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 – Lisa Marshall

Lisa Marshall free LIVE class on FABAtv
Our latest Spotlight Artist, Lisa Marshall, is doing a free FABAtv LIVE class on Thursday, July 12th, 2012 starting at 8:00pm EST. Don’t miss it! Click the banner for more info!


Spotlight Artist Lisa Marshall

Multi Colored Swirl by Lisa Marshall Face Painted Jewelry by Lisa Marshall Face Painted Mask by Lisa Marshall

Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from?
Comox B.C., Canada

Are you an artist full time or do you have another job?
Part-Time Artist and a Full time Mom

What type of face and body art do you specialize in?
Lace/Gems/3D

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

I bought a Paradise Prisma Pro Palette and just started practicing everyday until I was confident to paint others. I have been a painter for many years, but decided to try a new medium and dove right into the Face & Body Art world.

What’s the most enjoyable part of what you do?
I love to explore new ideas and teach what I learn to fellow painters. I hope to inspire them, as they have for me. I also like to watch the faces of people around me as I create a design…and when I hand them the mirror!!! Whether its a scary or pretty design, I love to hear them say “WOW!”

Do you attend any conventions, like the FABAIC?
I have attended the 2012 Face and Body Art International Convention and hope to be back next year!

What would you like to do more of, art or otherwise?
I would love to learn how to create prosthetics, plus do more full body painting and professional make-up.

Outside of art, what do you do for fun?
I love the beach, bike riding and live music!

Do you have any pet peeves?
When I’m practicing and my cat comes along and tries to chew the end of my brush…haha.

Where do you see yourself in a couple years?
The sky is the limit, and I would love to travel and teach.

Do you have any projects going on or in the works?
I always have SOMETHING in the works… 😉 I do a lot of sketching, painting, and I am trying to develop some new product ideas.

What do you think of FABAtv?
The first time I tuned into FABATV, I couldn’t believe my eyes, there were so many classes and I didn’t know what to watch first!!! It only made me want to paint MORE! It’s fantastic that there are skilled painters offering to teach you their tricks, because when you are new to the industry, it’s nice to have a place to go and look up new ideas, techniques, and designs to help you expand your skill set!


Want to contact Lisa or see more examples of her work?
You can visit Lisa’s website at http://silvercordcreations.webs.com

Like her page or contact her through Silver Cord Creations on Facebook.
Email her at silvercordcreations@hotmail.com

Don’t forget to tune in July 12th at 8:00 pm EST for a free LIVE class on FABAtv.com with Lisa Marshall!

Jay Bautista – Spotlight Artist

Each month the Faba Blog will post a spotlight article on a particular artist that excels in their profession. Our spotlight artist for the month of April 2012 is Jay Bautista.

Jay Bautista

Jay Bautista is a professional face and body artist known for his amazing line work and tribal designs. He is originally from New York and has lived in Florida for most of his adult life. Jay has been face and body painting for over 12 years and first got his start in the industry at Enjoy Your Face Inc., painting at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Since then, he has catered to high end celebrity parties, rock concerts, major sports teams, corporate events and college sports teams. Mardi Gras and Fantasy Fest are now a staple of major events that Jay attends.

Jay Bautista - Mardi GrasJay Bautista - Sun and MoonJay Bautista's Super Girl

We spoke to Jay about his upcoming projects and what he wants to explore more into. Jay wants to add more depth into his artwork and is focusing on that, as well as a new series of designs only seen by Illusion Magazine.

In his own words;

“I’m working on a lot of projects as of right now. I just finished shooting some step by step designs Illusion Magazine asked me to do. I just opened up a new YouTube Channel under methodmediavideos doing some quick designs, so if you check it out you can see me in my house clothes :-). I’m also going on a mini tour up north to NJ,CT,NY in June. Hitting up Trinidad & Tobago in July and finishing off the month in Texas. I’m also talking to Pashur about possibly doing a Tribal / Line work tour in the U.S. We did a dry run at the East Coast Convention in Connecticut and it was a HUGE success, there are already requesting us to do another workshop at that convention.

I’m also working on releasing an app within the next few months, featuring my artwork. Method Media Services LLC is the production company working on this project with me. Any artist looking to do productions should reach out to them.

I just did a live feed for a local radio station, WJRR 101.1, for an upcoming event called EarthDay BirthDay. It’s my biggest one day event of the year. I employ 10 face and body artists to paint the patrons throughout the concert. There are over 20,000 people that attend this event and this will be my 11th year painting there. When I started doing that event it was me and one other painter, so it’s grown. We will probably paint over 300 bodies that day between 10 artists, usually its just chest pieces that we do there, but sometimes someone wants a front and back, but that’s rare. Needless to say, we paint very fast.

My website is still under construction but its www.jaybautista.com. It’s a blog based site so I will be active on it, once I can find the time to sit for a few hours un-distracted. You can always add me as a friend on facebook and I created a fan page as well that will have newer content; thats www.facebook.com/JayBautistaFaceAndBodyArtist.

The best way to contact me is by email, jbautista0505@gmail.com.”

Jay Bautista has filmed several classes and tutorials for FABAtv. Check out Jay’s Channel on FABAtv and stay tuned for his latest class, Totally Tribals, premiering on April 15th! Can’t wait? Check out his free butterfly tutorial on the FABAtv youtube channel.