KA-BOOM!!!

model: Katie O'Neill
Photography and digital imaging: Ryder Gledhill



A friend of mine said, "a German disaster never looked so good!" We had so much fun at this photo shoot. The model showed up at the photo studio with her friend who helped her carry all her bins of couture accessories, pieces of outfits and shoes. She had never modeled topless before, but after we decided on the accessories for this shoot, (and she had three costume changes including gloves, different shoes, and different knickers) I explained to her about the process and about the paint.

First, I told her, when she disrobes, I quickly cover her breasts with the base color so that she doesn't feel as if she's standing there naked forever. It takes about 5 minutes total to cover the entire torso front and back with the base color after that. The model will sit, stand, rotate and lift her arms up for me to move the paint where it needs to go. All blending is done with brush and sponge. The next layers are detail layers, using black as the accent to create drama and white to create roundness and shimmer. The last layer is the faux shadow that I paint to give the illusion that the paint is actually fabric and that there is space between the skin and the painted clothing. This paint job took two and a half hours, including the detailed back.