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Whimsical Dragonfly Mask by Pam Kinneberg

Dragonflies are unique and special insects...they can fly in six directions: forwards, up, down, backwards and sideways...effortlessly! As a kid, I was fascinated with these magnificent little creatures and would run around trying to catch them which, luckily, wasn’t to difficult. This design attempts to capture their simple beauty and whimsical flight.

Supplies

Mermaid Pixie Rainbow Cake

Diamond FX White Paint

FAB Purple Rain Paint

Global Magenta Paint

Global Lime Green

Party XPlosion Pearl Green

BAM Stencil 

Flora #10 LaCornell

Loew-Cornell® Gold Grip #6

Loew-Cornell® Gold Grip #2

Petal Sponge

Smoothie Blender

Mehron Hydra Foam Sponge (3”), cut in half

Vivid Sea of Glass Chunky Glitter

VIVID Glitz Glitter Glue

Magenta Glitter

Lime Green Glitter

 

Step One: background

Load a sponge with Mermaid Pixie Rainbow cake and apply it to the forehead and under one eye. I chose to do an asymmetrical design to give it a whimsical flow. Keep an open mind when it comes to overall shapes of your design as it doesn’t always have to be an arch in the center of the forehead. Use a baby wipe to clean up the edge if necessary.

Step Two: eyelids

Using a petal sponge on the eyelid helps to get the paint where you want it. I loaded 3/4’s of the sponge with the bottom three colors on the rainbow cake that I used for the forehead, then added lime green to the top to give it a vibrant color. Tap this onto the eyelid until blended.

Step Three: Glitter

Add bright green glitter on the eyelids for some magic sparkle. I used a disposable smoothie blender spritzed with water to pick up the glitter and tap it on to the paint.

Step Four: stencil

Add some background interest with a stencil. I used the BAM stencil pictured here with purple paint. It follows the curve of the background you have in place.

Step Five: purple dots

Using a sponge with a small amount of purple paint on the tip, create three small round dots where the dragonflies will be positioned. This will help them stand out from the background and give a little depth.

Step Six: dragonfly time

Now to paint the dragonflies! They are very simple. Use a #6 round brush and double dip it first with white and then with Party Xplosion pearl green (see inset). Then you will use it like a petal brush. Touch the tip down to where the wing starts and drag it a bit and then lay it down to get the wings. Try to keep the top and bottom wings separated a tiny bit so some purple shows through.

Step Seven: dragonfly bodies

Give the dragonflies purple bodies. Be sure to give them whimsical curves as if they are in flight.

Step Eight: floral accent

Add some flower petals with a #10 flora brush that has been triple dipped (see inset) with white, magenta and purple following the curve of the background. I also painted little bright green dots along the bodies of each dragonfly for highlights and added a little green accent on each wing.

Step Nine: white teardrops and dots

White accents really brighten up any design. Add teardrops and dots following the curve and flow of the design. As you can see, I also added some bright green teardrops.

Step Ten: glitter and lipstick

What a difference glitter and lipstick make to the overall look. I chose to use magenta on the lips to bring out the magenta that was used in the flower petals. Top that off with some magenta glitter. Vivid Glitter is one of my favorites and “Sea of Glass” matched my design perfectly. This chunky glitter is adhered by using Vivid Glitz Glitter Glue first and then tapping the loose glitter on top of it.

Did you know that If a dragonfly lands on you it is seen to be good luck! How cool! A little peice of folklore that I will be sharing with the sweet little girls I paint this on. Happy painting!

 

Pam Kinneberg is the owner and artist for her business, PiKadilly Face Painting located near Fargo, North Dakota. She has won numerous contests and can be found in various magazines including SkinMarkz Magazine, The Colored Palette, QMagazine, Wet Paint Magazine and SillyFarm Newsletters.

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Website: http://www.pikadillyfacepainting.com