Kim Witte Artistry
Madison, Wi
Kim has a keen eye for color matching, a knack for painting complex textures and an exquisite eye for detail. She grew up creating creatures and designing characters and fantasy environments where they lived. When she discovered special effects makeup, she realized she could turn herself into these whimsical, fantastical creatures and her artist portfolio grew tenfold.
What started out as a hobby has now evolved into a career that allows her to create acrylic paintings, do special effects makeup and be a cosplay artist. Kim is putting her special effects makeup on display on September 16, and you do not want to miss it! Watch as she turns herself into a gremlin and get a glimpse of her creative process. Kim is ready to do something different, are you?
September 16
What is your background? How did you get into art, did you go to school for it, etc. Give us a little history! I have been doing art since I was little, acrylic painting since 2014 and SFX makeup since 2013. I started my company Witte Artistry in 2015 and cofounded my other company Creature Cosplay in 2021. I have always loved art, specifically designing and making characters. I used to keep a journal I called my “Monster Spirals” where I would draw a character, give it a name, back story, and special abilities. That love of character creation and art has never died out. I also saw the Syfy show Faceoff in 2010 and realized you can turn INTO characters with SFX makeup. So, I got a body paint palette for Christmas and taught myself. I went to college for general arts but used that time to hone my skills, practice makeup on my own, and launch Witte Artistry my senior year.
What are you most excited about for DEVIATE? Why should people come to DEVIATE? I'm excited to be a part of a thrumming, live, artist expression event! It will be exciting and full of buzz.
Why should people come to check out YOUR booth at DEVIATE? I will be turning myself into a gremlin live! Come see the progress. I will have prints of a variety of my acrylic and SFX makeup work, stickers, and some originals available for sale. Come ask questions and hang out as we watch the piece unfold together!
Where do you find the inspiration for your art? I am heavily inspired by food, nature and monster movies! A lot of my recent art pieces come from walks in my garden, meals in my kitchen or inspiration from the local farmer's market. I also just adore monsters, fantasy and monster movies. These have inspired my own original fantasy pieces or elevated fan art pieces.
How long does it take for you to do a piece from start to finish? How do you make your pieces? Acrylic Paintings: Time to complete ranges significantly by size, style and detail. I usually make my pieces on a wooden panel, trace a projected sketch with pencil, then use acrylic paint to paint my imagery.
Acrylic Dot Paintings: These take 45 mins to an hour and a half each. I put down a base of color on a wooden panel and then let the color and remaining paints I have in my art palette inspire the next piece!
SFX Body paintings: One hour -19+ hours but I average four hours. Sometimes I create a makeup chart that maps out exactly how I will make my piece and what it will look like. I usually only do this when it is for a special event, or a model will be involved. Otherwise, I typically just wing it. I put down "mid tones" first followed by shadows then highlights then I tweak the detail. I usually use all water activated body paint for these pieces with a mix of dental grade acrylic fang caps, colored contact lenses, sheep's wool, skin safe glue, and sometimes two-part silicone modeling compound.
What are your future goals for your art? I am getting into art fairs for the first time in September 2023 and will be applying for many more in 2024. It has always been my dream to have a booth and interact with people in person and get to talk about my work. I am taking the plunge into learning new skills like EVA foam construction, cake decorating, air brushing, and more.