Rich Diltz

Body Painter

      Rich has been painting on skin for 14 years. He started painting designs on the hands of small children and has steadily covered more and more of his subjects. For over 8 years his sole income has been as an airbrush face painter and temporary tattoo artist. He has considerable experience in airbrush painting, mural painting, and computer graphics.

        Rich started full body painting at the request of his customers and quickly grew to appreciate the challenge of painting on a moving 3-d object. "I like to work fast", says Rich," and you have to work fast when your canvas is planning to leave in 4 hours." Though Rich is not particularly proud of some of his earliest attempts, he acknowledges that they were necessary. He says," You can't just load makeup into an airbrush and except to get it all right the first time. There are subtle tricks and techniques that must be learned to get the best image you can. I am still very much learning with every new painting."

        Rich has painted for events of all kinds from small photo shoots to huge festivals. He has entertained at corporate functions and theme parks around the United States. While international travel is still elusive, Rich is waiting to see just how far his passion for his art will carry him.

        Rich is happily married and has a daughter to whom he is totally devoted. 

Artists Statement: This work is about many things. It is about transformation, truth versus illusion, the fragility of the moment, the limits of the imagination, and the amazing variety of beauty and power. Body painting is one of our most ancient art forms and one of our most basic. To be able to participate in this act, to see the effect of the transformation on the model is an incredible experience. With all this in mind, if I hear one more joke about "finger-painting" I may need to hurt something.