Episode #3.5 (2016) - full transcript
- In the intense world
- of competitive body painting,
you can either keep your cool
or turn up the heat.
- ♪ This ain't no illusion,
babe ♪
♪ Yeah, you're heaven made ♪
- It's a sizzling season three
of "Skin Wars."
The art of body painting
is more powerful than ever.
- 12 of the most talented artists
- from around the world
will push themselves
week after week...
You painted your heart out.
- Proving who is brilliant
- with a brush...
- Yeah!
- Just amazing.
- Loved it.
- I came here to win.
- And who can't handle
- the pressure.
- I'm freaking out.
- Wow.
- What?
Almost there.
- How dare you disgrace
this competition
with your bull****?
- Do you want to leave
the competition?
This week, eight remain
to fight for the grand prize:
$100,000 and the ultimate title
of "Skin Wars" champion.
- Now that I've won
my first concept challenge,
I'm feeling so strong.
I am so excited
to keep this run going.
- Hello painters.
Hi!
- You've seen your competitors
disappear one by one,
and if you aren't careful,
your dreams could
go up in smoke.
- Oh!
- Hello, painters.
Hi.
- Well, hello, everyone,
Ru-dini here.
- Ru-dini.
- Painters, for your
first challenge,
- you will have
- three hours to paint
waist-up, front or back,
optical illusion on your models.
- Yes!
- When your paintings
- are finished,
you'll pose your model in front
of a black backdrop.
Please use the backdrops
set up in the studio
while you work to ensure
your illusion is successful.
- We have a black background,
- so with the black paint,
- you can actually
remove body parts.
There's a lot of different ways
that you can play
with people's eyes,
play with their vision
to make them believe
that what isn't there is
or what is there isn't.
- This is a very difficult
concept to design,
so pay attention
to your negative space
to create the illusion.
- Don't be the painter
who disappears next.
- You'll have three hours
to complete this challenge.
And your time starts now.
- Ooh.
- Okay.
- I'm, like, really
excited about this one.
This is way more my speed.
My strategy has been to
kind of stay under the radar,
but today,
I'm going in full confidence.
Basically this arm is
gonna be free floating.
We're going android-ish.
- Okay.
- Esque.
I love robotics.
I love metal.
With robotics, I can, you know,
have sparks flying.
I can actually rip
her arm off, you know,
- and have the mechanical
- parts all in there
and that's my base idea,
that's what I want to run with
and see what happens.
- Who was the bottom last time?
- It was me, Jess, and Rick.
- Not the funnest ride.
- Yeah.
- Being on eliminations
stage is very scary.
It was like tunnel vision.
In a way, I felt like
I was losing my marbles.
I created the marbles
coming out from within
and then that tunnel
vision going inwards.
- It's like any artist,
- you know?
- You make good art,
- you make bad art.
- Right.
- This is my good art.
- This is my forte.
- Mm-hmm.
- I start thinking
- about this quilt
that my mom has.
Why not create
a quilt on this girl,
like she's sewing herself?
Put your hands up for me.
- I can blend her
- into the background
like she's uncomplete.
How beautiful is that?
- All right you guys,
we've only got one hour left.
- My piece is
prisoner of "Skin Wars."
- It's been very
- interesting for me
to take all these
guidelines from the judges.
I want to have
creative freedom,
so definitely struggling.
- I'm, like, exactly where I
- wanted to be to be at one hour.
I'm stoked.
- I look over, and Alison's
doing the same thing,
but she doesn't have
any optical illusion.
- Luis has got
the exact same positioning
of his model's hands
and the same exact
effect of the skin
being pulled open,
but I know
that mine's better overall.
- All right, you guys,
we have 15 minutes left.
We need more time.
We need more time!
- Time's up!
Tools down!
Time to see what tricks
you have up your sleeves.
Michael, tell us
about your painting.
- So this painting is called
Gator Is In Fashion,
and I wanted to make
a statement about animal abuse
in the fashion industry.
When she opens her arms,
there is an effect of
the gators screaming for help.
- I remember on one
of the earlier challenges
you did wolves.
- Yeah, and pieces.
- Wolves.
You've been playing it
safe in this challenge.
