Hurray! We have three of the greats from season one here! Ru brings them on the scene first to let them know that they aren't exactly competing, but instead are going to be mentors. Gear, Dutch, and Natalie will be showing the ropes to the show's newbies who haven't done body painting before. I really like this set up, as it makes for a gateway for others to enter this awesome and exciting field. The winner will take away ten thousand dollars.
We quickly meet our contestants, Adelaide (Performance Artist), Bridget (Miniature artist), Max (Graphic Artist), Nora (Muralist/Tattoo Artist), Ryno (Airbrush Artist), and Steven (Fine Artist). That's a lot of new faces to take in. Earlier and mostly off camera they were put into boot camp to teach the basics of painting. Ru throws them into the game real quick to do a painting. At the end of the challenge, each mentor will pick one to go to bat for. The other three will be sent home.The theme for the first challenge is alter egos. They are told to paint the front of their models to represent this.
Something I found really interesting was that we got to see more of the technical aspects of it than in Skin Wars. We see them struggling with applying pasties, and dealing with sweat. The main show never really has them struggling with these things. I guess being new with the whole painting thing, they may have focused on them learning the basics.
It was very strange seeing the mentors walking around the work room with the first challenge. Each one was looking for something different, with Gear more attracted to the originality, while Dutch wanted someone who was obedient. And suddenly I remember why Dutch annoyed me during the first season. It looks like he hasn't changed much. Thankfully neither has Natalie (and they say money changes people!), because she is as sweet as ever. She seems the most balanced of the two, and being the winner of the first season, the expectations for her are very high.
Honestly, the group really put this together. It's hard to believe that they have not ever done this before. Nora had a great blend of colors, Max had a cool monster with some good details, and Adelaide had a lot going on, but it had a very Cheryl Ann/Lana story telling feel to it. Ru cuts to the chase, putting the mentors right on the spot, making them choose their mentees. As usual it is randomized, with Natalie going first. She chooses Adelaide. Gear goes for Ryno (no shock there), and Dutch picks Max. That means that Steven, Bridgett, and Nora are gone.
It wouldn't be Skin Wars without another twist. Instead of the mentees doing it alone, they will team up with the mentors to do a team paint job. Ru does stress, however, that it is the painters' works, not the mentors. The theme for this one is the natural elements, and I have to say I'm pumped. Before they get going, we get introduced to the judges who differ greatly from the main show. Mat Gleason (with adorable blue hair!) and Emma Cammack.
I really love the educational aspect of this. In Skin Wars we rarely get to see anything technical. This time we see the technical parts of painting a body. We see a lot of tips for airbrushing, hand painting, and all sorts of fun stuff. This is something I would love to see more of, for sure.
The mentors have a lot of problems with the painters. Ryno really has his own ideas of how to do things. Gear is telling him how to create an illusion, but Ryno has his own ideas of what needs to be done. Of course this pisses Gear off to no end, but there's not much he can do. Natalie also had a lot of struggling going on, with her painter not listening to a single word she said. She kept telling her the steps to do the painting in, but Adelaide is so scatterbrained and spread thin trying to do multiple things at once that she didn't really seem to soak anything her mentor was telling her. The only team with it all together, really, was Dutch and Max. Max really took to his mentor and listened to all the tips. Things aren't looking too hot for these artists at this point.
They give their looks the the judges, pulling it all together last minute.
Max/Dutch - I like the ice parts of this a lot. The fire looked pretty intense as well, but the center focal point with the seed was a bit off putting. He really did a great job over all, though, especially for a beginner.
Adelaide/Natalie - Her painting was very basic. The colors seemed to clash with the eye, and there were next to no details. The middle piece was it's saving grace. The judges (as well as I) were not happy with the purple.
Ryno/Gear - I love the blues for the sky, and the tree was beautifully painted. The addition of the galaxy on the face and hand was amazing too. You can really tell this was Gear-focused, as it meshes reality with fantasy and comes out looking sleek and wonderful.
Ru reveals that one will be going home, leaving the top two to face off against each other. The winner is revealed to be Max, which was a very deserving win. This leaves Adelaide and Ryno in the bottom. Thankfully Ryno makes it to the finals. His painting was my favorite, and I really thought he had it won. Natalie gets to be the third judge now that her painter has been sent home.
They are told that they have to do a full body painting, front and back, of a costume inspired by royalty. I was really hoping for super heroes (even though it's been done a couple times), but alas. This challenge still seems interesting. They have three back drops to choose from being French Revolution, Ancient Egypt, and Midevil Japan. Max, being the winner, gets to choose his backdrop. He guns for Japan, leaving Ryno to choose Egypt. This time, as yet another twist, the painters only get to be with their mentors for a short bit at the beginning and middle.
After a short meeting with their painters, the mentors are sent away to leave Ryno and Max to their own devices. It's not even an hour into the challenge and Ryno freaks out and leaves the room to regroup. He isn't gone long, but the absence could be a damning factor in this final challenge. By the time the mentors get back out there, they are pretty far along. Max is on the right path, and we do see some great teaching from Dutch. Gear managed to calm Ryno down, but it's unclear for how long.
Before long the challenge is over, and we are set up to see the final products.
Max/Dutch - I liked the concept. It was a geisha/samurai mash up and it looked cool, but the dark colors made the black lines for the armor hard to see. I'm a sucker for Samurai stuff, so I really wanted to like this, but something about it threw me off. The oni painted on the front was done very well.
Ryno/Gear - I feel very mixed about this one. There was a lot of white, and it looked awkward. The snake on the arm was great, and the scarab necklace was well done. The clothing was not rendered very well, as the folds looked crummy. He also got dinged for not covering the whole body.
At this point it could be anybody's game. In the end, the very first Fresh Paint Champion is Ryno. I couldn't be happier. I am a huge fan of Gear (and he is as nice in real life as on TV), and Ryno seems like such a cool guy, almost as cool as his hair.
If I had to complain about anything with the show it would definitely be that Shannon wasn't involved. Don't get me wrong, I love Gear, but not only is his style close to Dutch, giving us similar final paintings, but also Shannon was the other person in the top three beside Natalie and Dutch. They called them the champions, but Shannon is very noticeably missing. Other than that I feel the show was a great hit. I am hoping when/if the show gets picked up that they rotate out mentors so we can have some of our old faves back. Who wouldn't want to see Nicole instruct someone on how to apply glitter?
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