June 20th, 2016
Carolyn Roper’s work always attracts attention – ironic considering her incredible camouflage bodypainting skills, blending people seamlessly into busy backgrounds. Her latest project was in conjunction with The Royal British Legion, the nation’s biggest Armed Forces charity to provide care and support to all members of the British Armed Forces, past and present, and their families.
Launched last month, the Count Them In campaign calls for the Armed Forces community to be recognised in the next census – at the moment there’s very limited information about where they are, or what their needs might be. Carolyn was commissioned to camouflage four veterans using body paint into different locations around the UK to highlight the fact that they are currently invisible in the census amongst the general population.
Sporting classic military garb, Carolyn and assistant Laura Scimone had the difficult task of painting fabric rather than plain skin to blend into complex backgrounds including the Houses of Parliament and a library.
“Camouflage body painting can be incredibly difficult for the models as standing or sitting very still is a really important requirement. The veterans were all incredible considering some of their injuries meant that standing or sitting for prolonged periods caused a lot of discomfort!” Carolyn told us.
We also love her stunning floral creations for Opticrom, popping up during the Pollen Watch segments on Good Morning Britain. The background art was created by the equally talented Gill Bustamante.