Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Fugate-Downs.
Anna, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
On the list of the many exquisite qualities of my life, my job (which is essentially, to play dress-up for a living) ranks highly. When I began to play with makeup in my middle- and high school theater classes, I didn’t dream that any number of those bright red lipstick tubes and jars of thick base could build the foundation the only real, full-time job I’ve ever had.
I grew up in Corpus Christi – a loud, weird, artistic kid who loved theatre moved to Austin after high school to study at UT in the Fine Arts College in 2006. While there, I fell in love with the painstaking process of making wigs for the theatric productions and graduated with a degree (no joke) in Wig Making and Makeup Design. I made the trek north to Canada to attend the Vancouver Film School in their Makeup Design for Film and Television Program – while there, I learned everything from sculpting and mold making to airbrushing and bodypainting to age makeups and special effects!
Arriving back in central Texas in 2011, I began working in makeup retail – first at Sephora and then at MAC. Simultaneously, I had the great fortune to work with photographers to build my portfolio and began to get regular work as a face and body painter, specializing in Day of the Dead sugar skulls. In 2013, I became a full-time freelance artist, working primarily at Hawgfly Productions, Inc. – the largest of very few female-run special effects shops (and where my heart is to this day). We create makeup effects and beauty hair/makeup services for television, film, theatre, print, and live events like fashion shows and conventions!
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I consider myself very lucky to make a living in a different way EVERY DAY using my art! In any given month, my jobs my range from creating false mustaches for a television series, to making a bride look her best on her wedding day, to creating a custom headdress for a photo shoot, to turning regular people into zombies for a film. However, in this smorgasbord of joyful experiences, body and face painting are among my truest passions! I LOVE the ability to completely overhaul a person’s appearance with a few jars of paint and a couple brush strokes. I feel like the wonderful people I work on are never more surprised or delighted at their transformation as when I’m doing a body or face paint — and that reaction is what feels like the biggest reward!
There’s something magical and primal and so, so fleeting about decorating our skin with colors and patterns of our choice. Covering our physical selves somehow also stifles our ego and self-criticism, and luckily, I’ve never experienced a client feeling WORSE about themselves after I’ve painted them. Painting your face or body – whether it’s as a flirty cat or a creepy skeleton – gives people a confidence and power that I wish more people experienced every day of their lives! I also love using my painting to realize an artistic vision. I love nothing more than being approached by a photographer with a kernel of a concept that I can paint onto a model and collaboratively create a beautiful, impactful image.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
The life of an artist, while joyous, has never and will never be easy. Art can seem frivolous or self-indulgent to those who desire to focus on more calculable parts of life, like commerce. I would argue that other things that would be considered frivolous and self-indulgent – like social media – are in fact some of the most effective weapons to wield in those numbers-driven fields! In essence, the struggle of every artist is the inherent need to defend the value of their art. Those who don’t earn in an artistic field may question why they should pay top dollar for an artist’s abilities – almost as though they’re asking, “shouldn’t the enjoyment of earning your money doing ART translate to your time and skill being less expensive?”
And when you are lucky enough to be paid fairly, the second blow in the one-two punch of being an artist lands – the lack of financial stability or benefits! Many artists tend to experience the cyclical feast-and-famine of seemingly having “too much work” immediately followed by “not enough work”. Budgeting and keeping track of a freelance artist’s income, taxes, invoices, payments, and debts sometimes feels like another full-time job altogether!
Luckily, no artist is an island and the support of a community is essential to an artistic lifestyle. Cities like Houston and states like Texas can support my particular realm of art by supporting film crews in your area! The Motion Picture industry in Texas has been under attack by lawmakers who are under the impression that Texan dollars are being spent into “Hollywood” pockets – when in reality, those dollars are incentives for productions to bring their business to our state and hire, buy, rent, and spend in Texas. To support my art even more directly, please consider becoming a monthly patron of Hawgfly Productions, Inc at www.patreon.com/Hawgfly. Your support will directly fund the creation of incredible collaborative projects like photoshoots, music videos, conventions, and films!
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I mostly showcase my face and bodypainting work on social media as Omnia Makeup Art (@omnia.makeup.art). As a freelance artist working in television and film, my work appears far past my ability to keep up with it! However, I have had the great fortune to work on many productions over the past 5 years, and many of those have been produced by the same companies. Some of my favorite film or TV projects have been seasons 2&3 of HBO’s THE LEFTOVERS, both seasons of AMC’s THE SON, Rooster Teeth’s upcoming feature BLOODFEST, and the ongoing Rooster Teeth series MILLION DOLLARS, BUT… This series has been my particular favorite because I’m challenged to use my entire library of knowledge to help recreate ludicrous scenarios that the cast members of Rooster Teeth propose to each other in exchange for a hypothetical million dollars (such as, “You get a million dollars, but for the rest of your life you have muppet arms and googly eyes”).
I also greatly appreciate support on Hawgfly’s Patreon account (www.patreon.com/Hawgfly) – our wide spectrum of talented artists livestream events in the special effects shop, produce behind-the-scenes content on our TV and film projects, and provide in-depth tutorial videos for our Patrons! We partner with other production companies as well as models, actors, photographers, guest artists, cosplayers, and musicians to create everything from glamour to gore and we’d love for you to be a part of the fun by influencing our projects!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.patreon.com/Hawgfly
- Email: omnia.makeup.art@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/omnia.makeup.art/
Image Credit:
Image: Felicia Reed Photography, Model: Josephine McAdams, Wardrobe: Ali Meg
Image: Exquisite Photo Austin, Model: Josephine McAdams
Image: Anna Fugate-Downs, Model: Christine Forbus
Image: Neil Schaffel, Model: Model: Jennifer Larsen
Image: Anna Fugate-Downs, Model: Ash Downs
Image: Anna Fugate-Downs, Model: Ashley Jenkins
Image: Deverill Weekes, Model: Hannah Gushue
Image: Anna Fugate-Downs, Model: Beverly Theodore, Wig: Serret Jensen, Wardrobe: Blair Hurry
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