23-year-old self-taught body painter creates a work of art on friend's bald head

Georgina Ryland from Brisbane, Australia, has always had a knack for cosmetics, after being professionally trained to do makeup for film and television at the Australian Academy of Cinemagraphic Makeup. But with the skills she’s acquired for creating 3D art on clients’ faces in the form of wounds and prosthetics, the 23-year-old has successfully taught herself the art of body painting.

Recently, the beautiful flowers she painted onto her friend’s bald head have received viral attention.

Utilizing her friend Rebecca Louise, who has always experimented with their hair, Ryland tells Yahoo Lifestyle that she urged Louise to shave their head completely (Louise prefers to be referred to with plural pronouns). While working at the school where she studied, Ryland wanted to play around with a new type of canvas, and once Louise went completely bald, their head was the perfect thing to try.

“She’s painted me before a few times, but she wanted to do something fun for a demo at the makeup school,” Louise tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “It definitely makes a big impact because painting a head is pretty unique and striking.”

And Ryland certainly agrees.

“I have admired Bec’s head shape ever since they first shaved their head,” she says. “I have painted it twice now, and it’s such an expressive and unique area to paint. I wanted to paint something yellow to get a bit more out of my comfort zone — it’s a color I rarely work with — and one of the first things to come to mind was daffodils.”

The piece took three hours to complete, which Ryland admits is rather short in her experience with body paint. And once she posted her final work to Instagram, the photo received a vast amount of attention from those admiring Ryland’s work, in addition to those in awe of Louise’s beauty and confidence.

“The reaction has been extremely positive,” Ryland says. “I have received a large number of body-positivity and confidence-related stories and comments, which has been very sweet to read.”

However, the compliments on her work are not necessarily new. Throughout Ryland’s Instagram are photos and videos showcasing the works of art that she creates on herself. From Stranger Things to Finding Nemo, the artist has re-created entire landscapes on her own body, with results that are truly surreal. Each piece takes about eight hours or more in painting time alone.

As for the future of her work, Ryland admits to being immensely inspired by the uplifting reaction to her painting on Louise’s head.

“I am very tempted to take the offer up on photographing a book for alopecia and cancer sufferers, as I believe it would be so rewarding for everyone involved,” Ryland says. “Perhaps a future endeavor!”

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

? 12-year-old inspires the internet to embrace ‘flaws’ with museum-worthy art
? Artist turns stretch marks into gorgeous glitter strips
? Teen uses her senior portraits to beautifully embrace her alopecia

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