- Well, I feel like I wanted
to still show that idea
but with a stronger visual.
- I decided
- to evolve the pattern
of my own tattoo.
- I want to know about
- your color choices here.
You've got some trippy colors.
- These are very bright colors.
I feel like if I would've
went with a really
- darkish tone,
- it would've just been more of
a 2-D type of image.
- Stay away from that muddy dark
you've been warned about.
- I used inspiration
from a old quilt.
I wanted it to be like she was
stitching herself together.
- Like, it was a metaphor
- for life
as not all the pieces
of the quilt are beautiful.
That's what makes the quilt
full and whole inside.
- My painting is based on
the last elimination.
I felt like I was
at a chopping block,
and I felt like
I was losing my marbles.
- So you're happy
- to be here right now?
- Oh, definitely.
I'm very grateful, and I hope
not to let you guys down again.
- This right here, I'm calling
- it Self Construction.
- As you can see,
- she's kind of, like,
- putting her arm
- back together
and just building herself
all the way out.
- Okay, Otto, thank you.
- Thank you.
- This is the
- Green-Eyed Monster--
- Yes it is.
- 'Cause, you know,
- thinking some of my competitors
are a little green-eyed jealous
over my win last time.
- There's some
similarities with Luis's.
- Funny that we ended
up with a similar thing.
- The chance that two people
have the exact same pose,
I'm not buying it at all.
- Do you think yours
is better than Luis's?
- It's different.
I wanted to cover all of her
and not leave the flesh tone.
- Hans, tell us
about your painting.
- This piece is a POSW:
Prisoner of "Skin Wars."
- Wow.
- Prisoner of "Skin Wars."
This feeling personal?
- All wars have a prisoner,
and so I figured that would
be a good, fun theme to do.
- I also like doing
- the illusion of a fish tank.
- You know,
- the fish is stuck in its tank.
- I always wondered
- what they were thinking
inside that little bowl.
- It's a very dark piece,
so is this a reflection
of how you're really feeling,
like, deep inside?
- You could say that.
- Yeah, there's something coming
from you that you're not saying.
I have a sense that
if you let it all out,
you're afraid that you might
hurt some feelings or something.
- Basically, yeah.
- This piece is called
The Butterfly Effect.
- Every competition
- that I go into,
I always feel butterflies
in my stomach,
and I'm slowly
gaining more respect
for myself and my artwork.
Each butterfly is escaping,
and making me feel
better as we go.
- How were you able to get
that lattice work so precise?
- I used my trusty tape today.
- Okay, thank you, Brittney.
- Thank you, judges.
- So what'd you think?
- Visually strong works.
- Yeah.
- I really did appreciate
the lattice work
that Brittney's had.
It tricked my eye.
- I wish she would've
- used more black.
- Absolutely.
- Yeah.
- I wish she would've not used
so much of the skin
because when you're using
that black background,
you can really segment things
so that it's not
just a lattice work
painted on a woman's body.
- Right.
- Right, right, right.
- What about Hans?
- Sounds like he's having
so much struggle internally,
but even though
Hans' piece was a bit dark,
I really enjoyed
the optical illusion part.
- Feels like he's
right at the tipping point.
- He's fighting something.
- Yes.
- What about Tiffany?
- Tiffany's work
- with the patch quilt.
- Oh.
- That quilt.
- It had heart,
and it was just
so beautifully painted.
She had the optical illusion
where she broke it
down into the black,
and then the model actually
trying to, you know,
hold that needle.
- I also enjoyed Luis's.
I loved that.
That was really spooky.
- Yeah, it was spooky.
- There were textures,
things that were playing
with my eye.
- And that sort of tunnel
he created
in her chest cavity
was beautiful.
- Alison's piece
was painted beautifully,
- it's just there was
- no optical illusion.
- We wanted that trick.
- We wanted to trick our eyes.
- We want our
- eyes to be tricked, yeah.
- She'd win
- the eyeball challenge.
- Yes.
- Yeah.
- So have you made a decision?
- I think we got it, yeah.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Yeah.
- Okay, let's tell them.
- Let's go, let's go.
- Okay, painters, let's find out
who tricked the eyes
of the judges the most.
Tiffany.
