Brushing up on dead French queen

KIRK HARGREAVES/The Press

TICKLISH JOB: Makeup design student Julie Clark, left, practises her body art skills on Kylie Morell in preparation for Cup Week.

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An emerging Christchurch artist will mix gore and glamour for her body-art debut in Addington's Cup Day fashion stakes tomorrow.

Julie Clark is one of six 2009 graduates from the Design and Arts College of New Zealand's makeup design and production course entering this year's competition.

She described her design as a "dead Marie Antoinette" theme.

The former French queen, who was executed by guillotine in 1793, will be recreated with a large wig, hand-painted corset and a blood-drop pattern from the neck changing into jewels.

"I quite liked the idea, so I just developed it and made it a little more intense," she said.

Clark, whose speciality was prosthetics, said she enjoyed skin as a canvas.

Creating the design on the day would take about five hours.

While it was difficult stopping her own eyes from "fuzzing over" during the process, she said a model without good concentration was problematic.

"It's people who are ticklish, and they twist and turn. If you bump the airbrush, it's very hard to keep the consistency."

The college's makeup design and production programme co-ordinator, Koa Minifie, said the quality of entries at Addington had improved with the art form's increased popularity.

She was a competition judge for the past two years.

"It's no longer enough just to have body paint on," she said.

"The techniques are becoming more refined and people are definitely spending a lot of time. These students will spend between four and six hours achieving these body paintings."

Designs now mixed styles and materials by incorporating costuming, hand-painting and airbrushing, Minifie said.

Cup fashion co-ordinator Angela Stone said body art was becoming a popular section of the fashion competition.

"More and more people are entering every year."