Mouth and foot painting

Last updated
Self portrait by mouth and foot artist Thomas Schweicker (1540-1602) ThomasSchweicker2.jpg
Self portrait by mouth and foot artist Thomas Schweicker (1540–1602)

Mouth and foot painting is a technique to create drawings, paintings and other works of art by maneuvering brushes and other tools with the mouth or foot. The technique is mostly used by artists who through illness, accident or congenital disability have no use of their hands. The Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists (AMFPA) is a worldwide organization representing these artists. [1]

Contents

The brushes and tools that are used are ordinary artist's implements, but they may be modified in length or width. [2] [3] [4] Mouth painters hold the brush in their mouth or between their teeth and maneuver it with their tongue and cheek muscles. The paper or canvas is usually mounted vertically on an easel. Mouth painting is strenuous for neck and jaw muscles since the head has to perform the same back and forth movement as a hand does when painting. [5] [6] Foot painting can be done sitting on the floor, at a table or at an easel, as most foot painters use their toes with the same dexterity as people with hands use their fingers, this also helps the brush manoeuvre its self making it be more free with its art.. [7] [8]

Notable mouth and foot painters

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airbrush</span> Small, air-operated tool that atomizes and sprays various media

An airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that atomizes and sprays various media, most often paint, but also ink, dye, and foundation. Spray painting developed from the airbrush and is considered to employ a type of airbrush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easel</span> Upright supporting frame used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it

An easel is an upright support used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it, at an angle of about 20° to the vertical. In particular, painters traditionally use an easel to support a painting while they work on it, normally standing up; easels are also sometimes used to display finished paintings. Artists' easels are still typically made of wood, in functional designs that have changed little for centuries, or even millennia, though new materials and designs exist. Easels are typically made from wood, aluminum or steel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fingerpaint</span> Paint intended to be applied with the fingers

Fingerpaint is a kind of paint intended to be applied with the fingers; it typically comes in tubes and is used by small children, though it has occasionally been used by adults either to teach art to children, or for their own use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Biffen</span> English painter (1784–1850)

Sarah Biffen, also known as Sarah Biffin, Sarah Beffin, or by her married name Mrs E. M. Wright, was an English painter born with no arms and only vestigial legs. She was born in 1784 in Somerset. Despite her disability she learned to read and write, and to paint using her mouth. She was apprenticed to a man named Emmanuel Dukes, who exhibited her as an attraction throughout England. In the St. Bartholomew's Fair of 1808, she came to the attention of George Douglas, the Earl of Morton, who went on to sponsor her to receive lessons from a Royal Academy of Arts painter, William Craig. The Society of Arts awarded her a medal in 1821 for a historical miniature and the Royal Academy accepted her paintings. The Royal Family commissioned her to paint miniature portraits of them. When the Earl of Morton died in 1827, Biffen was left without a noble sponsor and she ran into financial trouble. Queen Victoria awarded her a Civil List pension and she retired to a private life in Liverpool. She died on 2 October 1850 at the age of 66.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Lapper</span> English artist

Alison Lapper MBE is a British artist. She is the subject of the sculpture Alison Lapper Pregnant, which was displayed on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square from September 2005 until late 2007. She and her late son Parys featured in the BBC docuseries Child of Our Time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Body painting</span> Form of art using the human body as the canvas

Body painting is a form of body art where artwork is painted directly onto the human skin. Unlike tattoos and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, lasting several hours or sometimes up to a few weeks. Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting. Body painting is also referred to as "temporary tattoo". Large scale or full-body painting is more commonly referred to as body painting, while smaller or more detailed work can sometimes be referred to as temporary tattoos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World</span> For-profit internantional organization

The Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World (AMFPA) is a for-profit international organization facilitating the sale of artwork produced by mouth and foot painting artists associated with the organization. None of the artists have proper use of their hands as a pre-condition to joining the association. It represents around 820 artists located in 76 countries, of whom 143 are full members, and receive a monthly fee from the organization from the date of their admission until their death. The other artists are students, who receive a monthly scholarship until such time as they are promoted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-portrait</span> Portrait of an artist made by that artist

A self-portrait is a portrait of an artist made by themselves. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, the practice of self-portraiture only gaining momentum in the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century that artists can be frequently identified depicting themselves as either the main subject, or as important characters in their work. With better and cheaper mirrors, and the advent of the panel portrait, many painters, sculptors and printmakers tried some form of self-portraiture. Portrait of a Man in a Turban by Jan van Eyck of 1433 may well be the earliest known panel self-portrait. He painted a separate portrait of his wife, and he belonged to the social group that had begun to commission portraits, already more common among wealthy Netherlanders than south of the Alps. The genre is venerable, but not until the Renaissance, with increased wealth and interest in the individual as a subject, did it become truly popular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Painting</span> Practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface

Painting is a visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface. The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, may be used.

