Category Archives: Transformation Theory

my philosophy of face and body painting

Body Painting: The Irabaki Demon — painted at IMATS New York Makeup Trade Show

© 2012 bodypainting by Christopher Agostino    model: Lisa Greenberg

  The she-demon Irabaki haunts the bridge between this world and the next , appearing as the beautiful princess she used to be. Under command of the emperor, the legendary samurai Watanabe no Tsuna comes out of retirement to battle the demon and clear the bridge. Finding the princess, he sees through the demon’s illusion. Tsuna grabs the demon with one hand as it transforms into its true shape, while swinging his sword with the other to cut off the demon’s arm before it can escape. Continue reading →

Body Painting Video — The Making of Kryolan 2011 Calendar: Unique Gallery of Modern Art

I just received the new video from Kryolan Professional Makeup on the making of their 2011 calendar. Every year, Kryolan puts out a large format calendar featuring makeup art and body painting. 2011 featured body paintings inspired by famous 19th and 20th century artists, created by a Natalia Pavlova’s Team of artists from Russia (with Anastasia Malysheva and Juliana Mahtyuk) under the direction of Elena Samarina, the head of the Arte-Grim Company, distributor of Kryolan products throughout the Russian federation. The video is also a tour of the extensive line of Kryolan products, including those beautiful big aluminum makeup cases they make.

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Watanabe No Tsuna and the Ibaraki Demon in Japanese Art

Come see me at the Kryolan Professional Makeup booth at IMATS New York, April 14 to see the painted body I’ve designed based on this image research and the story of the battle between Watanabe no Tsuna and the Irabaki Demon.

I had no idea this story was such a well known legend until I did a Google Image search of “Watanabe No Tsuna” and turned up a lot of results, many of them depictions of the battle with the Irabaki Demon. Here are a few:

Depicting the demon having recovered her arm - by Kiyotada

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