Candy Land: Free Bodypaint Class with Marcio Karam

FABAtv LIVE Feb 13th with Marcio Karam

FABAtv.com is your online resource to watch unlimited face and body art classes in crystal clear HD. Learn from the masters of makeup, special effects, body art and more right from the comfort of your own home. All you need is a high speed internet connection!

Soccer Body Paint by Marcio KaramFABAtv also hosts a free & LIVE class every month. Tune in on February 13th at 8:00pm est for this months LIVE class! This live class will be featuring master body painter, Marcio Karam! A painter for over 13 years, Marcio has painted cars, boats, bikes, murals and more. Skin is not his only canvas! Check out his work to the side and below. Visit his website at MKArts.com for more works of art or to contact Marcio.
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“My favorite part of body painting is making my art seem real, and having viewers question if it is actual paint!” -Marcio Karam

Avatar Body paint by Marcio KaramBody paint by Marcio KaramBody paint by Marcio Karam

So tune in to this free class and support your industry! This live class is available to watch for free through the FABAtv website on February 13th starting at 8:00pm EST!

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Silly Farm Partners with European Distributor

A South Florida based company, Silly Farm Supplies is an international retailer and supplier of face & body art products & equipment. Known for their revolutionary Arty Brush Cakes, Rainbow Cakes and other multi-colored combination cakes. Silly Farm is now proud to be able to offer their exclusive products from our European partner & distributor.

Silly Farm products in Holland

Da Grime and Silly Farm have teamed up to bring exclusive Silly Farm brand products to Europe without you having to pay an arm and a leg for shipping overseas. European customers can now find Silly Farm Exclusives through the dagrime.nl web store.

Products now available in Europe

Da Grime Phyiscal Store

Da Grime Physical Store

Da Grime Physical Store

We hope that with our new partnership we will be able to continuously serve you with our ever growing product selection, friendly service, great prices, and fast shipping.

Letter from the CEO

Hello friends,

I want to take a moment to express my gratitude and overwhelming appreciation for painters worldwide. 2012 has been a whirlwind year. It has been filled with many highs, lows, new beginnings and endings, but through it all our Silly Farm supporters have been the guiding light. So, for that I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Silly Heather Face PaintingI hate the word CEO. I still blush when my staff calls me their boss in public, and I still feel like the excited college grad ready to take on the world of face paint. Its been 10 years since I took hold of that title and 2012 was the first year I felt comfortable adding CEO to my name.

I am writing this letter to say thank you, but also remind each of you to be proud of what you have accomplished this year. How can we expect anyone to value what we do, when we don’t put enough praise and effort into accepting our accomplishments? If you ventured into the world of entrepreneurship and started your business, or made the investment in FABAtv, the FABAIC, or purchased some new equipment… take a moment to be proud. You could have jumped ship when things got hairy or you could have put it off another year, but you didn’t. You are responsible for helping our industry grow, for helping Silly Farm and FABAtv expand, offer more benefits to our employees, and hopefully our products & services have helped you bring more income home.

The world of face painting is built on creative spirits and a love for people. After all you can not want or continue to face paint if you aren’t someone that likes people. Your energy has established face and body art as a real art form, a legitimate business and has birthed thousands of entrepreneurs. I am proud and grateful for the part I have played in it.

My wish for you and your business for 2013 is that you don’t give up, that you set goals, meet them and exceed them. I made a promise to myself to make 2013 more about giving, receiving, and taking time to be proud. When we realize how far we have come, it’s a motivator for how far we can go.
Thank you again for helping me make my dreams come true with FABAtv, to all the painters that have done stellar work for My FAB Events and helped us gain national accounts; to my FABA Blog team and subscribers, to the supporters of Silly Farm and to all of the amazing painters that invest in their careers and attend the FABAIC.

