Rising Stars: Meet Sky Edwards of Redondo Beach, LA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sky Edwards

Hi Sky , thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in a little village in North Wales called Rhos-On-Sea but spent my summers and holidays in the Highlands of Scotland or traveling around the UK in my dads camper vans. Growing up we didn’t have much, my mum was a single mother of 3 but we were surrounded by lots of natural beauty and I fell in love with the outdoors, swimming in rivers, hiking and spending time at the beach, in the mountains or in the woods. When I was about 10, I was given a huge bag of nail polish by a much older girl who lived down the street from me so I used to practice drawing designs on my nails, and friends at school would give me compliments. I would also doodle a lot in high school and used to get into trouble with the teachers for it. I chose to do Art in my final year but I felt so discouraged by the talents of my classmates, they could draw actual people and real things and it was all so effortless to them. So I didn’t create for quite a few years after that.

I attended University pretty late when I was 21 In Manchester England after a couple of years of solo traveling in Asia. At the end of my last year of university a friend asked me to go to to Island of Ibiza with her to set up a body painting company. I never had even held a paint brush but I was optimistic so I said yes and the following week we booked flights. Arriving in San Antonio, we were just 3 friends who wanted to have a great summer, make some money and meet new people. The island of Ibiza is in the Balearic Island famous for its wild parties, club nights and dance music. I started to practice on my arm or leg, watching how my friends worked for the first week until I gained the confidence to try and paint a person. Painting came pretty natural to me, and it got easier once I was familiar with the products. We spent the Summer painting clubbers, enjoying the beach and meeting people from so many places! I was hooked, the best feeling was seeing how glam, cool, pretty, fun, vibrant designs could instantly transform peoples mood.

When I got back to the UK, I started trying to connect with marketing companies and events organizers. Before long I was doing lots of events, mostly music festivals. I then started attending festivals in Europe offering my services, I sometimes did an exchange or offered a discount so I could experience the events, and some were paid too fortunately. I fell in love with traveling, I have now been to 65 countries, and last year I made it round the world going the same direction, full circle. Traveling all of South India was pretty interesting and I absolutely adored Japan and the culture.

I opened my small business (Magic Faces LA) in LA about a year ago. Last year I took my team to Adam Sandlers house for a UV Glow party, where we did Glow body paint with airbrushing and makeup. At first when they contacted me on Instagram I thought it was a scam haha. Also, this year, I was invited to Tik Tok Headquarters along with Glam Candy by Sophia to showcase what we do. Today, I spoke with another Marketing company and I will be working with them to produce ‘festival looks’ for a brand activation for fashion influencers on Labor Day.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The hardest part of my journey has always been self doubt and courage to put myself out there. I suffered with anxiety in my 20s but thankfully I have learnt ways of dealing with it. The life of any artist is never easy, we can be so self critical of our own work or compare ourselves to others and their work. I have learnt to stay off social media as much as possible and just find my own style. I love what I do but I think its important for me to continue seeking news surroundings and cultures because that’s what works for me but each to their own.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I offer events services for all types of events such as Facepainting, Airbrushing, Body Paint, Glitter & Festival Makeup, Glow Paint, as well as DJ Services, Entertainment and Characters. We specialize in Hawaiian parties also, with my good friend Vice who is the most entertaining person I have ever met. He is a professional Polynesian dancer and singer so we combine our skills for that. I am well known by moms in South Bay LA as a face painters for kids parties 🙂 I very often get recognized at Torrance Farmers Market. I am most proud of putting together a team of artists for Adam Sandlers summer party 2023, I invited 2 airbrush assistants and a glitter artist to join me for the event at his house! At first, I thought it was a scam because they contacted me through my Instagram account. But no, it was legit. The day before, I couldn’t contain my excitement when they sent me the address. He also said hi to me, I nearly died and went to heaven. This year I was invited to Tik Tok to their headquarters for a private tour, another memorable moment.

I like to think what sets me apart from others is my understanding of other cultures and then being able to connect with people through that. Also my variety of life experiences, I am not your average facepainter, I am also a brand ambassador for a new London based skin care company Hazel Beauty UK, I have taught English overseas, worked at Disneyworld and If I am a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. I love skating at Venice Beach, Surfing, Reading, Growing veggies, Thrifting, Cliff jumping, Wild Swimming & Cold Plunges.

What matters most to you?
I am passionate about spreading joy through art, being as helpful as I can to the people around me and dedicated to becoming a better listener. Rather than talking, I love to give other people the opportunity to share or express. Being so passionate about the arts has given me an outlet to use my imagination and have a creative outlet. I also like to share travel stories if people show interest.

Pricing:

• Kids Party $250 Facepainting
• Entertainment $100 ph
• Gitter Tattoo Service $270
• Glitter Bar $240
• Body Painting $100 ph

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sky_creative7/
• Phone: +1(310-866-7092)