- Brittney.
Luis.
Yes.
You are the top three painters.
Please step forward.
- Once again,
- I'm not the winner,
- and my feelings get hurt
- because they don't understand
my piece today,
so I'm pretty pissed
about it, but...
- Great job, painters.
You all did wonderful work,
but of course,
there can be only one winner
for this challenge.
And the winner of
this challenge is...
- Okay, painters,
- you had three hours
to create an optical illusion
on your models.
- Tiffany, that quilt
was exquisite,
And I love that you really
used the patchwork
to share moments
from your life,
both good and bad.
- Thank you.
- Brittney, that lattice
work was wonderful.
It had depth, dimension,
and really tricked the eye.
- Thank you.
- Luis, you took the criticism
from the last time
and used it.
That spiral really
tricked the eye.
You may have found
your marbles.
- I just hope
- I don't lose them again.
- You all did wonderful work,
but of course,
there can be only one winner
for this challenge.
- The winner of this
- challenge is...
Yay.
- Luis, you are the winner.
- It feels good
- to redeem myself.
I'm feeling pretty confident.
- Okay, painters,
as far as your next challenge,
if you want to see what
the future holds,
please meet us
over at the elimination stage.
See you there.
Bye!
- Oh, this is interesting.
- There's, like, a séance
going on or something.
There's a crystal ball,
- and Rebecca and the judges
- are sitting there
like they're about
to look into the crystal ball
for us and read our fortunes.
- Hello, painters.
Hello.
- In your first challenge,
- you worked to trick our eyes
and bend our minds
with your optical illusions.
In this concept challenge,
you will draw inspiration
from another mystical tradition.
You will design your own version
of a classic tarot card.
- I'm not an expert
- in the tarot,
but if you go to a reader,
- certain cards
- represent the past,
the present, the future,
and so where the card is
in the placement of your reading
will determine what its
meaning actually is for you.
- Consider your
- card's visual aspect
- as well as
- the meaning behind them.
You'll have five hours to create
a head-to-toe,
360-degree painting.
Let the spirit move
you to select your card
from the table.
- The tarot cards,
they're so beautiful.
Their art is amazing on them,
and I'm super excited.
- Brittney.
- The Wheel of Fortune.
- Oh.
- Otto, you're next.
- The Sun.
- Luis.
- The Hermit.
- Death.
- The Moon.
- Hierophant.
The what?
I have never heard
of this thing before.
- The Star.
- Hans?
- The Chariot.
- Painters, this is
another tough challenge.
- I want you to put
- a lot of thought
and energy into your design.
- Y'all, I want to see
bold decisions,
lots of creativity
and energy in your work.
Your future depends on it.
- Good luck, painters.
Bye-bye.
Bye.
- I'm a little scared
because I don't know tarot,
and without that confidence,
that eats at you,
that tears you down,
so this challenge is gonna
be really hard for me.
- How are you today?
- We got this.
- Are you ready for today?
- Yeah.
- We're gonna do, like,
- a wrecking ball
going through you.
- Like, a brick wall
- and then graffiti on it.
I have the Hermit.
It means guidance,
soul searching,
and introspection,
so I relate to that a lot
because I always have the fear
of stepping out of
- my comfort zone
- like a hermit.
The wrecking ball,
- that's gonna start
- from your hand
and the chain's gonna go down,
and it's gonna, like,
shatter through your chest.
- I'm not big into tarot cards,
but I figure I'll do
a nice little story.
The Sun tarot represents fun,
- warmth,
- positivity,
and I'm all about that, so...
- the expression on
- the sun's face,
I want it to have, like,
a wicked smile.
You know,
a mischievous good time.
- We're gonna win today.
- See, that's the kind of
attitude I like to hear.
- I have the Death card,
and most people think of death
as the ending of things,
but what we don't realize
- is that there's
- a new beginning,
and that's really what
the Death card means.
- Bring your arms up.
- Yeah.
I want to incorporate
a regular skeleton
over the color red to represent
passion and the pain.
- On the other half
- of the skeleton
I want to use bright colors
to project life.
- I'm excited to see what's gonna
- come from this.
Oh, my God, oh, my God,
oh, my God,
oh, my God, oh, my God.
