Fantasy Fest: Body Painting || Key West, FL
It’s difficult to pick the best part about Fantasy Fest… wait no.. that’s not true… It’s body painting. Definitely body painting.
Quick Tips:
- Make an appointment before you arrive (if this is a must-do for you)
- Have an idea of the design you want and bring photo references
- Pay your artist fairly and tip
- Allow plenty of time to be painted before your next event
- Plan clothes/coverage/accessories/makeup accordingly
- Research how to remove body paint and buy/bring supplies
- Nicer restaurants might refuse service if you’re topless, in a thong, or in body paint
- Fucking enjoy it! It’s a rush
What to Know
I don’t know how Fantasy Fest became synonymous with body art (feel free to do more research than I did) but they are now so tightly connected that professional and amateur body painting artists flock to Key West for the week to show off their talents. Every year there are new regulations on when and where women can be topless so you should look into the details if you’re planning to do so, but typically you’ll see both men and especially topless women painted the last few days of the festival. You can see designs ranging from simple flowers and Superman chests to literal jaw dropping works of art from head to toe. No shame to the simple ones because we love all participation.
There are booths set up all over Duval Street that you can pop in and ask for an appointment or even an instant quick paint job, but if this is a bucket list item for you I would suggest emailing artists and booking an appointment well in advance (links to our recommendations below). Both years that we went we booked appointments and both artists were organized and got us in right on time. Also plan on the time of day to get painted. Dax and I find it really fun to walk around in the daylight so people could see our paint; this meant we had to get up a little early for a 1pm appointment. Other people get painted for nighttime parties and book a later appointment. It’s up to you and your schedule, but bake in plenty of time to get painted with the rest of your day’s activities. Another tip is to have your idea ready before you arrive and some reference pictures. Most artists have back-to-back appointments and you need to be courteous of their time and come prepared. Also, please respect that this is their art, supplies, and for some, their careers; which is all to say, please pay them fairly and tip generously. Without them, this festival wouldn’t be half as unique and exciting.
Depending on what type of art you want to get, you need to dress accordingly. If you’re only painting your top half, you might want to wear shorts, bikini bottoms, speedo, leather pants, etc. If you’re doing full body or legs (like we did one day) then what we did was I (Dior) wore a cotton thong to match my skin tone that the artist painted over, and Dax bought a blue men’s thong that the artist matched his base paint to. If you’re female identifying and uncomfortable being fully exposed than you can get creative: wear flesh colored silicone nipple covers for them to paint over, pasties or a bikini top that they can incorporate into the design, a long wig à la Lady Godiva, incorporate some kind of chest plate or strategic jewelry into the design. Plan accordingly and don’t wear anything that you don’t want to get (possibly) stained with paint.
Getting painted itself is a bit of a chore, and the more detailed or vast the painting will add to how long it takes. The great thing is that it’s Fantasy Fest; meaning that you can drink alcohol outdoors while they’re painting and typically there’s a lot going on around you and/or other people are being painted next to you so it’s really fun to watch artists work while you’re stuck standing there. It’s an adrenaline rush to have a person painting your skin, standing still, in odd positions, topless, while onlookers walk by. Most good artists will use proper body paint, so you don’t need to worry (too much) about smudging it throughout the day or sweating it off. We brought our lightweight Cap d’Agde sarongs (posts coming soon) to sit on at restaurants just in case.
Another suggestion is to be prepared on how to remove it. We asked our artist when we arrived, and he gave us good suggestions but then we had to run to Walgreens, buy all the supplies, and drop them off at our hotel before we could go out and have fun. Not a big deal, but just extra time and effort while the clock was ticking on showing off our cool art. You can google how to remove body paint because everyone has different tactics and, to be honest, I never found a product or process that worked well enough to suggest. I won't sugar coat it; in my experience it was a fucking pain to remove, while drunk, at 3am, in a hotel/rental house. But looking back, it was still worth it and I remember the rush and fun of being painted more than the drunken melodrama of removing it.
Our Artists:
Mermaids & Wendy from Gravity Falls
- Captain Ron Wolek
- Captain Ron manages a pop-up with multiple vetted artists. He didn’t personally paint us but we had a great artist, very organized, gave us lots of tips on how to prepare
Peacock & Octopus
- Femme Fatale Quatre Body Art
- Organized, friendly artists. The location to get painted is on a pier overlooking the ocean (beautiful but windy). Note that this location does not allow public nudity so the artists were required to put nipple covers on me and paint over them. If you’re looking for a little coverage, this was a great group of artists. If you’re wanting more exposure, I wouldn’t recommend
The Fun Part:
I could go on for multiple paragraphs on how much of a rush this is. It’s a combination of beauty, art, expression, exhibitionism, and frivolity all in one. Even if you don’t get painted, just being at the festival and seeing all the body art is truly an experience because people are beyond creative. You can sit on a bar balcony, with your drink, in the warm sun, enjoying all the painted bodies and designs walking by. You can also be part of that experience and have a crowd of onlookers complimenting and checking out your design.
On a serious note: Duval is a public street so people will take pictures of you. Some are conscientious enough to ask and you can say no, but we all know that plenty of people aren’t asking or you might be in the background of someone’s picture so you can always wear sunglasses or a mask if that makes you uncomfortable.
A very niche but incredible recommendation is to find the Local’s Parade and plan to get body painted that day. Dax and I got so lucky; we were both getting painted as merpeople by Captain Ron Wolek’s crew. We didn’t have any plans for the day, just bar hopping and partying that night. A group of women next to us were coincidentally getting painted with sea life and they saw us, struck up a lively conversation (as one does at festivals), and invited us to the Local’s Parade which we’d never heard of. As they were running out the door they told us to meet at Truman Avenue & Frances Street at 5pm and then they disappeared. It felt a bit confusing and we were skeptical, but after hanging out on Duval St. for a couple hours we figured it couldn’t hurt, even if we felt a little uncomfortable going to something we knew nothing about especially since we’re not locals. Well fuck …. Best decision ever. It was a MASSIVE daytime street parade in a local neighborhood away from the tourist area. Everyone met at the assigned time and location and then just walked in a sea of costumed revelers along a preplanned route. Local home-owners had lawn chairs set up to watch, and many (many!) of them had tables set up with free drinks or shots in dixie cups (some collected donations for local charities). Fire-fighters were standing outside the station watching the scene, onlookers were sitting on church steps with drinks, people had dance parties on their lawns. It felt like a debaucherous college party but with fun laid-back adults. The energy was pure exhilaration, happiness, and merriment in our fab and sexy painted bodies.
For a unique life experience and to feel sexy/playful/beautiful in your own skin, becoming the canvas to a professional artist is hard to beat. Add in the confident nipples on display and raucous street parties and it’s pure self-indulgent pleasure at its finest. Body painting at Fantasy Fest may still be a hidden gem and off the beaten path (I’d never heard of it until Dax), but that’s what makes it so unique and special. It feels authentic, inviting, and personal to everyone.
