We had the good fortune of connecting with Paul Roustan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paul, did college have a meaningful and positive impact for you?
Yes and no. I went to two very renowned art schools. One for my Bachelors degree, and one for my Masters. They offered me excellent opportunity for exploration of techniques and taught me conceptual thinking, but I do not think they were worth the price tag. Realistically, I believe I could learn just as much at a community college for a fraction of the cost. The price was simply for the names on my resume, which I’ll admit, has opened a few doors, and enabled patrons to take me more seriously. My best schooling was working as a caricature artist at a theme park. Being in the trenches, producing artwork in a boot camp manner, just enabled me to really get the hang of commissions, production, and fine tuning techniques. I could never acquire these fully via experimental efforts in college. Nothing tops real world experience.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
There are a quickly growing number of body painters these days, thanks to social media and a few reality shows. The thing that separates me from many of them, is that my work is born from obsession. I tried it once out of curiosity fifteen years ago, and was bit by the bug. I always challenge myself to try things I’ve never seen, or do things better than they’d ever been done. Over the years, I relentlessly explored styles and techniques on skin posting my results online. This public exploration eventually brought me a variety of paid gigs and sponsorships. With professional success comes unexpected challenges like outside direction, social pressures, and money. Each created different psychological hurdles that can sway artistic intention and integrity. This is that common passion killer among artists of any kind, be-it athletes, musicians, painters, etc. And I certainly had my share of dilemmas and loss of motivation as I navigated through new arenas. The thing that kept me on path was continuing to produce artwork true to myself. I found a balance between professional commissions and my own studio work. But my personal work is always the priority regardless of anyone’s opinion or criticism. I want the world to know that the work I’ve produced these past fifteen years is completely made from passion, obsession, and with a huge piece of my heart. I believe the ultimate value of art comes from the authenticity of the artist’s soul.

Any great local spots you’d like to shoutout?
Malaga Cove at Palos Verdes is a place I always take friends that visit me after a tour of the South Bay beaches. Then I’d check out the art shows at the rising galleries in Hermosa Beach, ShockBoxx Gallery and Resin Gallery. Maybe end the night with a beach bonfire at Dockweiler Beach. As a born and raised Chicagoan, I lean towards Portillo’s in Buena Park to feed the yums. Otherwise, I always take friends to good affordable mediterranean food like Chicken Maison or Jus’ Poke in Hermosa Beach. The local music scene is pretty mind blowing with talent too. You can catch a lot of locals performing at St. Rocke, Hermosa Saloon, or at the above mentioned galleries from time to time. And then for a free easy thrill, I take people to In N Out by LAX to watch the planes land and grab a burger. Music scene, Hermosa Music Company and Studio 637.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to mention two artists that were very influential to me personally in my growth. They are Grigor Eftimov (@grigoreftimov) and Alejandro Ayala (@hippohq). Both were caricature artists I worked with backed in the day. They exemplified tremendous technical skill and phenomenal conceptual thinking. They both opened my eyes to a lot of things creatively.

Website: http://bodypainter.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roustan/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/roustan

Image Credits
models: Amy Loubris, Sawyer Croft, Shadia Ghantous, Kapila May, Kristen Lee, Taujma Hall, Teri Wyble, Kimberly Aikey all photos by Roustan except Behind the Scenes shot by Alden Silvestre