JUNE 2024
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| VOL 19 ISSUE 6 | JUNE 2024 |
Wow again! Last month I had the rare opportunity to photograph the total eclipse of the sun and this month I unexpectedly checked off a bucket list item from my vision board and photographed the Aurora Borealis!!! I really had no idea that this was coming until I saw a Facebook post saying that the lights might be seen as far south as Arizona on our local news station. I have an app called Aurora that shows the probability of seeing the northern lights on a map and althought there was a lot of probability in the northern US, it was still showing Arizona as no chance. I kept checking and finally saw someone from Tucson, south of Phoenix, post that they were seeing the colors in the sky...Gotta' go! I packed up my camera around 9pm and headed north to get out of the city lights of Phoenix. I didn't really have a gameplan of where to go until I saw the sign for Lake Pleasant and thought that might be a wonderful opportunity to see the lights reflected on the water. The signs at the entry gate annouced that it was closed, but the path was clear to go in...so I did.
In truth, my aging eyes could barely see anything. I definitely didn't see any colors in the sky, but I could perceive a white sky glow that looked like a city over the horizon. I guess I finally understand the difference between the black and white "scotopic" vision in low light and the colorful "photopic" vision when there is plenty of light! Luckily though, the camera picked up the chromatic light show just fine. I got a few nice shots over the water, but my best shots featured cacti that were illuminated by the headlights of the passing cars. It was such a rush to look at the screen of my camera and see the awesome colors, but it was just a bit sad to not see it as vibrant with my bare eyes. This has been a bucket list item for me and it was prominently featured on my vision board. I thought I would have to brave the freezing cold of Alaska or Iceland to see them. Who knew they come to Arizona to visit. I'm so glad they did!
It was a great time and our cast of artists and models for the 2024 Bodypainting Extravaganza at Phoenix Fan Fusion was stellar this year. The theme I chose this year was Ancient Cultures and each artist got to pick their own model and which ancient culture they wanted to celebrate. Here's who/what they all chose (from left to right):
Mark Greenawalt (me) - Aztec theme with Ashley Danger
Pashur - Atlantis with Juliet Wilde
Brandy Wise - Valkyrie with Heather Renee Nance
Carrie Esser - Egyptian with Griffin Maria
Brandon McGill - Celtic with Felix Shimek
It was quite a production and I'm very thankful to my team of assistants Sav Greenawalt who helped paint my Aztec model, Sage Ryan Greenawalt and Zane Greenawalt that helped with AV and photography, and Alena Oas who helped with merch.
I had a lot of fun assembling the props this year. Starting with a replica Aztec sword (called a Macuahuitl that I built from scratch) to the Aztec Death Whistle that I bought online. I purchased the feather headress and collar from Amazon and then added the fox skull with leather reamnants. The cape was crafted from colorful craft cord used for macrame projecs, secured by gold bracelets and a choker that I've had since the 80's. This was the first time I had worked with Ashley and she was awesome on the runway, blowing the death whistle right at the perfect moment of 'Welcome To The Jungle' by Guns 'N Roses. Click on the image above to see more pics and information from the project.
There is a movie being filmed in Phoenix and it looks like it is going to be really cool. It's called The Case of Acacia Thatcher and you can see the trailer here. I saw a post from Jasmine Berber that they were looking for extras to be in one of the scenes being filmed at the historic San Carlos hotel and I couldn't resist applying. I briefly met Jasmine on the set of one of her sister's music videos (Miss Krystle), plus I was also drawn to the project because of the lead in this film: the awesome Elley Ringo-Chain, who I had worked with on my music video for Never Been Strangers and also for 2022's Phoenix Fan Fusion Bodypainting Extravaganza. I only knew a couple of my cast mates including Nikki Darling (who modeled for me at 2017's Phoenix Fan Fusion Bodypainting Extravaganza and attended by Coats of Paint book release), Kathy Blaze Jefferson (who recently interviewed me on Desertwood DaZe), and Jennifer Gee (Krystle's social media guru), but I got to meet and hang out with quite a few new film industry friends. When the cameras weren't rolling, I was playing the piano and singing for the cast and crew into the wee hours of the morning (the shoot went from 8pm till 5am for me, but they were still rolling when I had to leave).
In other movie news, The Last Movie Ever Made is now available on Amazon and a few other streaming platforms. The world premier was at last year's Phoenix Film Festival. I had the priveledge to do just a little bit of special effects makeup on this film for Nathan Blackwell's Squishy Studios once again. Here's the link. Please consier purchasing it, watching it, and then leaving a review. https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CG8VJ7X1/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r . Note that I was an extra actor in this film too, but ended up on the cutting room floor so you'll have to settle for just seing my work.
May 28-June 2 - Sequoia National Park, Muir Woods, and San Francisco, California
July ? - Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii
New bucket list item for the vision board is the pyramids of the sun and moon in Mexico City, date t.b.d.
All Summer Lawn Passes to the concerts
E-ya later,
Mark Greenawalt
Mark@MarkGreenawalt.com
My gift to you is my music. Please kindly accept by going to these fine streaming services to download and stream! I hope you like some and consider them for your favorite playlists!
copyright Mark Greenawalt, Future-Class X Publishing - Phoenix, AZ 85044
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