<i>Self-Portrait</i> (van Hemessen) Painting by Catharina van Hemessen

Self-Portrait is a small painting executed in oil on oak in 1548 by the Flemish Renaissance artist Catharina van Hemessen when she was 20 years old. The painting earned her a considerable reputation and is significant not only for being an early modern female portrait but also for representing an artist in the act of painting. This was very unusual for the time; although self-portraits were common, only a few, like those of Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), showed the artist's everyday life. Artists of the time rarely directly referred to, much less showed the tools of their profession. It is assumed Hemessen's portrait is one of the earliest ones to show a painter with a brush together with a palette and an easel. She inscribed it in Latin: "I Caterina van Hemessen have painted myself / 1548 / Her age 20".

<i>Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar</i> Self-portrait by Rembrandt

Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar is a 1659 oil on canvas painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt, one of over 40 self-portraits by Rembrandt. It has been noted as a self-portrayal of subtle and somber qualities, a work in which may be seen "the stresses and strains of a life compounded of creative triumphs and personal and financial reverses". Once owned by Andrew W. Mellon, it has been in the National Gallery of Art since 1937.

Brom Wikstrom is an American artist from Seattle, Washington, who paints by mouth. He is a life member of The International Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists. His paintings have been displayed around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human mouth</span> Part of human anatomy

In human anatomy, the mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and produces saliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Wheeler</span> American artist (born 1955)

Karen Sue Wheeler is an American artist who was born with a neurodegenerative condition called spinal muscular atrophy which causes muscle wasting. She uses a technique called "layering" that resembles colored pencil. Each painting that she produces takes from 150 to 500 hours to complete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft Fresh Paint</span>

Fresh Paint is a painting app developed by Microsoft and released on May 25, 2012.

<i>Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear</i> 1889 self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh

Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear is an 1889 self-portrait by Dutch Post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh. The painting is in the collection of the Courtauld Institute of Art and on display in the Gallery at Somerset House. The painting includes inspiration from Japanese Woodblock printing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paintbrush</span> Brush for painting

A paintbrush is a brush used to apply paint or ink. A paintbrush is usually made by clamping bristles to a handle with a ferrule. They are available in various sizes, shapes, and materials. Thicker ones are used for filling in, and thinner ones are used for details. They may be subdivided into decorators' brushes used for painting and decorating and artists' brushes use for visual art.

Tilt Brush is a room-scale 3D-painting virtual-reality application available from Google, originally developed by Skillman & Hackett.

Jon Imber (1950–2014) was an American artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolors Vázquez Aznar</span> Spanish painter

María Dolors Vázquez Aznar was a Spanish realist painter and lawyer.

References

  1. "History". www.vdmfk.com. Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  2. "Artist Mouthpiece". www.arttreehouse.com. The Art Treeshouse. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  3. Clayton, Jon. "My Specialist Equipment". www.jkcmouthartist.com. Jon Clayton. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  4. Smith, Dominic (25 July 2015). "Paralysed artist paints amazing portrait of Thierry Henry's legendary goal celebration using only his mouth". www.mirror.co.uk. Daily Mirror . Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  5. "Squeezable Paint Brushes (Howard University)". www.aac-rerc.psu.edu. Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  6. Winchester, Levi (10 July 2014). "Watch: Woman born without fully-formed limbs creates stunning artwork using her mouth". www.express.co.uk. Daily Express . Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  7. "An Amazing Feat – Artists Who Paint With Their Feet". www.aucklandpodiatrist.co.nz. Healthy Steps Podiatry Ltd. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  8. Morris, Millie (30 November 2014). "Creativity Despite Disability: Mouth and Foot Painting Artists". www.epigram.org.uk. Epigram . Retrieved 18 February 2016.