Popular Instagram Body Artist Uses Her Arm as Canvas

Shining through much of the basic beauty content on Instagram comes the sparkling feed of 21-year-old Lisha Simpson, an Australia-based body artist who has a unique take on the idea of a canvas: her own forearm and hand. Her creations have drawn more than 13,000 followers, mesmerized by how she uses paint to transform her arm into everything from 3D-looking Polaroids to skeletal forms, revolutionizing body art in the process.

Simpson creates art that ranges from colorful and fun to dark and gory — but the two hours she puts into each piece can still manage to leave her children unimpressed. After painting Toy Story‘s Woody on her leg for her 2-year-old son, Simpson admits on her Facebook page, “He didn’t really seem too fussed about it!” (Still, nearly 1,000 Facebook fans disagree, leaving words of encouragement all over her page.)

The artist began experimenting with paint on her arm just eight short months ago, according to INSIDER art, and still consider herself an “aspiring” body artist. As she tells Yahoo Beauty, “I came across illusion body art on Google as I was starting out. I was inspired by the whole idea of turning body parts into something completely out of this world.” And although she loves what she’s doing right now, her ultimate goal is to someday paint at the Australian Body Art Awards & Convention — an opportunity to showcase skill and learn something new about a tradition that traces back to Australia’s tribalist culture.

“In the future I hope to create illusions out of the entire body,” Simpson says. And looking at her work so far, it’s a goal we’re sure she will achieve.