Today we’d like to introduce you to Bethany Mclean
Hi Bethany, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Bethany started face painting as a fun activity for her church. Eventually she found an online painting community and became connected with professionals who helped her gain the skills to become a pro face painter. Over the years, with classes and conventions under her belt, she has added henna and full body painting as well as airbrush body art to her repertoire.
Kahlil has been an artist since childhood, attending art school in Florida for animation, and began face painting by answering an ad in the paper for the Orlanda theme parks. That company sent him to Japan for 4 out of 14 years to get their park locations established. He added body painting to his skill set for festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival and Fantasy Fest. After meeting Bethany and starting their relationship, he moved to Atlanta to join the thriving art community here, where he continues to draw and paint canvas alongside the face and body art.
Between the two, they represent over 45 years of combined experience in their field.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Kahlil: Mostly so. I remember once while in Japan, the local government couldn’t decide if we were makeup artists or entertainers. So for awhile we had to sell a small sample of the makeup, and the face paint itself was merely a “demo”, until they figured out how to classify us. That’s probably the biggest challenge I faced.
Bethany: Since I started on my own, I had to learn everything from scratch, not least being how to budget through the winter when events slow to a trickle. Navigating COVID and implementing new sanitation protocols was a real challenge as well. Now as our business grows in a different direction, we are learning how to balance travel and local work.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The short answer is we are painters! We use makeup for people and regular paint for everything else, but basically if it sits still long enough, we can paint it….canvas, murals, windows, and working on doing clothing. Most of our work is face and body art, from cheek art on faces to full scale body painting and henna. We are known for our speed, quality, professionalism, and the fun atmosphere we bring to any event. We are most proud of mentoring up and coming artists. We are breaking the stereotype of the starving artist, and showing others both back home in St. Croix and our Atlanta community that it IS possible to support yourself and your family in the art world, doing what you love. Our most unique quality is that we never turn down a challenge. In our industry, people ask for things that span a myriad of styles, and we have to be able to produce that. With our combined skills, we can meet almost any request. It gives our clients a world of flexibility for whatever their event needs.
How do you think about happiness?
Bethany: Hands down, it’s what we call the “mirror moment”! When you show a person their piece after it’s finished and their face lights up with joy, they feel beautiful or fierce or funny or whatever they wanted to be. That’s everything to me.
Kahlil: The opportunity to constantly create. Every day there’s the possibility to create new pieces that push my skills and keep things fresh.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hbartsint.com
- Instagram: Hbartsint
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hbartsint
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@bethanybodyart
Image Credits
@mjgphotography
@facefxbranson
