XPOZ Magazine Cover
January 2007

Bodypainting - Mark Greenawalt
Photography - Mondo
Model - Sonja

XPOZ Magazine wanted to do something special for their three-year anniversary issue. Fashion editor Margo Star had a concept and brought the team together to make it a reality. The first component was finding the right model and Margo encouraged her friend Sonja to take on the project. Though relatively new to the modeling world, Sonja had all the features of a great model and she was blessed with the ability to shine in front of camera.

Next Margo contact photographer Mondo of http://www.mondoartphotography.com/. She had been planning to incorporate some of his work into the magazine and what better way than to tackle the cover of the anniversary issue. Rounding out the team, I was brought on-board to paint the number ''3" on Sonja. I had never met Sonja or Margo before, but I had been a fan of Mondo's work for some time. It was a great team to work with and I would have to say that the concept and design was a truly collaborative effort.

A stencil of the '3' was painted on Sonja's chest with liquid latex. Next, Temptu gold body paint was airbrushed on her along with a misting of black textures. Once dry, the liquid latex was then peeled off to leave the '3' as unpainted skin. The gold drips of paint were then added using Wolfe Brothers water based paints. The final touch was the 87 gemstones that pasted on with spirit gum.

Once painted, Sonja stepped into the studio lighting and Mondo picked up his camera. It was now their time to add their artistic flair to the final image. They both did an excellent job. Although I do really like the image that was chosen for the cover, I'm glad to be able to share a few other great shots from the session, especially since the magazine editors chopped off Sonja's beautiful eyes.