The Lady Who Paints Legs

Amy Shane is a book reviewer and special events editor for the Independent Voice Newspaper in Missouri, USA, and first came to my attention on Instagram when she recreated one of my book covers...on her own body!

I'm used to seeing my artwork pop up on people's skin via the tattooist's gun - always an unexpected thrill which fills me with admiration and curiosity for the brave human who's done it - but this was different. This was a full-on, body-paint recreation of the cover in all its detail, on a difficult and unusual surface.

Amy's recreated more of my covers since, and as someone will happily talk in public or in front of an audience but doesn't exactly embrace selfie culture let alone photographing anything from the neck down, I wanted to ask her about what she does and why. This blog's normally about what I'm doing, so I thought I would probe someone else about their strange and fascinating hobby!

We, of course have the common ground of the printed book, so I think Amy and I will be in touch for a long time to come.

 She can be found on Instagram as amy_fortheloveofbooks

Please explain what your ‘real-life’ job is, and how you came to be the amazing Amy Who Paints On Her Legs?

My “real-life” job is also book related and why I ended up with an Instagram account in the first place. I am a Professional Book Reviewer, and have a newspaper column called 'For the Love of Books'. I'm nearing on eight years now, so I guess you could say I am always surrounded by books. I started on Instagram because the publishers wanted to see an online presence; honestly, I went in kicking and screaming, afraid I would never figure how it all works. 

After about eight months and totally lost on how to find my own presence, I started thinking about what books really meant to me - when you read an amazing book it’s as if you become part of it, you fall into the story, and well that’s where the idea began. I then thought about making myself part of the story and started researching paints. To be honest, I have never painted before or have taken an art class. I just doodle when I am bored. So, I bought some body paints and started playing, and the rest is history. 

 

My ‘Forest Queen’ was one of the first ‘leg’ paintings that you posted on Instagram. The legs seem an odd choice at first but they’re the natural resting place for a book when reading. Have you painted anywhere else? With or without success?

I originally started on my arm and hand, then my chest. I enjoyed painting on my chest (and matching lipstick to the paint colors) however, I have to paint completely backwards, which at times can be a bit complicated, especially when dealing with words. It took me awhile to realize I could just paint on my legs. My legs also give me space to get in more detail and aren’t a flat surface, which is easier for me to paint on. I still can’t paint on canvas or flat paper, it doesn’t make sense to me either, lol.

Some technicals:

What do you paint with? Do you use both hands?  

I only use Mehron Paradise AQ body paints. After a lot of research, I really value the company and the ingredients they use in their paints. They include:  aloe, cocoa butter, avocado oil, lemon grass, cucumber extract, and vitamin E so they smell and feel wonderful.  

They have also been around for over 90 years, so they have to be doing something right! I also use NYX brand spray primer (Just to get a smooth surface and prep the skin) and matte sealer just as an added protection when I am done.  I just paint with one hand. When it’s nice outside I love painting on my back porch, overlooking the cornfields (where I take pictures for  my stories). My neighbors must truly think I am nuts!

How long do they take you - from x hours to…? 

An average paint takes anywhere from 2 ½ hours to 4 hours, depending on how much detail there is, or how particular I get with myself. And yes, if any of you are wondering: I have gotten so frustrated that I have scraped the whole paint and washed it of before I changed my mind.

How do you wash it off? 

Just plain water. The whole paint washes off in about 10 seconds. Which is why I have to be super careful, and why I add the sealing spray. And yes, I have spilt water on my legs and lost the whole paint. 

What’s the criteria for choosing a book cover to reproduce? 

The cover art is really the first thing I look at, and if it is it something I can attempt to replicate. I can’t do photos, or people. Parts of faces yes, whole people – no way lol. I will also choose a book if I read the book and loved it, or by the author or publisher reaching out. Sometimes I go in themes. Really there is no rhyme or reason to my brain - lol!

Is there one you haven’t done yet that you really want to do? 

There are so many that I want to do, my list grows everyday. One older title I would love to do is 'Splintered' by AG Howard. I loved the series and the cover art. 

Do you have aspirations to create covers yourself? You’re clearly creative, with dexterous skills! 

I honestly never thought about it.  

And how many books do you have lined up to paint at the moment?  

At the present moment I have a list of 13 that are lined up with upcoming release dates,  and 3 already painted ready to be posted.

~ Thanks to Amy for answering my mildly predictable but nosy questions! ~

 

 

Gold Rush Girl!

I had two concerns before starting this cover:

This was one of those books where I so enjoyed reading the manuscript I was worried about getting too close to it all, and not being able to do it justice.

Second, it had to have ships on the cover. SHIPS. Accurately-drawn, historical ships (a ketch and a brig, to be precise).

I can barely get your average domesticated animal right (unless they need to be deliberately wonky) so this was a bother. However, with the constant feedback of art director Matt at Candlewick Press, the process, although a challenge and a learning curve, was nowhere near as as much of a struggle as I thought it might be.

But this is the kind of stuff I had to study, printed out on many sheets of A3 paper!

 

Set in San Francisco in 1848, the book tells the story of Tori, aka Victoria, who stows away on an arduous sea journey against her father's advice to the new lands where he's looking for gold. She leaves behind a safe, comfortable family home, but pines for adventure; what follows is a richly-detailed story of the real peril, physical hardship and unpredictable adventure she experiences.

The children's clothes had to be pretty bang-on too, so reference was required for those. Thank the lord for Adobe Stock and the internet at large!

