Through the Eyes of an Artist
When The Powder Group’s Incorporating Trend event was announced a few months ago, I had flashes of pouring over those full page glossy pictures and ads in magazines as a teenager, tearing them out and running to the mall to buy all the products and brushes the makeup artist used to create that look. I would try so hard to recreate each look on myself. No matter that I didn't look anything like that model, that is was an image that had been orchestrated and lit perfectly, or that the colors were not great for me in the first place. I still wanted, needed, to have that look.
Fast forward to changing careers and following my dream of becoming a makeup artist many years later. I would eat, sleep and drink all things makeup related and I still had an addiction to makeup and brushes – only this time they were the ones I saw the pros used to create those beautiful images. When I got my start in makeup there were not many schools dedicated to the study of makeup artistry, and of course it was before The Powder Group and The Makeup Show. With limited resources for my development, not much changed in the beginning stages of my journey. Enter Linda Mason, Michael DeVellis and James Vincent. They turned my world upside down. What was my first lesson? It wasn't how to use a particular brush or product, it wasn’t a technique or process. I learned that first and foremost the most important tools in our arsenal are our eyes, ears and hands. I learned that the connection to our client and their face - be they model, celebrity, bride or mother of three who just wants to feel pretty – was paramount in this career.
Since I specialize in bridal and personal services my clients bring me these same images with hopes of looking in the mirror and seeing their faces look just like the celebrities on the red carpet. But let’s be honest, sometimes that look or trend is simply not going to work – or will it? When I registered for The Powder Group’s Incorporating Trend event I knew it was a program that would help get me to a new place in my artistry and allow me to think differently about trend and creativity in my work. I greatly anticipated meeting and watching the creative talents of the program’s presenters - Edward Cruz, Dani Fonseca, Roshar, and Mari Shten. I was going to have the opportunity to see through the artist's eyes behind those beautiful portfolio images I had been dreaming about my whole life.
My excitement and anticipation was well warranted. Watching these masters execute the elements of their work on faces that look like the faces I touch everyday in my own world was exactly what I hoped it would be and more. The products in their kits ran the gamut of drug store brands to the most expensive pro must-haves. Their approach to the face was as varied as their products – and each of them brought something unique to the process. The experience emphasized that we as artists need to find our own voice and develop our own signature style. Of course, on day two of the program, our hands-on session with James Vincent brought it all together. It was exciting to experiment with products and techniques and to be able to ask questions about how to make a product do this or that to achieve the final effect. It was an incredibly empowering experience and I felt my confidence soar to new high. Attending to a bride and her party just a few days later I imagined I was getting them ready for the red carpet. I am looking forward to my client's holiday events and bringing home some of the magic I experienced in the two days I spent with the greats in our industry.
Incorporating Trend truly helped me to realize some thing that may have forgotten, or maybe didn’t know in the first place, That I see with the eyes of an artist.
Joanne McDonough is a makeup artist and the owner of Joya Beauty based in New Hampshire and working throughout the New England market from Maine to Cape Cod. You can meet Joanne as she presents The Powder Group’s The Business & Beauty of Bridal during our Winter/Spring season. www.joyabeauty.com