One of my greatest personal challenges is achieving a high standard of face painting whilst ‘on-the-job’, as it’s one thing being able to paint beautifully in the comfort of my own home at a speed I’m comfortable with, and another being able to paint quickly and impeccably whilst there’s a big queue of children hanging off your shoulder!
For me, like anything, it’s all about practise practise practise. I can only get better at speed face painting by doing speed face painting. I aim to complete a face in 3-5 minutes, however, it’s always lovely when there’s a not a huge queue and I can spend up to 10 minutes on a face. Most of these below were painted on-the-job in under 5 minutes.

On-the-job face painting butterfly using TAG unicorn

On-the job 2-3 min half butterfly
I love playing with this colour palette (TAG unicorn), and in addition to painting countless one stroke butterflies and rainbow butterflies with it, it can be used for so many different looks. Combine TAG unicorn one stroke with Lea Selley’s Graffiti eye stencils and you can make something super funky.

On-the-job Graffiti eye design
It’s always a pleasure when I have a few extra minutes on a job and can do a quick little cheek illustration. Whilst working at Treetop Adventure Golf this summer, toucan’s were frequently requested and I had lots of fun playing with this design!

On-the-job toucan cheek design with ‘one-stroke’ leaves
One stroke face painting, as you guys know, is my favourite type of on-the-job painting and the possibilities are just endless. Not only can you paint beautiful florals with one strokes, but they can be used for superheroes and villains too. Here’s a recent hulk face painting I did with a green one stroke palette.
Tigers are amongst my most requested face painting design. Mark Reid is the ultimate master of tigers and his work is always my go to for inspiration. Achieving the perfect tiger stripe is again all about practise and finding the perfect brush for you. My trusty Loew Cornell enables me to create tiger stripes like those below.

On-the-job tiger at a recent birthday party

On-the-job mummy and me tiger face paint
Sometimes the painting isn’t particularly spectacular but the kid is just so damn cute I can’t resist taking a photo. This little Mario was just so adorable and whilst not the best advert for my face painting skills, it shows the sheer joy of face painting so job done!

Super quick on-the-job Mario face paint
Until next time,