Your support has helped us in more ways than you can imagine. It gives me great pride to offer my staff benefits, to be able to have an outlet to fundraise over $70,000 for our dear friend Brian Wolfe, to have the means to create free face painting youtubes that help painters worldwide, to have great friends across the pond like Illusion Magazine and Superstar, and for allowing me the opportunity to meet such great painters and give lessons, to be involved in an industry that shares, creates and in one big family. I consider each of you a friend and my door and ears are always open to you. I want to know if I can do better, how I can help you reach your goals, and how we can meet your needs. I built this company on customer service and you have my promise that we will work hard every day to be your one stop, full service, friendly, family-oriented company with the products you love, want and need.

Please keep my personal email, heather@sillyfarm, use it when you need it and if you are ever near our store please accept my personal invite to come and see us, take a picture and join the family. There would be no us, without you.

I wish everyone a Happy and safe New Year! We will be back in full swing next year! See you in 2013!

Heather xoxoxox

Silly Farm Customers & Family

Thongs for Bodypainting: Review

I run Cait’s Paints, which offers an array of services by multiple artists. But me, personally? I introduce myself as a body painter. Women are my favorite canvas; adapting my work over so many curves and shapes presents a challenge with a never-ending array of possibilities. I truly find cause for celebration in the grace and strength of the human form.

However, not everyone is as gung-ho about nudity: Many models don’t feel comfortable having someone intimately painting their lady-bits, few magazines are keen on publishing nudity, and posting anything “offensive” onto sites like Facebook could get your page shut down pretty quickly. What now?

There are multiple options available for covering genitals: seamless thongs, G-strings, strapless pantiesProShields, Zombie Skin, medical tape, and probably a few more creative options I haven’t heard yet. It all comes down to your personal preference and budget.

My preferred canvas is a topless model wearing nude-colored thong underwear. I’m open to putting pasties on my models (should the model or venue require it) but finding good pasties has not been nearly as treacherous as my quest for the “Perfect Thong”:

Cotton thongs absorbed too much paint, making it time consuming and difficult to paint details. I felt that g-strings “pinched” my models hips. Victoria’s Secret seamless thongs were okay, but I wasn’t willing to shell out and extra $12 in kit expenses.

Then I found La Senza “Barely There” thongs, and something miraculous happened; The thong melted effortlessly into my designs, and painting the fabric was a breeze. My models have found them comfortable and flattering. They even offer a more conservative version, the “Brazilian“.

I had found my Dream Thong, but the price was still hefty…until I found a Dream Retailer as well! Braonsale offers La Senza’s panties for less that $5, with FREE SHIPPING! They also send me a coupon with each of my orders. Just typing this gets my heart racing! As artists, our kits easily contain hundreds or thousands of dollars in supplies; Knowing that thongs are no longer a major expense is a huge relief.

I hope you all enjoy this new find as much as I have. Stock up, but leave some for me!
– Caitlin

Spotlight Artist: John Place

John Place Headshot

Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from?

Hi, my name is John Place I recently turned 26 years old….. and EVEN MORE recently turned 35. I am from Sunrise, Florida. I was born and raised in South Florida, which is rare, because most people from South Florida move north and vise versa.  I have 3 children,  2 boys and a girl.

Are you an artist full time or do you have another job?

I don’t know if I consider myself an “Artist”, I have many jobs. I am the Producer of FABAtv, I do all of the shooting and editing, and I have a few other business that I do also. Zombie Ice & Zombie Dogz are two food trucks I own that specialize in shaved ice and gourmet hot dogs. Green Box Studios is my video production company. We create corporate and web based videos for companies all over the world. I also do graphic design and printing of flyers, brochures, business cards etc. I guess I really am an artist in many forms.

Special FX Gore Neck Wound by John Place

What type of face and body art do you specialize in?

I LOVE gore and special FX makeup, prosthetics and body paint.

How did you get your start (in face and body art)?

