National Park Camouflage Body Paint Series
Body Painting Art + Nature: A Match Made in Heaven
Trina Merry is a wonderful New York body painting artist who is making waves with her body painting art. Through body painting, she has camouflaged women with nature in 13 different National Parks locations in the U.S. Her message is not only centered around the beauty of nature, but also the female beauty in all shapes and sizes.
Body Painting Art and Body Positivity
In today’s day and age, the body positive movement is louder than ever and they are successfully tearing down beauty standards. These beauty standards have been held in place for as long as we can remember, making women feel less than if they don’t fit into a certain mold.
With the growth of social media, body positivity has become more and more prevalent. Women all over the world are rising and showing how it’s possible to detach from these toxic beauty standards and truly love yourself. This, in turn, teaches the new generation of women how self-love is possible at any size.
Trina feels very strongly about body positivity, so she has chosen body painting as her medium because it celebrates diversity. She noticed that when we discuss nature, we never talk about it in the same way we talk about our bodies. We don’t say “those mountains really need to shed a few pounds.”
Quite the contrary, we embrace nature’s beauty. Which is, in Trina’s own words, “wild, untamed, and free”. When we take in nature’s beauty, we don’t find things to criticize. We don’t tear it apart for being what it is. By contrast, we constantly tear ourselves apart and each other through harsh criticism.
Nowhere is this more prevalent than on social media. If we see someone in their natural state; no makeup, no filters, just natural beauty, our first instinct is not praise, is criticism. Trina realized this and decided to make a statement. She says: “The kind of art I do forces people to use nature’s lens to look at other humans.”
Through her body paint art, we are forced to see the beauty and truly focus on it instead of finding things to criticize. This, in turn, allows us to appreciate the beauty of the human body, which is a unique gift each of us is given.
A Deep Connection to Nature Through Body Painting
In Trina’s latest project, “Nature Camouflage”, she is using nature as her backdrop and turns women in body paint into chameleons. They blend seamlessly with mother nature, creating an optical illusion that’s truly breathtaking.
Trina’s models celebrate the female form by existing in different shapes and sizes, as nature intended. She consciously uses diverse models to represent an innate human experience through her work. If you want to celebrate your body, you will have the opportunity to commission Trina.
Through body painting, you will be able to experience a unique sense of liberation and confidence. In being blended with nature, you will also find a sense of power and exaltation that’s not easy to find. It’s truly a unique experience that challenges you in many different ways.
If you’re on a journey of self-love, you know how difficult it is to get to the point where you feel comfortable in who you are. Becoming one of the women in body paint can be the ultimate expression of that security.
Trina is offering a medium through which people can be more accepting of their bodies and reconnect with nature more deeply than ever before. We are born bonded to nature, but we tend to lose that as we grow. We become so immersed in society and what’s expected of us, we sort of forget where we came from. Trina’s body paint art aims to remind us of that.
The Conception of a Unique Body Painting Art Project
2020 was an interesting year for everyone, so to speak. As humans, we were faced with our own fragility. The air and our contact with others became dangerous, deathly. The fragility of nature has also become evident.
However, in our fragility, we have found ways to become stronger than before and more resilient. Additionally, we’ve become more aware. Particularly of our natural world and how much harm we’ve done to it.
When the COVID-19 lockdowns hit, Trina practiced self-isolation at home. However, this had a huge impact on her. She was used to being on the road connecting with people through bodypainting. Suddenly, she couldn’t do these things.
At one point, when it became a bit safer and coronavirus case numbers started to drop, she decided to go out into the world and make some art again. She turned to nature for this and found herself spending more and more time outdoors.
She discovered that the more time you spend in nature, the more you’re inclined to care for it. Trina found inspiration at a moment when she didn’t think she could express herself as she knew how.
Trina has dreamt of doing something like this for so many years and now she had the opportunity to get started with her project. She started researching different National Parks in the country and she printed out photos to create a vision board for her project. She also had to work out the logistics of casting in this “new normal”. It was a challenge, but things soon were underway.
Summary
So far, Trina has worked in 13 stunning locations, including the Olympic National Forest, the Glacier National Park, the Mt. Rainier National Park, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and more.
Trina is drawn to places where the beauty of nature is most powerful and a few of her pieces also include locations where man-made things also blend into the background.
Each of these locations has provided a unique experience. Combining the female form and the beauty of nature is one of the things she’s most proud of. Not just because it has elevated her craft, but also because she’s honored to give women the opportunity to celebrate themselves and the wonderful bodies they inhabit.
Reflection Lakes, Mt Rainier National Park
Hall of Mosses in the Hoh Rainforest, Olympic National Forest
Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park
Artist Point and Yellowstone Falls, Yellowstone
Biscuit Basin Thermal Pools, Yellowstone
Mormon Row, Grand Tetons
Snake River Overlook, Grand Tetons
Oxbow Bend, Grand Tetons
Schwabacher Landing, Grand Tetons
Max Patch view of the Smoky Mountains
Red Rock Mountains at White River Lake (Aspen)
Aspen Birch Trees
Maroon Bells, Aspen