Linda Schrenk: Body Artist

Coy with Geisha

Photos by Mindy Kerr of Nature's Child Photography
Model: (Coy and Geisha- Katie Benton)
Model: (Hela : Nordic Goddess of the Underworld) Cheyenne Royer

Have you ever wondered how Hollywood transforms regular people into creatures like Jennifer Lawrence’s character Mystique in X-men? Often times the effect is created with the art form of body painting. As evidenced by the work of featured artist Linda Schrenk, Body painting is no longer reserved for face painting or highly stylized films.. 

Body painting is an unexpected medium for fine art which has gained popularity in recent years locally with a co-op of artists, models and photographers, B.A.R.E. or Body Art Refined Exhibition, who specialize in body art, painting and special effects.  B.A.R.E. was spearheaded by artist Whitney Myers.
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Artists paint the entire body in great detail, often using a concept to develop a rough sketch which is then painted.  You may have seen some of the body art on display on models at the monthly Jax Art Walk.  St. Johns Magazine and photographer Mindy Kerr of Nature’s Child Photography had the privilege of observing the entire process as artist Linda Schrenk painted her model during an eight hour paint jam held at photography studio, Studio 3E in Jacksonville.  The title of Linda’s piece was Coy and Geisha.  In the final moments, the art comes alive in shocking beauty, reflecting the artist’s understanding of color, her skill and patience.

Linda Schrenk is a  wife to Dave Schrenk (31 years), mom of 5 kids (Alecia 31, Katie 25, Hannah 23, David 22 and Aaron 17). She is a face and body artist and the owner of Amazing Face Painting by Linda. She works with the medium of cosmetic grade face and body paint and she loves to paint people.

Why do you do what you do? 
I love face and body art. I love transforming the human body into a colorful canvas of living art. It's empowering to the model to be clothed in art.

How do you work? 
I pre-plan out a design idea by sketching it out in a notebook. I research a subject and search for images online, in nature, clothing patterns, etc. Anything that inspires an idea. For commissioned pieces I plan a design with the model or photographer. 

What’s your background?  
I've always been an artist. My earliest memories are from when I was 4 and drawing horses. I was really into comic books a as a teen and started drawing people from the characters. I was accepted into a commercial graphics program in High School. I then went to Villa Maria College in Buffalo, NY for their Commercial Graphics Program. Like many artists, I was searching for my place in the world and dropped out.

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I married my husband Dave Schrenk and became a Navy Wife. We've been married 31 years and have 5 children. I didn't draw or paint and my art was almost forgotten. Thirteen years ago I was teaching art in a homeschool/after school program in trade so my son could have dance lessons. One of my student's mom gave me the opportunity to face paint for her at an event. I fell in love with the medium.  What could be better than to hang out with kids and be creative! I face painted as a hobby on and off till 2008. In 2007 my husband was retired from the Navy and by 2008 he became a full time college student and we needed a 2nd income. I decided to turn my hobby into a business. This was the birth of Amazing Face Painting by Linda. This has grown into a full entertainment company with a team of face painters, Balloon twisters, clowns,.magicians, and other entertainment services to Jacksonville and surrounding areas. I started body painting in 2014 from the encouragement of my friend and fellow body artist Whitney Myers. She created a body paint jam for artists to learn and explore this new and growing medium.

Explain what you do in a way that would help lay people understand it.
I paint people. To some they may look 'naked' but they are clothed in art. Body Painting has a bad Rep. People associate it with the porn industry but as a body artist I work very hard to dismiss this stigma. I'm the person that turns my head when a scene gets to steamy in a movie. But the body is a beautiful work of art and I like to showcase it. Being painted is very freeing. The models are not naked. My goal is to never sexualize the imagery but to enhance the beauty.

Things to know. It can take 5-8 hours to paint a body head to toe. The hardest part is time management. Unlike canvas, your model needs breaks, must eat and drink, etc. You can walk away from a canvas and come back a few days later and work on it some more. You can't do this when painting a body. There's usually a deadline for a show or photoshoot. So, you plot and plan out how best to complete everything you want to accomplish before your deadline.

How has your art changed over time
I started as a pencil and ink artist and had no concept of color theory. Body Painting has encouraged me to expand as an artist and learn other mediums like canvas.

What art do you most identify with?
I love nature and realism.

What work do you most enjoying doing?
My favorite form of body painting is prenatal designs. The pregnant body growing life is a beautiful thing. I love planning out a design the perfectly matches a family.

Tell us a little about how you give back by helping sick children? 
I paint immobilization cancer treatment masks for the kids at UF Health Proton Therapy. 
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What’s your favorite art work or your favorite artist & why? 
I love Monet because of a coffee table book in my home but many of my favorite artists are other face and body painters that have pioneered the art form. Scott and Madelyn Greco(5 time world bodypainting champions) and Tera Bakker for her realism.