Ok, ready? Here we go. Balloon Artist James Changefield introduced me to  Heather Banks-(Green now) a few years ago. I did my first Face Paint DVD video project for her and it took FOREVER, like 19 hours of shooting and 60 hours of editing, from that moment I NEVER wanted to do another face paint again. About a year later Heather came to me again with an idea to do 1 hour online face and body art class videos and to do 5 per month. At first I was not really too excited, how could we do that if it was going to take 80 hours of production per class? After many meetings and lots of trial and error I figured out how to do it in less then half the time.. so in March of 2011 we launched FABAtv.com. Lets go back in time for a second to little John Place in kindergarden….. I hated to color, I actually got put into pre-first because of my hate of art and coloring. That trait stayed with me throughout my adult life. Back to the present. Like the Ninja Turtles to Master Splinter, after watching countless hours, shooting, editing, watching again, I started to learn from the Masters of face and body painting. My first real interest in this art was when I shot the class for Nix Herrera’s lingerie class. After watching him, I thought, “WOW, I think I can do that”. So after spending lots of money on supplies, brushes, compressor, paints, etc, I painted my girlfriend and I was surprisingly pleased with the outcome. I posted the photos on Facebook and people were giving me great responses. I was hooked. Next was Brady Neher, Mark Reid, Wiser, just to name a few… It wasn’t until I did a class with FX and gore artist Pam Trent that I knew where my niche would be. There is something about the raw emotion that people have when they see realistic gore FX makeup out in the public. I have been posting photos of my work on my Facebook wall and have been getting responses from people around around the
world.

FABAtv LIVE October 16th with John Place

What’s the most enjoyable part of what you do?

WOW.. that’s a hard one. I guess meeting people from all over the world and seeing their excitement when they talk about their art. OH and the fact that my studio is at Silly Farm Supplies, there are 24 women, me and one other guy in the office. It’s awesome, except for one week a month, I don’t even come into the office… lol This will probably get edited out. (Editors Note: Nope!) :) I also enjoy grossing people out, I don’t really like doing gore or FX when it’s close to Halloween. I like it in May, when people don’t expect to see someones eye or face busted open. It’s Awesome.

Werewolfe Special FX Body Paint by John PlaceJoanna - Johns alter egoBloody Eye Special FX by John Place

John hard at workDo you attend any conventions, like the FABAIC?

Well, I kind of attend. I am usually very busy shooting FABAtv Videos at that time. We have the best of the best in town, so we try to shoot as many people as possible. It’s long days for me in the studio during the FABAIC.

What would you like to do more of, art or otherwise?

I would like to travel more. I never get out. If anyone would want to invite me to Vacation/Holiday you can reach me at silly farm ;).

Outside of art, what do you do for fun?

For fun?…. I work 24/7. I LOVE going to the movies.

Do you have any pet peeves? 

No, But I have a pet Chihuahua. His name is Taco. (Editors Note: I thought you gave Taco away cause he kept chewing your computer cords?)

Where do you see yourself in a couple years?

Traveling the world teaching gore and FX would be cool, but even more, retired and sipping on cold non-alcoholic drinks by the pool.

Do you have any projects going on or in the works?

Just launching my new Zombie Ice food truck. It’s a lot of work.

What do you think of FABAtv?
FABAtv???… I am a true testament that FABAtv WORKS!!

Bloody Neck - Special FX by John PlaceWerewolf Back - Special FX by John PlaceMinced Hand Bloody Special FX by John Place

Remember to tune in to FABAtv LIVE on October 16th at 8:00pm EDT for a free live class by John Place on Special Effects!

Spotlight Artist – Matt Valentine

FABAtv LIVE Class with Matt Valentine


Spotlight Artist Matt Valentine


Matt Valentine Banner

Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from?
I hail from Austin, Tx. Standing 6’1, weighing in at 175 pounds. A sugary sweet, scrumbdidlyumptious, gooey, nougat center with a hard, creepy, candy shell.

Are you an artist full time or do you have another job?
I am a full time artist. I run my own FX studio, Global Fear Enterprises. We offer FX make-up, Conceptual design, Props, Set Design, Graphic Design, Video Production and Costuming.

