Professional paints hundreds of shiny, happy faces at Saskatoon Ex

Getting your face painted is a popular activity at the Saskatoon Ex.

Made Wood, is a professional face painter who has set up shop at the popular exhibition for 2024. She talked to 650CKOM this week about the face painting business.

“My dad does air brush tattoos. He says he got into it out of desperation and I’m a poor college student so I decided to pick that up, and that’s how I got in.”

“Nepotism, you know?” Wood joked.

Made Wood painting reporter Payton Zillich’s face. (Brittany Caffet/650CKOM)

She said she found up face painting quite easy.

“Our style is kind of traditional. It’s pretty easy to pick up, but I learned how to do it fast and I learned how to do it so the kids love it.”

Wood said that when the Saskatoon Ex is at full capacity she probably paints around 300 to 400 faces.

“Spiderman and Batman are always so popular. Besides that, I have some Elsa designs that are probably second or third place.”

@BrittanyCaffet and I met up with Made Wood at the Saskatoon Ex to learn what it takes to become a professional face painter 🎨👩🏼‍🎨#yxe #facepaint #650ckom #saskatoonex pic.twitter.com/r2oW0kBzye

— Payton (@paytonnnz) August 7, 2024

How does Wood deal with a child’s request for a design?

“First I ask if they have a picture, if they don’t have a picture then I usually go step by step.”

Wood starts by asking what background colour a child wants. Then she moves on to making small steps in the design, constantly checking in to see if the kids are liking what they see.

Wood loves to see kids reactions to her final designs.

“I get a lot of dropped jaws and kids just staring at themselves. Then snapping to the parents and being like ‘look at me!’.”

“If they (the designs) are animals, a lot of kids will jump off (the stool) and start acting like the animals… Just a lot of cute and imaginary play and just happy reactions.”

The Saskatoon Ex runs until Sunday at Prairieland Park.

with files from Brittany Caffet