About Trina Merry | NYC Bodypainter

IT ALL STARTED…

When NYC Bodypainter Trina Merry was struck by lightning in Hollywood, it altered the course of her life. Everything turned white and there was a loud buzzing sound as the lighting filled her car. The most incredible aching sensation shot through her bones. Suffering from continuous a painful ache in her bones whenever she was near power lines or any electrical wires, she escaped to the sheltering forest of Yosemite National Park hoping for reprieve. She spent a year painting by a little stream where she made friends with the local deer.

It was during this time that she had a few glasses of absinthe with Amanda Palmer (the Dresden Dolls, TED Talks). Palmer encouraged Trina to stand onstage and get body painted with the Dolls opening act- an Australian synesthesia art rock band called “The Red Paintings”. While wearing a silver mask that shot laser beams out into the audience, she experienced complete strangers painting her body with brightly colored space toys. Something sparked: Art had a heart beat. Art could be vulnerable. Art was… happening.

MEET TRINA MERRY

Trina Merry has performed and exhibited at the Whitney Biennial, Getty Villa, San Jose Museum of Art with Andy Goldsworthy, Attleboro Arts Museum, ESMoA (solo and with Rick Carter), Museo De Bardini (Florence), Edward Hopper House, Art Basel Miami, Red Dot Miami, Spring Break Art Show, Superfine! Art Fair, Satellite Art Show, Untitled Gallery, WORKS San Jose & SOMArts alongside the Guerilla Girls. Her initial exhibition of "Lust of Currency" at the LES arts collective "Con Artist" sold out in only three days. She was a summer resident at Robert Wilson's Watermill Center, apprentice to Skin Wars judge Craig Tracy, and has a BFA in film. She’s been on half a dozen reality tv shows and every major news network has featured her artwork.

She’s currently working on a travel camouflage bodypaint series and splits her time between her studios in Dallas and NYC.

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FAQ

If you’ve ever been curious about the art of bodypainting and what goes into it, this interview with Trina Merry, an accomplished New York City artist, will answer some of your questions.

What is technically the most challenging aspect of bodypainting?

I mean when I'm doing my camouflage body paintings outside. Definitely time is the hardest aspect of what I have to deal with as well as things like changing light, environmental factors like weather or other people. Technically the hardest aspect about body painting is that you're painting on a person and that person can be fidgety, they can be ticklish, they can need to use the bathroom, they can sweat, they could have not eaten or drank too much alcohol the night before and you have to sort of babysit them. When you just want to paint. So I think working in community is.. can be challenging sometimes but it's so richly rewarding and I love that every piece of artwork that we make has a heartbeat and a twinkle in the eye. So I think that the technical difficulties that we sometimes have to encounter in a human being is 100% worth it.

How long does it take you to bodypaint?

It takes me anywhere between one and three hours to do the camouflage style body painting. So really fast at those and then human sculptures can take anywhere from two hours to 18 hours. The longest body painting I'd ever did was the yellow human sport bike and that took me about 18 hours to accomplish. So it really varies wildly.

What’s the best kind of bodypaint for sensitive skin?

So for sensitive skin I definitely recommend the hypoallergenic water-based body paint and then I recommend testing for any allergies. So you could just take the inside of your wrist have your painter do some different paint tests on you and within 15 minutes usually you'll know. I definitely recommend that you stay away from any metallic paints like any metallic powders or anything like that because I find that people even with regular skin are breaking out in rashes with it. So stick to hypoallergenic water-based body paints and you should be okay but again do a test just to make sure. Well that's all the questions we got this week. Do you have a question about body paint that you would like answered? Leave it below in the comments and maybe I'll choose your question next week. Thank you so much for your curiosity and if there's a way that I can help you please let me know.

Explain what you do:

I paint on people. Using a single perspective point, I create a trompe du'oeil flattening effect that either camouflages people into an environment or sculpts them into an object.

Are you the photographer of your work?