What type of face and body art do you specialize in?
I’m versed in theatrical and realistic body art but my forte is prosthetics and full body make-up FX.

Matt Valentine Face and Body Art

How did you get your start (in face and body art)?
I’ve been an artist since I can remember. Always altering my toys to become something great and terrible.
Being raised religious, we weren’t allotted the sinful, decadent vices of MTV, cartoons or Halloween. Through psychology we all know you become what you fear and are denied.
I actually got my first taste in church at the tender painful age of 15. Traumatized by preaching of tribulation and revelation yet attracted at the same time.
While kneeling and praying, our pastor asked us to pray and ask God for direction in our life.
Not a second later, I heard what can only be described as a horrifying yet peaceful rush of words whispering in my ear my name. This happened twice. I took this as a sign and a purpose.
A sort of holy calling to save something. A few months later I was chosen to play a demon in a church play and for the first time, I felt a paint caked brush touch my innocent check.
Dawned in white and black grease paint with a black cap, I felt comfortable in my skin for the first time. As I stepped on that stage hearing and feeling the audiences fear, I knew then what my calling was.
I’m on a sort of mission from God and you are most like him when you create something, no matter how vile and terrible it may be.

Matt Valentine's Mr Sprinkle PussWhat’s the most enjoyable part of what you do?
I enjoy the emotional primal response I get from my audience from viewing my work. Touching your viewer on an emotional level, whether it be through social propaganda, comedy, love or fear
is the ultimate purpose of a great artist. Every artist is a thief and every artist is a cannibal.

Do you attend any conventions, like the FABAIC?
Unfortunately I have not attended FABAIC. I do attend Monsterpalooza, Transworld and other various horror and make-up conventions.

What would you like to do more of, art or otherwise?
I would love to get into filmmaking. I actually directed a few short films before I got into the make-up industry.
Some personal, intimate home made adult and some on a bigger scale for mass audience consumption.
I also have acted in a few indie films and would love to get back into the world of, looking good while you lie.

Outside of art, what do you do for fun?
Believe it or not I like to pride myself on my vocal range. I used to be in a band years ago as singer and keyboards. I’m considering getting back into making music.
I’ve been told I resemble a gothic Justin Bieber or a dark Neil Diamond.
I love to read and research history. I have an unquenchable thirst and fascination with Social Engineering, Global Domination through Eugenics and esoteric knowledge.

Do you have any pet peeves?
The word impossible, Television, mainstream acceptance and compromise.

Where do you see yourself in a couple years?
I see myself spreading my tentacles into the music industry, directing and I’ve always had an interest in politics.

Do you have any projects going on or in the works?
I currently am on a nationwide tour with my Make-up FX workshops. I also have a few films I will be working on in the near future.
TV treatments in the works and a few hush, hush projects under wraps that if I spoke on, I would have the elder lodge members knock my degree position down and force me to recite
my past blackmail secrets, naked in a wooden coffin, in front of Henry Kissinger and the skull of Aleister Crowley.
We also continue to offer our costume and mask line through my studio, Global Fear Enterprises.

What do you think of FABAtv?
I think FABAtv is a phenominal platform for artists to expose their work to the masses and benefit those at home just getting into the industry.
It’s an amazing learning tool for new artists to add to their repertoire.

Global Fear Enterprises


matt valentine poster augustMatt Valentine everyone. Sounds like I might have to get my Halloween costume from you.

Visit his websites at www.globalfearenterprises.com and www.mattvalentinefx.com.

Follow Matt on Facebook.com/MattValentineFX and Twitter.com/mattvalentinefx.

Contact him by e-mail via sales@globalfearenterprises.com

Last, but not least, Matt Valentine will be doing a free live class on FABAtv, August 14th, 2012, starting at 8:00pm EST! Check out the FABAtv LIVE page for more details.

Global Fear Enterprises

Pert Plus: “Don’t Be An Animal”

Pert Plus Body Paint Campaign

This summer, PERT PLUS has sponsored a unique digital spot featuring Playboy models painted like animals. This dovetails with their “Don’t be an Animal” advertising campaign that launches in July.

