Olivia Munn, Ali Larter, Camilla Belle and Anna Kendrick may have some of the most recognizable faces in the world — but we guarantee you haven’t seen them like this before. The four stars were the subjects of Urban Decay’s “Kisshibition” in N.Y.C. Wednesday night, in which their portraits were unveiled by artist Natalie Irish.
Courtesy of Urban Decay and Natalie Irish
But these aren’t just your standard, run-of-the-mill watercolor paintings. Instead, Irish decorates her canvas with hundreds of kisses in order to reveal her subjects, who have ranged from Marilyn Monroe to young cancer victim (and makeup enthusiast) Talia Joy Castellano.
And she teamed up with Urban Decay to use their new “Revolution” lipstick to create four celebrity portraits (and four additional paintings) for the event to benefit The Art of Elysium, a charity that brings the arts to children suffering from serious medical ailments. “As a long-time supporter of The Art of Elysium’s self-esteem programs, I am honored to lend my face … to help raise awareness for the organization and their creative arts programming,” Larter said.
Courtesy of Urban Decay and Natalie Irish
We caught up with Irish on the scene, where she was creating another piece in the Sephora window, and asked her how she got her start. “I tried every medium I could get my hands on,” she said. “I basically make out with canvas. [Each one] takes several days but it’s hard on my lips and eyes.”
Irish also shares that each portrait can take up to four tubes of lipstick to complete, and to counteract the “great exfoliant” power of the canvas, she coats her lips with “coconut oil or a thick layer of Vaseline. X Compound is my current favorite. I also ice my lips and take Ibuprofen. Cold beer helps too!”
One of her creations will be auctioned off on UrbanDecay.com and on the line’s social channels, and the site will also have a “digital exhibition” so fans can check out all of the portraits Irish created for the initiative (trust us — there are some super cool ones you should not miss). So what does a lipstick artist wear in her spare time? Nothing if she can help it, she swears, but if she has to, she’ll wear Urban Decay’s “Native.” Sounds portrait-worthy to us!
What do you think of Irish’s art? Would you want to own one of her kiss paintings?
–Alex Apatoff
