GSN expands Skin Wars with new special

GSN

From GSN Press Release:

GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, plans to expand upon the popularity of its hit series Skin Wars with a new one-hour special, Skin Wars: Freash Paint, where three of the show’s most memorable former contestants will mentor artists who have never body painted before. Airing Wednesday, August 26 at 8pm ET/PT (7pm CT), the self-contained spin-off is hosted by entertainer and master of transformation, RuPaul Charles, who also serves as a judge on Skin Wars.

Skin Wars: Fresh Paint features six highly accomplished artists, each at the top of their game in their own disciplines, as they leave their creative comfort zones to compete in body painting for the first time. The artists must conquer three difficult challenges, as they are mentored by three top artists from the first season of Skin Wars: Dutch Bihary, Gear Duran and season one champion, Natalie Fletcher. The artists will work closely with their body painting mentors as they try to quickly master the craft and win the $10,000 prize and become a Skin Wars: Fresh Paint Champion.

The six artists who will go through the body painting boot camp and vie for the $10,000 prize include:

• Adelaide Marcus (28, San Diego) – Both a performance artist and fine artist, her talents have extended to painting, belly dance, circus acrobatics, fire spinning, hooping, drumming, stilt walking and more. She grew up in a family of artists.
• Bridget McCarty (30, Monrovia, CA) – Raised by a family of artists and mural painters, art has been the center of her life since she was a child. She specializes in miniatures, which are in high demand from collectors. She is also a fine artist for Disney Parks Galleries.
• Ryno (43, Anaheim) – After 22 years as a working artist, he is now considered a master in custom airbrushing and painting. He has done everything from t-shirt art and banners to wall murals and custom automobiles.
• Nora Hall (26, Los Angeles) – A 4th generation artist, following in the footsteps of her father, grandmother and great-grandmother, Nora started tattooing at age 16 and began pursuing fine art at age 22. She has had several solo showings and several live painting events all over Los Angeles, primarily in the style of Realism with a hint of Pop Art.
• Steven Lopez (35, Los Angeles) – Heavily influenced by hip hop culture and graffiti art, he is a painter who has emerged from both the urban art scene and academia, having graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Fine Art. His work can be found within a myriad of corporate and private art collections both in the United States and abroad.
• Max Gramajo (40, Cypress, CA) – A former graffiti tagger in the streets of Los Angeles and now a professional graphic illustrator, Max has gone on to design logos for bands such as Blink-182 and Pearl Jam, and also worked for Nike.

The work of these artists will be judged by international master body painter Emma Cammack and art critic Mat Gleason, founder of the renowned Coagula Art Journal. At the end of the initial body painting challenge, the three mentors will pair up with one artist of their choice for the next challenge and help them towards the finish line. The remaining three will be eliminated. After a second challenge, the judges will eliminate one more artist and that artist’s mentor will join the judging panel as the final two artists compete one-on-one for the championship, where they will be asked to do a head-to-toe, full body paint design, with only limited assistance from their mentors.

Skin Wars: Fresh Paint is executive produced by Michael Levitt of Michael Levitt Productions (Skin Wars, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, Ask Oprah’s All Stars), Jill Goularte, Kate Kenny and RuPaul Charles.