I have always been a tomboy my whole life. I was never into dolls or dressing up in glamorous outfits and prancing around the house. As I grew older I found that I was more comfortable being in my softball uniform covered in dirt and dark as all get out from the hot summer sun. I thought it was cool that I was so different from the other girls in school. I would spend my afternoons at the river, bare foot and donning a nice pair of cut off corduroy shorts. Nice huh.
Midway through college I moved up to Portland Oregon where I got my first big girl job at an apartment complex. The job was amazing, paid really well, but forced me to jump into the unfamiliar world of fashion. My coworker helped me pick out some skirts and heels and taught me how to be a lady. She would gently guide me into the professional world which I am still eternally thankful for.
To this day I still don't know what to do with myself. I only own 2 shades of eye shadow and I only truly know one of them. So, in a lot of ways makeup artists are really interesting to me. They act just like a painter. I have been doing art my entire life and have painted lots of portraits. They lay down the foundation of color, add shadow to create structure and depth. They work the colors to expose the beauty in the image/ face and then add mascara to create that final touch of contrast to make the masterpiece really come together.
I first met Karen while photographing Jessica & Matt's wedding in Portland Oregon. She was vigilantly working on a bridesmaids makeup when I walked in. The first thing that I noticed is that she had a drawing that she created from the practice meeting. I was so impressed. I hadn't seen that before and immediately started to look at her in new light. Her approach was very different and very professional. Her work was beautiful. I can't believe that she was able to work on so many woman and do such an amazing job. I have since worked with her on another wedding and she did amazing job then too. I will be adding her to our preferred vendors list for sure and would recommend her to anyone.