Donna Hofstee, Nelly Recchia and Lisa Berczel spent nearly six hours turning the models into their inner animal with the help of their assistants. The transformation consisted of skilled airbrushing and detailed hand painting using Cosmetic Airbrush Paint by European Body Art, Grex Airbrush tools and WolfeFX face paint. The shoot was produced by Tim Gibbs and photographed by Jared Ryder, both members of Playboy Plus staff. Gibbs and Ryder conceptualized the stylistic direction of the shoot along with the artists to create this awe-inspiring campaign. The team was also joined by Joanna Joy Gershenson, who did the hair and makeup for the models, and Raul Hernandez who shot the behind the scenes footage and time lapse video.

Pert Plus has made each image available to download as a desktop background, just click on the image and you’ll be taken to the official page.

Renee Pert Plus Winner
Renee 2 - Pert PlusInstincts - Pert PlusDecker 2 - Pert Plus
Decker 1 - Pert PlusAleksander 2 - Pert PlusAleksander 1 - Pert Plus

The models featured are Leanna Decker (Leopard), Christina Renee (Tiger) and Sascha Aleksander (Zebra). All of the women have posed for Playboy’s online Cyber Club as a Cyber Girl of the Week.

The Wolfe Pack

Nick and Brian Wolfe
Twelve years ago I had the pleasure of meeting two of the world’s best artists. My aunt treated me to my first official face painting workshop (not taught by her or a clown friend) in Daytona Florida. I remember driving to Daytona so excited because I was going to learn from Nick and Brian Wolfe. That class not only changed my life, but it was the turning point of when I knew that I would make a career of face and body art. My aunt had always told me that one day I would own Silly Farm Supplies, but it wasn’t until Nick and Brian Wolfe exposed me to a new world that I realized the potential face and body art could create.

I’m sure many of you share my same experience. I credit much of the success, growth, and creativity of the face and body art world to the Kings of the biz, Nick and Brian Wolfe. Over the past decade they have given selflessly of themselves, shared every image, painted every face, explored new boundaries, and never stopped smiling along the way.


Nick and Brian Wolfe MIB BodypaintBrian Wolfe Body Paint with World Brian Wolfe Zombie Body Paint

Wolfe Brothers Special Effects
When I started FABAtv, I called on Nick and Brian and asked for help and support. They immediately jumped in their car and drove to my side. No matter how busy or how stressful life got, they never missed a FABAIC and you could reach them night or day on their cell to call in a favor.

Above and beyond being generous, Nick and Brian are two of the most positive people I know. When it seems like the world is falling down, they stand up and smile and share their light with us. I have witnessed them teach an 8-hour class and still smile, share, and welcome new friends.
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Last week, it broke my heart to hear that Brian Wolfe was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. Brian is a father, son, brother, friend, mentor and husband. This news hit me so hard all I could do was cry at my desk. I didn’t know whether to call Brian and Nick, get angry, or just focus on why bad things happen to good people. So, I mustered up enough strength to call Brian and upon hearing his voice a sigh of relief came over me. Brian’s attitude was optimistic, jovial, and he reminded me why no matter the outcome of his treatment, he will never be forgotten.

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Brian is beginning treatment this week and he needs our help. Brian is facing this scary time in his life without insurance to cover the necessary treatments. His family and friends have established a donation fund to help raise funds to support him and his family during this difficult time. We are also planning a Paint-A-Thon on FABAtv where 100% of the proceeds will go to the Brian Wolfe family. The Paint-A-Thon will be held July 23rd from 3pm-10pm EST. If you can afford to, please donate to the Wolfe family, help keep our Wolfe Pack alive and strong with your prayers and your support.

