Your first rule of thumb as an artist should always be, “once you think you know it all, you have failed.” At any stage in artistry no matter where you are, assisting is always a good idea. I have been a key artist on almost 90% percent of my jobs. When the opportunity arises I will get to assist other senior key artists. It keeps me sharp and humble. For any artist starting out in the business we all need time to learn from others and grow. When I started I assisted and it was a glorious and invaluable time. I get emails all the time asking to assist me on my jobs, and I get asked to assist on jobs too. If you are just starting out in the industry and you would like to assist a key artist here are some rules to live by. Number one, make sure you have some type of professional portfolio. A great portfolio takes many, many years to achieve. I believe one always works on their book, no matter what stage of artistry they are in. To be able to even be considered for assisting a key artist there must be a professional portfolio with your best work. Instagram and other social media sites do not count as a professional portfolio.  Number two; when approaching the artist you would like to assist always send a professional email. Sliding into a DM will get you no where. In the professional world of business clients use email. Always proofread for spelling and keep your grammar professional. At first when you approach an artist you may not at first get a response. Please remember a lot of artists are very busy and most likely get a lot of inquiries. If you have not heard anything from an artist please reach out again at three to six months. Lastly if you get the call from the artist you want to assist, be present and learn as much as  you can. The role of an assistant is different for each artist. Some assistants at first will just get coffee, organize kits, run errands and such other things. No matter what your role is be as present and persistent when it comes to being professional and helping the Key artist for whatever they may ask. When the Key artist feels you are ready they will then start to teach you all the knowledge they learned over the years. This article is just scratching the surface in what it truly means to be a good assistant. Most importantly the more you assist, the more you will learn how to be a good artist. Always remember if you think you know more than the key artist than maybe this is not the industry for you. No matter what you think you can always learn from someone who has had time spent in the industry. One of the most important things I have learned is that no matter where the Key is in their career they have invaluable information to give you. Remember not all key artists are “celebrity artists” and you can learn just as much from them than those in the spotlight. Keep sharp beauties! 

I am currently represented by an Agency that is based in New York. The market I work in is in Florida. For years I worked as a freelance artist. During my time as a freelance Makeup Artist I came to a cross roads. I felt as though I was becoming board with where I was as an artist. I went to a Film driven school  but the market that I was working in was more driven towards weddings and small commercial work. As an artist I really craved something more for my career. I often questioned where do I go from here? I decided to start testing with the best photographers I could locate in my market. I studied my craft, makeup history, and more fashion than one could imagine. I had a passion for the artistic side of fashion. I really looked up to some of the most amazing artists that inspired me to want to do and learn more. After some time I was fortunate enough to be approached by an agency.  I had been represented by a smaller agency local to my city but this was super exciting because the Agency is based in NY. So now you have representation; what does that mean? For some it really has its high points and benefits. One major thing I learned from being represented is that once your in, you still have a lot of growing. Its important to note that you are also competing against other artists in the industry. So how is this any different from being a freelancer you might ask? Well its all about the Clients. Normally when you approach an agency you will be surrendering your client list. Its a partnership. They bring you work with their roster of clients while you bring your list of clientele to the agent. More than anything being a part of a team full of talented people makes you work harder and test more. You will always work to build your portfolio. I will never forget how I felt the first time I didn’t “land” the job. Its frustrating and sometimes it made me question my skill level. One thing I learned is to never compare yourself. YOU are your only competition. I will also never forget landing one of the best jobs. Landing that first big job really gave me an edge. If you are really interested in joining an agency I strongly suggest you assist an artist you admire working in an agency first. This can take a while and can be frustrating. It is the best education you will ever receive. Assisting can also help you grow and prepare you for the first time you approach an agency. Remember, you may not always get the response your looking for the first time; but don’t give up. 

*Key Makeup for Alice & Olivia Spring 2018 campaign

There is nothing I love more than working on location and getting gorgeous editorial shots. One thing that has been a learning process is Florida elements. Like I always say if you can work in Florida you can work anywhere. Florida is an amazing place. We have amazing weather and not so amazing weather. One thing I have had to learn was how to do makeup and hair in humidity. Makeup is much easier to control than hair. When it comes to getting the shot here in Florida you better learn texture. Products are great but creating the perfect base of structure is the  most important. Beach shoots can be extremely challenging. I can remember the first beach shoot I did, it was awful. I created this gorgeous hair just to watch it all blow straight after a good hour of creating the look the photographer wanted. What a mess. Shooting on a windy beach on the east coast of Florida is tricky. Weather conditions can never be predicted and I learned a thing or two about heat during summer months. Recently I got the amazing opportunity to work outside the US at the Bahamas. It was February so I didn’t know what to expect. Weather here in the states was not too humid and not super cold. I was imaging more humidity and more heat for sure.  Luckily we had pretty good weather. It wasn’t too hot but I did have to fight against the humidity. Here is what I did to ensure my style would come out with texture and looseness without loosing all of my structure.  I was fortunate enough to curl and set the models hair the night before. I primed her hair with Kenra’s heat protector spay and used a 1/2 inch wand. I curled and set her entire head. I used a technique so that she would be able to sleep in the style and wouldn’t mess it up or disrupt her sleep. Early in the morning I took down the curls and each section I used Sally Hershberger’s 24kt texturizing  paste to smooth out my different sections. This would ensure I would have a smoothness and protect the hair from humidity. I then shaped the style using my hands and finished off the style with Redken’s Control Addict finishing spray. The style had a lot of texture but I knew the elements and drive we would be facing so I knew my texture would fall just the way I had anticipated it.  From the hotel we drove down to the beach about 3 miles on a golf cart. As we arrived at our location the hair relaxed and looked exactly how I wanted it to be. It was sexy, with loose textured waves. 

*The Image above is not the image I have blogged about but yet another shoot that I did a while back.