Body painting is colourful, visually eye-catching and a fantastic tool to use in commercial context. Events, videos, performances and adverts really benefit from using body painting - it always catches people's attention and thus gets loads of exposure and makes the amount of social media shares skyrocket. 

But body painting has another kind of quality to it too. Something that is purely magical and transformational. This side of body painting affects the person who comes under the brush.

Body painting is liberating.

It increases your self-acceptance.

It makes you feel good in your own skin.

It helps you see your body and yourself in a more positive light.

It's fun and even relaxing. Perfect way to tune out stress.
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Being body painted can be a life-changing experience. It's very personal and even emotional. Many say it's an eye-opener to your own inner self. It connects you with your body and at the same time you become something else, a living piece of art that breathes through you. The painting elevates you and it also covers you. It's a feeling like no other. 

I asked people on my Facebook page what they thought the magic behind body painting was. Three common responses were trust, acceptance and honesty. Being seen as a canvas through artist's eyes and being touched in a non-sexual way, the whole process builds your confidence, shows you are accepted just as you are. The connection with the artist and the approving looks from the viewers can ultimately transform the way you see yourself.
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"...My body can be/become anything. My body is exactly what I consider it to be." (Sonya H)

Wonder Women - The WAU Project exhibition opened in Helsinki city centre two weeks ago. I am so grateful to have this opportunity to show these 12 works and share the stories of these amazing women in the artworks. So empowering and it's touching to see how some visitors have moved to tears because they feel they can relate to these Wonder Women. The feedback has been absolutely wonderful.

The exhibition has got some nice publicity too! The two Finnish daily newspapers Iltalehti and Iltasanomat wrote about the project and pop star Anna Abreu being one of the models. Yle Puhe interviewed me and we got talking about women and equality, the struggles women still face in today's world and body painting as an empowering art form.

So still one week to go, please come and say hi if you you are around!
Akkuna/ LASIPALATSI, Simonkatu 3, 00100 Helsinki. Open Tue-Fri 12-18 and Sat-Sun 11-16.
Welcome!

The artworks and the Wonder Women  -wall calendar 2016 are available for purchase at the exhibition or at Riina Laine Art Store. Part of the proceeds of the sale will be donated to UN Women!

This year I wasn't competing which was totally new to me. I had thought I would just chill out and enjoy other artists' work, but turns out my week was full of action and activities, I didn't even have time to go for a refreshing swim in the lake! Hot and sunny week included my first workshop at the World Bodypainting Academy program, my fine art body painting exhibition, parties and jury duty at the world awards. So much fun! 

Once again, the highlight of my year was the World Bodypainting Festival in Austria. Since 2007 I have spent a week every summer amongst hundreds of artists and thousands of visitors from all over the world enjoying and indulging on this amazing art form called body painting. There is no place like this - a small village of Pörtschach by Wörthersee lake turned into a melting pot of art for a week. It's our mecca. Our home.  

The workshop "Key elements of competition design" was a success with some wonderful students, fun and laughter. I loved it and even better, that the students were over the moon! I really hope to be able to give workshops like this more, it's so rewarding to see students learning and discovering new skills in themselves. 

What a wonderful opportunity was given to me by Alex Barendrengt, the organiser of the World Bodypainting Festival, and Hotel Schloss Leonstein. I got to have my own fine art body painting exhibition at the hotel and it was an official side event for the festival week. I was so pleased to see so many people there, getting together for drinks and enjoying my art. 

I had 17 artworks in total showing. This was also an amazing chance for to me show preview of my Wonder Women - the WAU project. Six pieces which are done were introduced to the guests and the feedback was overwhelming. People loved the idea behind the series and encouraged me to go forward with the project. It felt so good and especially when two pieces were sold immediately! What a wonderful evening with some awesome people, music and art. Thank you Alex and Jörg Goby of Schloss Leonstein!

More image galleries from the event:
Gallery by Art Fashion Studio/ Dmitri Moisseev - WBF2015: Riina Laine Art Exhibit
Gallery by Bertrand Orsal - Riina Laine's exhibition - WBF 2015
Gallery by Hotel Schloss Leonstein - Hotel Schloss Leonstain meets World Bodypainting Festival 2015

Like the Wonder Women - the WAU Project Facebook page to follow and learn more about the models etc!

After winning the World Awards last year, I decided early on I wouldn't compete this year but instead I'd just have a break and enjoy the festival as a visitor. But what an honour was it to have the invitation to join the jury - to sit behind the same table with six amazing iconic artists. I couldn't refuse of course, but it felt quite surreal (Haha, it would have been good idea for the theme for the finals "Surreal- reshape your reality"!).

As I have written here on my blog before about the judging (Can you judge body painting?) it is a very hard job. I have been in the jury for many body painting competitions around the world, but this time was by far the toughest. Hundreds of artists in different categories, so many wonderful artworks... We sat in the hot jury tent for over 4 hours each day, scoring over 100 paintings each day. It's difficult to describe what it was like - it was humbling, rewarding, tiring, exciting, fun, difficult, everything at the same time. And I am very happy of this experience. I learnt so much and I think this helps me to grow as an artist too. 

Here are some pictures of the fun times I got spend with my fellow jury members. :)

The jury for the World Bodypainting Awards 2015: Ernst Wieser (Austria), Jinny (Canada), Craig Tracy (USA), Gabriela Hajek-Renner (Austria), Fredi Schmid (Switzerland), Riina Laine (Finland) and Scott Fray (USA).

Finally I have made this public! So let me introduce you to "Wonder Women - The WAU Project"!

This is an art project empowering and encouraging women to find the power and the belief in themselves and their self-worth. I believe that empowering women to believe they are special and worthy we can contribute to gender equality and to move towards a world in which men and women have the same rights and opportunities .My aim is to do some good with my art, and thus part of the proceeds of the project will be donated to UN Women.

So follow this project here on my website and on the Facebook page to learn more about the series, the ideas behind the pieces, and of course the models! The main exhibition is planned to be in Helsinki in October 2015, but there will be a sneak preview atthe World Bodypainting Festival in Austria in July 2015!