Yes I photograph my work and am the copyright owner on nearly all my major artworks.

How did you start painting on people?

When Trina Merry was struck by lightning in Hollywood, it altered the course of her life. Everything turned white and there was a loud buzzing sound as the lighting filled her car. The most incredible aching sensation shot through her bones. Suffering from continuous a painful ache in her bones whenever she was near power lines or any electrical wires, she escaped to the sheltering forest of Yosemite National Park hoping for reprieve. She spent a year painting by a little stream where she made friends with the local deer.

How has your family reacted to you being a bodypainter?

They're conservative, but they've been very supportive of my life as an artist and are very happy for me. My dad has bodypainted one of the human motorcycles with me before, which was a special experience.

How big is the Bodypaint community? How many artists do this?

This is a legitimate art medium and there are many artists around the world. However I'd say there's around half a dozen artists or less doing what I specifically do- I am a specialist.

What inspires you?

I like upsetting traditional expectations and social conventions with experiments in beauty and behavior.

What is your dream project?

I’d like to paint alongside indigenous bodypainters- me in my style and them in their style- and juxtapose them together in a photograph to pose questions about what is contemporary art. I've begun this series on Easter Island and am working on doing it on other continents.

What am I seeing? Is this digital art? Are you on location or in the studio with backdrops?

This is not digital art. This is a photograph of a Bodypaint happening. The optical illusion effect is done in person and I'm actually on location taking great risks as a street artist (not using backdrops).

How long does it take to complete a bodypainting?

Typically it takes 1-3 hours for my camouflage paintings, 2-12 hours for my human sculptures and 1-6 hours for other types of bodypainting. I don't really enjoy painting longer than about 4 hours because it's hard to maintain a certain energy consistency & I've been training the team to jump in and grab a paintbrush to make it go faster. The most common thing you'll hear me say on set is "paint faster guys!".

What are the challenges you encounter?

Time is always my biggest enemy and also my most honest friend. Whether it's fighting the sun, a deadline, or flying to another time zone where I re-live the same date twice, I have an accurate awareness and observations about time.

What do people say when they see your art?

When they realize what they're actually looking at they freak out and think it's the coolest thing! "Wow!" is the most common response I hear and read.

Why do you enjoy Bodypaint as opposed to conventional painting?

Painting on people is both physically and energetically exhausting but I love only having a few hours to create a painting from start to finish. That energy is such a burst of creation and to me it most accurately represents the experience of being alive. That buzzing moment when you kiss someone you love suspends time but it does come to an end. I still have drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, installation and video as a part of my process so I don't solely work on the body- but these are done in preparation to service the happening.

What is your favorite bodypainting?

Brooklyn Bridge- its imperfect yet empowered. It's my number one selling print.

Who are your favorite artists or people who've inspired you?

Several trompe duoiel artists like , impressionists working with perspective and single day paintings like Cezanne & Manet, sculptors like Bernini and Michelangelo, optical illusion artis Escher, pop artists like Warhol and Koons, performance artists like Yayoi Kusama, Robert Wilson, Marina Abramovic, Lou Bolin, contemporary artists working with the body like Spencer Tunick and Alex Grey, and of course my awesome Bodypaint peers like Craig Tracy, Joanne Gair, Emma Hack, Emma Cammack, Riina Laine, David Gilmore, Alexa Meade, Verushka, Johannes Stoetter, Gesine Marwedal, Yolanda Bartram, Emma Fay, Elena Talgaria, Fillipo Ioco, Scott and Madelyn Fray, Birgit Mortel, Bella Vollen, Mike Shane and so many more wonderful souls. We all push each other and inspire one another. I never feel alone- wherever I travel in the world, there is a friend & support.

Did you only paint women?

Gender is an interesting discussion right now, isn't it? Half my team identifies as male and half identify as women. My New York series is all female whereas my UK series is all male. It varies but I've been challenging myself to have a balance. I identify more with women when expressing myself obviously.

