Saraswati shows up at the Cincinnati Art Museum

by Christopher Agostino www.agostinoarts.com

In Cincinnati for the National Storytelling Network Conference, I got a chance to go to the Cincinnati Art Museum. A special exhibit on musical instruments included a “Mayuri” from India, a stringed instrument fashioned in the shape of a peacock in reference to the goddess Saraswati — combining two of her iconic representations. Nice to see her again, so soon after painting her.

At the museum, a minor kerfuffle. I had particularly wanted to see the current exhibit “The Collections: 6,000 Years of Art“, displayed in an old-fashioned cabinet style, with lots of unlabeled stuff side by side in jammed glass cabinets. Towards the end I saw a piece of painted pottery from ancient Greece depicting Heracles Continue reading →

Zebras — Body Painting at FABAIC 2012 with Kryolan Aquacolors

Jun13

"Zebras" — painted on May 26 at FABAIC 2012

by Christopher Agostino www.agostinoarts.com

I clipped a foto a few years back of two zebras crossing their necks like this, and thought how well it fit the shapes of a woman’s shoulders. Once the design is worked out, this is an enjoyable kind of body painting to do, because the painting process is pretty straightforward: block in the white areas for the zebras, add the shading over the white and then the black stripes on top—the stripes which fool the eye and make it all work just like they do on a zebra.

From the "Nuba Bird Dance", Bodies Alive!

The back design makes play with a photograph of a painted dancer from the Bodies Alive! show at FABAIC a few years back. Continue reading →

Face Painting Gallery— Tribal Approach at NY Restoration Project Family Day

Jun7

Saturday June 2, 2012 at the beautifully restored Swindler Cove Park for New York Restoration Project Family Day. For our third event at this beautiful location we chose to paint faces using a tribal mask approach, based particularly on the cultural use of face painting and masks based in nature images and intended to evoke nature spirits.