- The Chariot card
has to do with control,
determination, and victory.
Chariot takes you places.
It's also about willpower.
- It's like, do you want to do
- something or do you not?
- Whenever you're in
- a position where you're
- trying your hardest
- and you're doing your best work,
and they keep letting you know
that you're not really valued,
it's, like, I'm not gonna waste
any more of your time then.
- So at this point,
- I have no idea what the judges
are looking for,
so I don't care anymore.
- All right, I need to start
- stepping this up.
- Looking around the room,
everyone's piece is popping
and just looks awesome,
but I do not get Luis's piece.
It doesn't look
anything like tarot.
- The movement
will go like that.
- He killed it in
- the first challenge,
but this could take him down.
- We have five hours
to do this tarot card
front-and-back body painting.
I chose the Star,
and I noticed
on the tarot card,
there was a girl,
there was water flowing,
- there was a bird
- about to take off.
I want to incorporate them
into a design on the body.
I'm gonna go literal
with the body painting.
On the front, I want
it to be very symmetrical.
I wanted to show
the girl with the water
wrapping around the body,
- and I wanted her
- facial expression
to be very happy and hopeful
because that's what
my card is about.
- The description behind my
tarot card is fear and security
and illusion, so I wanted
to make the illusion
of outer space coming
from the inside of my model.
- I wanted to pretty much
- break her apart
with the phases of the moon.
- No matter what
- destiny you have,
it all happens within time.
- Wheel of Fortune
- actually represents
turning points in your life,
karma, luck, and destiny.
I put it on grandfather clock
because that's the route
that I want to take it,
- is that I'm creating
- my own time
and my own destiny.
At the bottom of my piece
there are going to be
these angelic figures
representing
that support system around me
from all of my family.
- I want to come across
- to the judges that
I truly understand
the card and what it means,
and how it factors
in my life as well.
- Good morning, painters.
Well, as you can see, I have
Craig and Robin here today.
- We're gonna go around
- and take a look at your work.
- So you pulled
- the Hierophant card.
- Uh-huh.
- Hierophant means religion,
conformity, tradition?
- Right.
- In high school, non-conformity
- was like my religion,
so that's what my sophomore
high school yearbook picture
looked like.
- Oh, okay.
- That's me.
- I want to represent my
- non-conformity of my youth,
and then this radiant mother
energy embracing the group.
- So you pulled the Sun card.
- Oh, I did.
I'm just gonna have fun with it.
- I'm gonna stay away
- from the flames
- and the phoenix
- and everything else.
- Tell us about your sketch.
- My daughter's my source
- of enlightenment,
so I got to put her on there.
- Do you miss your daughter?
- Oh, I do,
and I know that she misses me.
- What death does is teach us
how to cope
with the ending of something
and start a new beginning.
- You're gonna build
- a headpiece for this?
- I would like to, yeah.
- It's just gonna
- be, like, paper I think.
- So you need a lot
- of time management
with something this complicated.
- Yeah, well, I'm hoping that
- I can make the headpiece,
but I don't know if I can.
- We're gonna have
- a wrecking ball
that just kind of,
like, open me up, you know?
- Are we gonna be able
- to look at this piece
and understand that it's
for the Hermit card?
- It's more of an explanation
- kind of deal.
- I didn't just want
- to do something literal.
- Hello, Hans.
- Hello, judges.
- Hi.
- How are you?
- The Chariot card
stands for control,
willpower, victory,
and celebration.
- You're going with
- a pretty bold pattern
as a focal point on your front.
Are you saving the chariot
for the back for us?
- I have a whole presentation
that I think will be understood.
- As you know,
- I like to tell a story.
You'll understand the way
everything is designed.
- Well, we like surprises.
- Awesome.
- I'm excited
- to show you all later.
- Thanks, Hans.
- No worries.
- All right,
- we'll see you all shortly.
Thanks, guys.
- I put my daughter on the back
because one
of the ideas represented
- by the Sun card
- is enlightenment.
She is my enlightenment,
my hope,
my guide, and I do a lot of
stuff that I do because of her.
- Looking over
- at Hans's work here,
I think he's more on
the simpler side,
- and everyone else
- has more detailed work.