Where do you find your models?

People request to model for me everyday. There's billions of people on this planet so it's really not hard to find a canvas. I now do closed auditions once a year and take on a limited number of performers on my NYC Bodypaint team.

Aren't you sad when the model washes off your painting?

No actually I detach from the experience almost right away. I've done thousands of bodypaintings now and really just love living in the moment so much. The bond between the human canvas and I of course remains.

What are the prices of your limited edition prints?

The least expensive open edition 8x12" paper prints start at $49 and my most expensive works are $5000- all very affordable and we take payment plans.

Can you paint a client if you have such an offer? And how much would it cost?

Bodypaint is a transformative experience and as a connesouir of experiences I think others should be able to access this experience. I paint up to two normal people per month and the rates are $2500-10k. While I'd like to say it's a once in a lifetime experience, I've had a few clients come back for more and even do a mini series with me.

What painting took the longest to do?

The yellow sport bike titled "Kawasexy" took 18 hours. It was painful for everyone and I don't like painting for that long.

Isn't your artwork pornography?

No. My work does not involve people performing acts or the sale of adult sex toys.

My Bodypaint happenings differ from say Yayoi Kusama who held Bodypaint orgies with the intent to protest war and violence.

My models are occasionally nude which has a well precedented history in art and culture. From churches & museums to fountains and other publicly commissioned works, the fine art nude figure can be found everywhere.

Do you make your living from Bodypaint?

Yes- 100%. I have four income streams: 1) commissions (private or commercial) 2) live art activations 3) sale of limited edition prints 4) royalties/image rights

What kind of paint do you use?

The medium I use is actually called Bodypaint. It's non-toxic, hypoallergenic and FDA approved. My team holds the highest standard for hygiene in the Bodypaint industry. Most bodypainters kits are full of viruses, bacteria and fungus from other people's skin. We do our very best to ensure team members and private clients do not receive STDs or other unwanted infections.

What's painting in the body like versus painting on a traditional canvas?

My canvas has a twinkle in their eye, breath, a heart beat. There's really nothing like using the body as a surface.

What kind of models do you prefer?

I like working with dancers & circus performers- but I enjoy working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds. We all have something to teach and to learn and I like a well-rounded team.

Where are you from? Where do you live now?

I was born in Seattle, lived most of my life in California (Bay Area and Los Angeles) & now I live in New York City.

How did you first become interested in painting?

I began to study art and make music in Seattle as a child. My first art school experience was at around 11-years-old and I grew up visiting the large, inspiring museums of Southern California. I grew up in Seattle during the grunge movement and moved to the Silicon Valley right at the beginning of the Silicon Valley boom in 1992. I was actively influenced by and involved in the environments surrounding me that were driven by some of the defining elements of these two periods: rebellion, pioneering innovation and take-it-all attitudes. I am fortunate because my parents supported me and placed me in several art classes at San Jose Museum of Art in high school. At that time I began to study landscape painting and portraiture drawing, which still heavily influences my camouflage work. Once I began college I was became interested in what was then called “New Media” in the film department. I took some postgraduate experimental video, sculpture and art history courses in Los Angeles. I balanced working in the art department on major films and television shows with my personal experimental video and paint projects.

In 2006 I was introduced to bodypaint by Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls and posed as a human canvas at one of her shows. Shortly after that experience I saw Marina Abramović’s The Artist is Present at the New York Museum of Modern Art and set myself on a different course. During the Great Recession I was living in the San Francisco Bay Area and lost my job, as did 90% of the Bay’s population. While I searched for a job weekly, I mainly focused on building my portfolio and was regularly getting hired for small commissions. After about a year and a half on unemployment I took the plunge as a full-time professional artist. It was a purifying time in my life and really allowed me to focus my thoughts on what inspired my art; consumer materialism.

