Healing: Behind the Paint

So I have been lucky enough to be included in a new docomentary  "Behind the Paint; the Fine Art of Body Painting" (to be released in 2011) on body painting by James Anthony McElligott.

James filmed two of my most recent body paintings; the "Mermaid" photoshoot with fashion designer & belly dancer, Keera Sama, and the "2 Pregnant Sisters" photoshoot with photographer Andrei Kalamkarov. I am really excited to be part of this project and I love learning and hearing about the other body painters.

James has been following and filming various artists in the world of body painting around the globe now for two years, and is currently now in the editing process of his documentary. I can't imagine how many hours will go into making this film by the time everything is said and done. It's very exciting!

"Healing: Behind the Paint" is a 10 minute short which was just released on  youtube, that documents the work of artist Margie Nugent in Mount Kisco, New York, USA. This film shows Margie's work utilizing body painting as a healing tool; healing both for the artist and for the model.



Model: Jessica Mellow
Body Painting by Margie Nugent
Photography by Will Cook.

 I really appreciate both Margie's and her model,  Jessica Mellow's, very candid and open communication about their personal challenges and why body painting has helped in their healing processes. The photographer for this shoot was Will Cook.

To me body painting can be a very sacred and vulnerable process because of the nature of working in such close quarters with a model in the nude. Our society is such that generally speaking, we don't get physically touched except by a lover, our doctor, our dentists et cetera.

It's so intimate working on someone's face & body (regardless of if it's just for regular beauty make-up, face painting or full body painting). The nature of body painting is very tactile, and so it's important that there is a level of professionalism, considerate awareness, comfort, trust and harmony between the model & the artist. It is in this sense that I find the process to be sacred. So that said, it makes total sense to me that body painting would be a great medium for healing. Take a look at the documentary, it's a great short film!


On a side note, if you like what you see, James is looking for donations towards finishing the full feature length body painting documentary, "Behind the Paint; the Fine Art of Body Painting". The donations that James is asking for will go towards editing & production costs, promotion costs et cetera.
To donate, you can contact James through is website: www.mcelliogott.ca.