Lesson Twelve: Animal Makeup--American Goldfinch

       I am not happy with the way this one turned out. We had to make realistic stage makeup representing animals, and it was suggested we stick to animals that had forward-facing eyes, like owls and cats. That way we could use our real eyes. I knew I wanted to do a bird of some kind, and at first I thought an owl, but then others were doing so many owls that I felt it was getting overdone. So I looked around at other bird makeup patterns and some of the artists I researched did not do the forward-facing eyes, but drew eyes on a different part of their faces, and closed their real eyes to be part of the rest of the head. I figured if I was doing that onstage I could not keep my eyes closed through a whole scene, but I could leave them open a crack to peek through and no one would know the difference.
       So I selected the American Goldfinch--partly because I love their cheerful, summery coloring; but also because they are colors I already had in my makeup kit! Black, yellow, and beige for the beak.
       The trouble was that the black makeup I was using for the top of the goldfinch's head was not opaque enough to completely mask my eyelids. You can still see them. And my real nose is too awkwardly visible over the beige beak I painted. And the yellow isn't bright enough. I didn't go down my neck very much because I figured I would be wearing a costume that covers all but my face. I hope they have a prosthetic beak too, because otherwise I really don't think this would work onstage. I used white hair dye for the first time, for the highlights in the eyes. Something about the way they turned out isn't quite right either.
       But you live and learn. As always, if I attempt this again I will do better.