New Zealand Woman’s Weekly 31
fabulous art form, but not shock
or offend people. Hence, the
clever placement of costume
elements and nipple covers.
Of course, there are always
going to be people who are
offended, even simply by naked
mannequins in shop windows.
It’s easy to see why some
might think it’s a bit out there
or strange. But to me, it’s so
perfectly normal and natural.
I took part in a nationwide
campaign called Love Your
Body, which celebrated women’s
bodies of all shapes and sizes.
I painted a shirt and shorts on a
curvy model in a shopping mall,
and a few people came down
the escalator with eyes likesaucers. The model
then walked down
Auckland’s busy
Ponsonby Road with
only a few noticing
she had body paint
on as clothes – it can
be very deceptive to
the eye.
In the early days,
I offered body
painting to a lot of
charity events and
once pitched the
idea of painting a
daffodil design on
a model, to help
fundraise for the
Cancer Society’s
Daffodil Day. They
loved the idea.
We painted in
Auckland Domain
while being filmed
for breakfast
television. Every
time they crossed to the
weather, the model would
disrobe to show the progress.
At lunchtime, we caused a bit
of a kerfuffle with the collection
bucket on Newmarket’s
Broadway. Then we headed to
the waterfront restaurants along
Viaduct Harbour. Usually those
bars and eateries don’t allow
in bucket collectors to disturb
their patrons, but because the
collector was body painted,
they welcomed her. When
she came out, her bucket
was overflowing.
A very special project I was
invited to be involved with was
body painting a Kiwi woman
affected by breast cancer, for
the 2013 Pink Ribbon Calendar.
I was partnered with mum-of-
three Karin Horen, who has
twice battled breast cancer.We met for coffee so I could
learn about her story and
transform it into artwork. Karin’s
passion is stand-up paddle
boarding, so we captured that
with the water design.
On the day of the shoot, the
atmosphere in the studio was
very emotionally charged. The
ladies were in their dressing
gowns while we painted and
there were lots of giggles with
the de-robing, just like a scene
from the Calendar Girls movie.
As an art form, face and body
painting has come such a long
way in recent years. When I was
starting out, all you could find in
the library were stage make-up
books. There were no YouTube
tutorials, so I taught myself and
practised on family and friends,
and even my husband Mike’s
back at times.
I met Mike when I went for
a job as a paste-up artist in a
printing firm. I was 20 and didn’t
know what the job entailed, but
applied because it had the word
artist in the ad! Along I went
with my portfolio of sketches to
this printing firm and, of course,
the manager looked at me like
I was slightly daft. But I got the
job managing the shop instead.
In 1990, my mum and
stepdad flew us out to New
Zealand for a holiday. We really
liked it so we emigrated on my
eldest son’s third birthday. Being
here has definitely allowed me
to pursue my dream of creating
art, and now my other two
children are involved too.
My daughter Rosie (24) is
often my assistant for body-
painting projects and my
youngest son Jack (20) is a
talented photographer.” #
As told to Fleur GuthrieQuick-fire:
First memory of living
in New Zealand? Being
able to see One Tree Hill out of
our bathroom window. The U2
song was one of our favourites in
the UK, so we couldn’t believe
that we had a ringside view of it.
I love to collect...
Mannequins! Some people find
them creepy, but I love them.^I am always on the lookout^
for them!
What’s your favourite
theme to paint? Kiwiana.
It’s become a bit of a trademark
of mine.
The longest time I’ve
spent body painting^
is... Eight hours, with an
assistant, for a competition.Body of work:
Jane’s designs can
cover head to toe,
with the odd baby
bump in-between.Jane’s Daffodil Day
design helped raise
buckets of cash for
the Cancer Society.
Below: On Ponsonby
Road, Jane’s model
didn’t stand out
from the crowd.