STRIKINGLY beautiful Naomi Stothard, a 24-year-old freelance model captures everyone’s attention as she walks into Starbucks for our interview.
But beyond her exotic beauty, Stothard – a psychology degree graduate – has an incredible imagination and is also a self-taught make-up artist.
As a child, the Scottish-Malaysian Stothard had trouble sleeping after watching horror movies. The scary faces lingered in her mind.
Ironically, those scary faces became her obsession, leading her to create ‘characters’ or ‘personas’ based on her own imagination.
“My passion has always been in the creative arts,” Stothard explained. “I like strange, sensual, creepy art. What I love doing is creating my own.”
She would create the characters with makeup, as well as the costumes to fit the character.
To complete the look, Stothard works with photographers to take photos or videos of her creative makeup.
“I believe in telling my story using more than just words, that’s why I choose to use makeup and modeling to bring all my characters to life,” she said.
What attracted you to makeup?
“It is a funny story. Actually, I had insomnia when I was 18 years old and I wouldn’t sleep for days. I started to have an obsession with makeup. So, I [followed] tutorials by make-up gurus from YouTube.
“Literally, I learned overnight. I watched these videos and I practiced makeup every day. Coincidently, I had a few friends who were photographers. They asked me if I could help out with makeup and I said ‘yes’. That is how I started.
“Since I was a child, I loved horror movies. I used to watch and get very scared and be unable to sleep because of the scary faces. Obviously, when I grew up, those faces became more fun than scary. When I learned how to do makeup, I always wanted to try it on myself.”
Do you love doing makeup?
“It is a passion for me, and it started as a hobby. I love it and I prefer doing makeup as a personal project and not as a job. I did makeup for commercials [as well as] for my friends who are photographers.
“About five to six years ago, I started to do makeup for photoshoots and weddings, but I found out that I didn’t really enjoy it more than a photography project, which is abstract and less structured.”
How do you come up with your characters?
“It is very abstract. Usually, it starts with a feeling or an idea in my head. Sometimes, it is from a book I read or something I watched, a movie character or even a picture. Sometimes, I like to look at paintings by unknown or the ‘underground’ people (artists).
“I will look at and it will give me a feeling. It is a very abstract thought, not really a shade or dimension. If it is a very strong feeling, I would start putting a ‘face’ on it. I would give it a ‘look’ or even a name.
“It starts from that and once I complete on the thought, I will try to make the face come true, by using make-up. It is not just make-up artistry but whole look creations. All my personas have meanings behind them.”
How did you get into modelling?
“I was four years old when I started to model for an American brand ... I did not enjoy it at all ... It was very rigid and it got very tiring as I had to keep changing clothes.
“When I was 17 years old my friend, a photographer, approached me for a photoshoot. I was a bit reluctant at first, but he told me that it would be fun and it would be [set around] a jungle and waterfall. I gave it a shot, and I found out that I preferred such photoshoots.
“I loved it because there were no restriction. It was almost completely based on passion. I get to work with my talented and passionate friends. We have a mutual love for creative photography.”
Tell us about your love for animals.
“I love animals so much. Animals are innocent and purely instinctive. I admire the innocence of dogs, as they love you forever no matter who you are, or what you do. I wish I could save every animal, but I can’t.
“I used to have pets. I had a spider, a frog, a snake, a dog, a cat, a hamster, mice, guinea pigs, a rabbit and a lot of fish.
“I will go to a bird shop and buy as many as I can and I just set them free. Last year, I bought 70 birds ... These were not exotic birds, they were just small brown birds.
“One day, when I am financially successful, I would like to have a home dedicated to [different] types of animals ... I want to fund the animal house [and provide] caretakers [and] nurses.”
You also create your own jewellery.
“I collect precious and semi-precious stones such as amethyst and rose quartz, and create pendants using wire-wrapping techniques.
“I like to make jewellery, pendants, and dream-catchers as gifts for family and friends. I never sell them to anyone as they are personal.”
