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You don't need to plaster yourself head-to-toe in tattoos to get noticed - use your body as a canvas for a less permanent creative medium. Body painting might be an ancient art, but today's examples are positively mind-blowing.

Amazing Body Art

    Ancient art
    Body painting is one of humanity's oldest forms of visual expression. Throughout the ages, many civilizations have used the human body to convey messages important to their culture and beliefs.

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    Modern artists
    Body painting artist Martin Armand is carrying on the tradition with this fruity creation.

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    Multi-media man
    Martin believes there are endless possibilities to merge reality with fantasy through the use of the 'living canvas.'

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    Changing faces
    More recently (this month in fact) US artist James Kuhn, completed a challenge to paint his face in 365 different ways for a year! Coming up with creations from Piglet of Winnie the Pooh fame to some of his favourite foods, they were so convincing it was hard to distinguish the artist's own features under the make-up.

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    Bee the best
    Creative clever-clogs James, said the challenge expanded his imagination. "I never run out of ideas," he said. "I drive a bus for the elderly 10 hours a day and I always look at myself in the rear-view mirror. I keep a sketchbook nearby and study the landscape of my face, the shapes and lines and think of images that fit."

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    Magnificent mush
    Along with amassing followers from around the world, 46 year-old James (seen here at work on his violin creation) has been head-hunted to audition for TV hit show America's Got Talent. The show airs in the summer when we'll be able to see if The Hoff et al love these outstanding works of art as much as we do.

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    Model behaviour
    Beautiful Emily Philippou, had good reason to look so stoney faced during this photoshoot in Vaucluse whilst body painter Tim Gratton clearly wanted to bring new meaning to the phrase 'rock chick'!

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    Pretty as a picture
    Alan Aldridge, seminal artist of the psychedelic 60s, hosted a private viewing of his work at London's Design Museum. His guests included Sting, members of Pink Floyd, his model daughters Saffron and Lily, Jasmine Guinness, Dylan Jones, Lady Helen Taylor and the Prince and Princess of Greece.

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    Staying power
    Sometimes the temporary nature of body paint is just too sad to bear - hours spent creating only to be washed away by a soapy shower. Understandable then that Jan Lillevang decided to make his designs permanent, inking hundreds of motifs onto his body to become the most tattooed man in Denmark.

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    Colour me beautiful
    As each human body comes in all shapes and sizes, body paint artists claim that each 'canvas' that comes their way brings with it new inspiration and their work can often take on a life of its own according the contours of a physique.

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