When done properly, body painting is one of the most fascinating types of art forms. If you look closely at the picture above, you’ll notice that the leopard’s eyes, cheeks, and chin have been painted on the floor. The back of a female volunteer forms the rest of its face, with her bottom used as the big cat’s nose and upper lip.
Born and Raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Craig Tracy decides what to paint when he sees the model’s body, using their shape as an inspiration for ideas. Sometimes he takes two days to plan before applying the first splash of paint. Once he figures that out, he spends up to nine hours painstakingly applying water-based paint to his volunteers’ bodies before photographing them in unique poses.
“I personally didn’t take Bodypainting seriously for five or six years. The day that I finally asked myself ‘why’, why I liked painting on people so much, that led me to… Well,,, What if I take this passionate interest seriously? That one question and a quick Google search changed the course of my life.” -Craig Tracy