 

Aside from the ships - which are really central to the story - details like the never ending rain; the mud, the pathetic tent the family is forced to live in, Tori's big plait, the roaring sea, and building sense of community within the prospectors all needed capturing for the cover. Not to mention the threatening aura of the ship in the background.

All of this was set against what needed to be a faithful representation - as best we could get it, allowing for SOME artistic licence - of the shores of San Fran in the mid 1800s. Check out these detailed images of the camps and areas where the gold prospectors set up their new, and hopefully temporary, homes:

 

The sketching was all done on A2 cartridge paper in pencil, with initial roughs created in my sketchbook. Several ideas were explored:

   

The cover had had a treatment designed already, but it wasn't hitting the mark for its intended middle grade (8-12) audience; a little too serious. The robust characters were key, and I was delighted to be creating all three of them, suggesting different assemblies and poses.

Eventually a sketch was chosen:

We fiddled about a bit with whether Tori should be standing, or sitting and pointing:

       

before going ahead with the process of refining, and colouring it all in:

Perhaps the easiest way to show you THAT bit is to play you the time-lapse! 

Created entirely from this point in Procreate with Apple Pencil and my iPad Pro, here's the full process. Total time was...many hours, spread over a few days:

And here's the finished book, complete with its gold-foiled title! (the hand belongs to art director Matt Roeser, who directed the project) - thanks Matt!)

The book is published on Tuesday March 10th, 2020, and you can get a copy here if you're in the USA, and here if you're in the UK, where it's published a little later, in May.

‘Out To Get You’! Story 14: ‘Lumpy, Lumpy’

I’m posting one of the original artworks created for 'Out To Get You' every day; that’s one story a day for all 13 stories - and this is the extra story that the author Josh wrote as a 'bonus-ball'. 

This one was printed in the additional little booklet sent out with pre-order and early copies of the book. You can still get one if you want one - we have about 10 left!

This one was made with pencil, ink and collage, and was posed for me by my friend Sara's daughter Evie, also a fan of the dark and murky who lives just a minute's walk from my house. She stood very still looking appalled at an empty bowl for ten minutes while I flitted around her with a camera.

"If I kept dumping it, the oatmeal would just keep getting nastier and nastier. It would turn completely green and fuzzy, and it would start to seep and smell like the bottom of our garbage bin. 

If I didn’t do something soon, it might even become completely infested with maggots.

So it was time. 

Eat it, I thought, and end it. 

So I lifted my favorite yellow bowl from the microwave, and slowly, I grabbed a spoon from the drawer."

More about the book, including where to buy it and how to get its fabulous accompanying freebies at outtogetyou.run

‘Out To Get You’! Story 13: ‘The Stain On The Cafeteria Floor’

I’m posting one of the original artworks created for 'Out To Get You' every day; that’s one story a day for all 13 stories, plus the extra story that the author Josh wrote as a 'bonus-ball'. You get to see all the gnarly pen-and-ink details close up, which are often not seen when printed in the book!

This is the last of the 13 illustrations, and the first one I completed when working on the book.

I couldn't wait to start work on the final illustrations, having sketched out ideas for weeks beforehand. This is the malevolent soda machine overseeing the disgusting, murky stain on the floor of the school canteen.

What is it?

Why is it getting bigger?

Why does it look...ALIVE?

Here's an extract:

"Just like the dime, the stick of gum fell somehow past the floor...or through the floor, and, just like the dime, the gum twisted, grew smaller, and disappeared.

     "It's like a portal," said Malia.

     "Can we please just get away from it?" Janet said from behind her. 'I don't like it, Malia. Can we just get away?"

Malia turned. Janet's hands were white."

More about the book, including where to buy it and how to get its fabulous accompanying freebies at outtogetyou.run

‘Out To Get You’! Story 12: ‘Neat-o Burrito’

I’m posting one of the original artworks created for 'Out To Get You' every day; that’s one story a day for all 13 stories, plus the extra story that the author Josh wrote as a 'bonus-ball'. You get to see all the gnarly pen-and-ink details close up, which are often not seen when printed in the book!

This is the curiously-names 'Neat-o Burrito'.

Here's an extract:

"And now I know something for sure.

This genie is no good. This genie is trouble.

There's no way I'm making a wish. A lump fills my chest, and I take a few steps back.

     "Do you wish for wealth?" the genie asks. he says it low and kind of threatening.

I don't say anything.

     "Do you wish for fame?" he says.

He wants to destroy me. I can see that."

More about the book, including where to buy it and how to get its fabulous accompanying freebies at outtogetyou.run

‘Out To Get You’! Story 11: ‘Staring Contest’

I’m posting one of the original artworks created for 'Out To Get You' every day; that’s one story a day for all 13 stories, plus the extra story that the author Josh wrote as a 'bonus-ball'. You get to see all the gnarly pen-and-ink details close up, which are often not seen when printed in the book!

"The eye seemed to shift and open itself slightly wider.

It must be the light, Livvy told herself. The moon, she figured, coming out from behind a cloud and shining though her window, Still, she tried not to blink.

After a few seconds, her eyes began to water.

She held her stare, but when the burning became too much, she blinked.

When she opened her eyes, the ceiling seemed suddenly lower, as if it had dropped a few inches, maybe half a foot close during the few seconds her eyes had been closed..."

Eyes were hidden everywhere in this illustration, as you can...see...

More about the book, including where to buy it and how to get its fabulous accompanying freebies at outtogetyou.run