Sue McNally's Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge : A Makeup Adaptation

As an aspiring makeup artist, I often like combining traditional makeup techniques with unexpected subject matter. Once I decided to look at Land Ho! from this perspective I found that there is so much that can be taken from these works as inspiration for future makeup designs.

What caught my attention more than anything was color. Sue McNally uses bold and unforgettable colors. Her vibrant color pallet is one that would not often be used in makeup design however; I decided it was something that I couldn’t pass up.

I began by painting half of my face white to match any canvas that a painting would begin on. Once I had my personal canvas on half my face ready to go I created the background working with colors from lightest to darkest. By blending them together I tried to make the colors look as seamless as possible. I began with pale yellow working into light shades of orange and continuing on into the darker more rust-like colors.

Once I was satisfied with the background I added the black streaks across my face to emulate those in “Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.” I paid special attention to the area around my eye to insure that the design looked not only like its own work of art, but also still held some elements of traditional makeup application.

Visiting Land Ho! came with an unexpected surprise. Between the colors and abstract shapes I was able to take away from the show, I was extremely movtivated to create new makeup designs.