The face and body art industry would not be where it is at without Nick and Brian Wolfe. They transcended the art of face painting from balloons on the cheek to if you can dream it we can paint it. Please share the link, send Brian an email, card, or just keep him and his family in your prayers and thoughts. Prayer works and together we can share the same love and positivity he has given to us over the years.
-Heather


Monster BrosNick & Brian WolfeNick & Brian Wolfe Body Painting

Mortal Kombat Body Painting by Wolfe BrothersWolfe Pack


Check out Nick or Brian on facebook.
Contact Nick or Brian Wolfe or browse their works via their website, EvilTwinFX.com

Plenty of Paint

When it comes down to picking which face paint you want to stock in your kit, it’s hard to choose and to know the differences between brands, colors, and manufacturers. I am fortunate that I play with paint for a living. I harass the manufacturers to send me new colors as soon as they are hot off the press and I test each color to see how it measures up against other similar colors from different brands. In a nut shell, there are two types of water based face paint; Wax based and Glycerin based.

Wolfe, TAG, and Diamond FX are all wax based paints.

Wolfe Face Art & FX TAGDiamond FX

FAB, Kryolan, Paradise, and Snazaroo are glycerin based paints.

FAB PaintKryolan Paradise AquacolorSnazaroo

There is no shortage of amazing colors and shades of face paint. If you are a paint junkie like me, then you want it all. Take my advice; You will never use 10,000 pots of paint and it’s too time intensive unpacking 10,000 pots of paint. When you get down to choosing your ideal kit, choose color over brand name. Although paints are made with similar formulas, the main differences are the colors. My advice? If you are in love with a particular color then add it to your kit.

Wax based paints are ideal for line work, because they are smooth and require less water to activate them. Sometimes sponging and blending can be a challenge because the sponge can absorb too much water. Since they have wax in them they tend to be less resistant to blending, but better for layering.

Wolfe White 45gmWolfe white and black are known for being the best for line work. The reason behind that is because Wolfe white is one of the few whites that actually stays on top of the color instead of blending into the background colors. With wolfe white you can make dots on top of black paint and the white will stay vibrant. Wax paints are typically strong in pigment and they are excellent for line work because of the smooth consistency. Wax paints are also known to withstand the heat a little better because the wax is harder to break down. For humid and hot climate areas the wax paints are in high demand.
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FAB Alice BlueGlycerin based paints are typically creamier and excellent for blending with a sponge. Unlike wax based paints, where the paints layer well, glycerin paints blend better and dry slightly slower so you are able to sponge and blend them easier.

For these reasons, I suggest having a variation of brands in your kit. Choose color over brand. Colors vary from brand to brand. Kryolan has a line of paint called Interfereze which is a specialty line within their Aquacolor line. Interferenze paints are shimmer paints, unlike the kryolan metallics which are made with metallic flake pigments. The Interfereze paints are creamy and soft and contain a shimmer rather than a flake. Kryolan also has a Ultra Violet Day Glow line as well. The UV paints are also knows as Neon paints. Kryolan and Wolfe both make these paints that are black light reactive and glow under fluorescent lighting. In normal light they are super vibrant and very popular because the colors are so intense. Once they are under a backlight they appear glowing.

Ultra Violet UV Day Glow Neon Paints

Paint can get confusing, I have to admit. Kryolan calls their metallic colors Metallics and Interfereze. Wolfe calls their UV paints Neons, while Kryolan calls them UVDG. Snazaroo named their metallic and shiny colors ‘Sparkle‘. FAB has ‘Shimmer‘ colors, as well as ‘Glitter‘ colors. So before you get lost in the abyss of face paint remember you have a friends ( or 21 friends at Silly farm) ready to help you.

If you ever need helping choosing the paint for you, want to know the best red, or are looking for the perfect ninja turtle green. You are always welcome to live chat us, email me, or give me a call at Silly Farm. Choosing paint should be fun, so don’t let brand names get your brushes in a bunch. Just close your eyes, think of your favorite colors and write them down. Browse each section until you find the one you are looking for and cross if off your list. The results will be your perfect kit!

Leave a comment below and tell us what your favorite colors and brands are!

Happy painting!
-Heather

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