Welcome! Here you’ll find a gallery of my work, pricing and information on how to book your very own party with Northern Utah’s favorite face painter.
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Happy Painting,
Melissa Halvorsen, a.k.a The Painted Otter
I’ve been asked to paint at an Air Show viewing party near Hill Air Force Base this weekend. In addition, I’ve got another job on base coming up and a gig for an airline. This all amounts to airplane designs, of which I have none . . .
Today I took my first crack at some planes as well as a few patriotic designs to honor the military and the coming Summer holidays. What do you all think? The kid with the red biplane told me he wanted to make a “cool face.” I promise, he was way happier than he looks! 
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This next photo is my attempt to punch up the standard monster face. I was kind of going for a dragon/goblin hybrid. Any suggestions?
I used a BAM mini-stencil on the forehead, and I just want to say that I LOVE the BAM stencils. They are a great way to add texture and value to a design.
I had a HUGE Scooby Doo fan celebrate a birthday today. He was such a sweet kid, and his friends and cousins were equally charming. It was perfectly lovely to paint faces under the shade of a majestic old tree while other kids ran around playing tag and finding clues on a scavenger hunt. This was the quintessential spring birthday. I can only hope I get a chance to visit this cool family again.
Recently I did a fun birthday party in a local park. I had a dragon face that I had been wanting to practice, and lo and behold, the birthday boy wanted to be a dragon! Of course, several of his friends followed suit, so I got in a lot of practice. This family was a hoot, and I was happy to be a part of their special celebration.
Spider Man, Spider Man, he’s so cool, and I’m a fan . . .
Last Saturday, I spent the day at the Get Air Sportsplex in Kaysville celebrating the grand opening of their indoor trampoline park (that’s right people: trampoline park!!!!) with Spider Man and his friends. If you live in Utah, the Sportsplex is definitely worth checking out. The kids were going nuts for this place!
Once again, I was painting with my partner in crime, Denise Cold of Painted Party. If the Painted Otter is Northern Utah’s favorite face painter, then Denise is Central Utah’s favorite painter. If you are a Utah County person, book her ASAP! Do it! Right now! You’ll be so glad you did.
As a side note to face paint people, I broke in my BAM stencils at this event and LOVED them. They work especially well with Starblends. I wish they weren’t so pricey, but at least they are reusable forever.
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So, I’ve got a BIG Spider Man theme event coming up this weekend. My only problem? I don’t paint Spider Man, or any other licensed character for that matter. What a face painting otter to do?
I decided to try and come up with a kind of generic substitute that maintains my integrity while giving the kiddos what they are hankerin’ for. My hubby has christened him “Arachnid Fellow,” though I prefer “Flaming Spider Guy!” Just in case there are any other crazy painters like me out there that don’t paint licensed characters, I decided to make this a step by step to help you out.
I used red Starblends powder for the base, a BAM mini stencil for the flame detail. The white, black, and flame one stroke are all DFX.
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I just knew that I wasn’t alone in the world!
This morning I was lucky enough to paint faces for my local news. You can check out the video here: KUTV :: News -2News AM Stories – Wed, April 18, 2012.
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Also, here are some more pictures from Channel 30 News on Friday. We had the chance to play with the Alpacas from River Rock Family Farm, the only Animal Welfare Approved farm in Utah. These sweet animals were so friendly and cute. You should definitely check out the farm if you live in Utah. Meeting these cuties was the highlight of the day.
