I was approached by the charity Stroke UK to do a body painting for them for #MayMayPurple campaign.  I jumped at the chance as I love body painting and had been yearning to do another one, as I hadn't done one for years.   Obviously, the theme was purple, so I know I had to incorporate that into the design.  I didn't just want to paint anything basic, like a t-shirt with the logo on, I wanted to go all out and do something glamorous, especially as Siana Hemmings, (Miss Lincolnshire), had agreed to be our model.

Stroke UK supports survivors to make their best possible recovery, as they come to terms with life after stroke.  There are 1.2 million stroke survivors in the U.K.  (The Stroke helpline - 0303 303 3100, www.stroke.org.uk)

Aaron Cheeseman, (Ched53), also agreed to be our photographer - I had admired his work and was chuffed that he wanted to help out too for this great cause.  I also contacted Healing Manor and they agreed that we could do the shoot at their beautiful venue, in my favourite room - the bridal suite.  Rachel Courtney from Cherry Blossom hair boutique also agreed to be the hairdresser for this, so we were all organised.

I started body painting at around 9 am that day, first sketching out the design and then colouring with the purple.  I also had to use a black shade to give the purple depth.  I finished with neatening the lines with pencils.  I used MAC chromacakes and Make-up Forever products, bought from Guru Make-up Emporium in London, one of my favourite make-up shops.  I had also bought a purple Face lace mask, as I knew I wouldn't have much time to be able to do Siana's face make-up, and I wanted to concentrate more on the body painting.

The whole body painting took me around 7 hours to complete and I also had bought some lovely purple sequins to compliment the design.  I think you will agree, the image came out beautifully.  I am really proud of this, especially as my Nanna was victim to many strokes, and passed away when I was about 13 years old.