While you still cannot study body art in art school, I was then fortunate enough to apprentice in New Orleans at the first bodypaint gallery in the world, the Craig Tracy Fine Art Bodypainting Gallery. During this time I was able to hone in on the technical aspects of bodypaint and begin to focus on single pose paintings. As I was studying at the gallery I also received education on the history of bodypaint. I found that these lessons in bodypaint history made me acutely aware of a disconnect existing between the contemporary fine art world and the modern bodypaint community, which features largely illustrative art and is focused on events and competitions.

I was later selected as a summer participant at the Watermill Center in 2013. In addition to studying with Robert Wilson and creating some work alongside him, I was pleased to meet Robert Athey and hear lectures by him, as well as take a workshop with Marina Abramović. My work became more focused on intimacy, the balance of space and force between bodies, connection to sound installation and silence and more site-specific installations. I continued exploring themes of consumer behavior, body image issues, the temporal and the ancient and indigenous influences on minimalistic art. I also paid particular interest to Robert Wilson’s amazing sculpture collection.

Why include bodypaint in your work? Why not continue to work in traditional painting and sculpture?

Bodypaint is an ancient art form and the use of ochre on the skin dates back 425,000 years and has a deeper part in all of our cultures than people tend to realize. Painting on the body is a distinctly human experience; it creates a special connection to a person that other visual art forms have trouble accomplishing. This work has a heartbeat and a breath— it is dynamically alive. The ephemeral nature of bodypaint forces focus and reflects on the reality of existence, which is an incredible thought that I find myself reflecting on frequently while working. I also love the freedom of working in multiple mediums to express myself.

How do you select your locations?

I select my locations by seeking particularly iconic sites that could be included on a bucket list. Many of the reasons why I choose certain sites have to do with a level of curiosity, but also to resonate with their broader, global, political importance.

How do you find your models?

I get about 3-15 model requests per day— so many that I have a massive waiting list that features models from all over the world. In fact, plenty of my private commissions come from people who want to make sure that I can paint them.

For my human sculpture series I look for people with a strong athleticism, such as circus performers, dancers and yogis that share the Humanistic attitude of the Renaissance artists of days past.

However, my body positive camouflage series are more inclusive. You will find a much large range of bodies and abilities in those paintings.

What typically inspires a painting?

I am continually inspired by my own experiences with the world as I experience it as human. When I set to create new work I find myself in the middle of an exploration of a question or a challenge to myself: What is our relationship with our material possessions? How can I make a temple out of 17 people? Where do I fit in as a woman in New York City? How does my astrological sign define me? As I move through my thoughts I choose to collect and express them through bodypaint. Each painting and following photograph captures a moment of my thoughts in the moment of that subject, no more or less. Each series that I make continues to catalog my journey of my relationship with the world as I know it. I am continually learning more about myself, my medium and the world that I inhabit, so it only makes sense to me to continue to search, answer and create.

Is this a sexual experience?

By no means is my work a sexual experience. I do not look at Michaelangelo’s David and have a sexual experience simply because it is a fine art nude. None of my work is poignantly erotic, so I find sexual experiences to be an interesting response to my work. The sexual experience ultimately becomes indicative of the viewers projecting their own fantasies, fears or issues onto the fine art nude figure.

Are you a nudist?

No, I am not a nudist. In fact, I am fairly modest in my personal life, as are many of my models. However, we do want to express a raw, vulnerable human experience in our work, which happens to involve nudity. Moreover, while I may touch on various conceptual issues, my work is not based in activism, but it is simply art.

What is the biggest challenge with your work?

My work is ephemeral by nature and thusly is not meant to last. That fleeting nature can cause both technical challenges, like running or cracking paint to some less tangible challenges like not feeling ready to let go of a painting, but having to. It is also technically very difficult to paint on a person since it is three-dimensional. I often make this work additionally challenging by sculpting together multiple bodies, camouflaging hard lined architecture onto curvy, soft fleshed bodies or creating work from a single perspective point.