 36, said she likes being the center of attention.
“You get to escape and be someone different for a night,” Peter said. “It’s the closest to 15 minutes of fame that we’re going to get.”
Peter went as a Mad Hatter, keeping with Sauers’ “Alice in Wonderland” theme party. Instead of a full-body paint job, though, she came wearing a bodice, skirt and jacket, and Smith painted her face and neck white and her blonde hair was spray-painted orange.
Their friend, Rich Day, 32, went away from the party theme, going for a more traditionally spooky look as a devil. After donning small horns, Day’s face, neck and chest were painted red with orange, gold and brown highlights. He wore black pants.
While the customers had their makeup done purposefully close to party time, there was no escaping festive appearances in the real world.
“I have to go to Costco after this,” Day said with a smirk before leaving the studio.
Laura McVicker: 360-735-4516 or laura.mcvicker@columbian.com.