I'm over Hans.
- I think a lot of people
- in the house are over Hans.
- He's always just, like,
- talking and talking
about how great he is
and how well he's doing,
but in reality, it's ****.
I don't think he has the skills
- to stay in this
- competition long enough.
- It's just been really
- hard in this competition.
- Art's not usually
- about being judged.
It's about personal expression,
so at this point now,
I'm just over it.
- How does it look?
- It looks cool.
- All right, everybody,
we got ten minutes left,
- Ten minutes left!
- All right, ten minutes!
- Down to the wire!
- Y'all better get your work!
Awesome.
- Lot of people
- are going crazy today.
- All right.
I am happy with it.
- I got you, girl.
Look how good she looks.
I'm hella proud.
- That's it!
- Time's up.
Tools down, painters.
- Whoo.
- Now the judges can't wait
- to see your final design.
Follow me over
to the elimination stage, guys.
- I look at my piece,
and I look back around,
and I'm like, "Aw, crap."
Don't see a lot
of tarot in my piece.
- Welcome, painters.
- Hello.
- Howdy.
- Hi.
- Let's welcome back
our esteemed judges:
Craig Tracy.
- Hello, painters.
- Hello.
- Robin Slonina.
- Hello.
- RuPaul Charles.
- Abracadabra.
- Poof.
- As if by magic,
we have the perfect guest judge
for this challenge.
She's an internationally
known magician
and one of the judges
on SyFy's popular magic
competition show, "Wizard Wars."
Please welcome
magic critic Christen Gerhart.
- Hey, painters.
- Hey.
- I'm a huge fan of art,
- and I'm really excited
- to see how you guys
- take your interpretations
of these tarot cards.
- I can't wait to see it.
- I know it'll be fantastic.
- You've had five hours
to redesign
a classic tarot card.
The most fortunate painter
will win this challenge
and one of you,
as fate would have it,
will be sent home.
Let's see who has the cards
stacked in their favor.
- The Hierophant
represents conformity,
tradition, and religion.
For the front, I just want
to embody religion.
There's these rays of light
coming out of her.
For the back, non-conformity
was my religion,
and that self portrait,
it's just beautifully rendered.
- When my model
- walks out on stage,
it looks way better
'cause the lighting
on stage just makes
your colors pop.
It makes the glitter
flakes so crazy.
The breaking apart illusion
represents how people change
when there's a full moon.
I definitely feel like
I'm gonna be on top.
- The Wheel of Fortune
has to do with destiny
and turning points.
It's all an illusion of time,
so I centered that
around her chest.
On the backside, I got a little
more spiritual with it,
because if you take
a better approach
in morality, good karma
will always lead its way
into your life.
- I'm proud
of the piece I created.
- The Hermit,
- it's about boundaries,
and that wall is a boundary,
- and you have to have
- that wrecking ball
to knock it down.
- I feel good about it
- as an artist,
- but if they
- don't understand it,
- the whole thing
- just falls apart.
- The model comes out,
and I'm just like,
"Damn that's good."
The colors are popping,
the skeleton looks alive.
I made a headpiece with all
of these little spermies,
and I paint DNA to represent
life coming after death.
I'm super proud.
- I painted a portrait
of my daughter
on the back of my Sun card.
She is a huge influence
in what I do
and why I do what I do.
I have issues
with paint cracking.
- I don't know
- if I'm applying it wrong,
but I'll just cross my fingers.
I had fun with the piece,
but it didn't stack up
to what I normally do.
- I wanted to represent
- every single person
that was there for "Skin Wars,"
so I pick eight stars.
There's eight people there.
I wanted to show
the girl with the water
wrapping around the body,
- and I wanted the bird
- on the back
to represent hope
and vitality in this card.
I'm feeling pretty safe.
- I have a pretty good piece.
I mixed all these
different medias together,
bringing fabric and bringing
the lashes, the makeup.
I've used the gems,
applied wardrobe.
I don't need to fill every
little inch full of detail.
I think that's not good.
- Wow, painters, great job.
Okay, Alison, you're up.
- I pulled the Hierophant.
It was described
as representing religion,
conformity, tradition.
Growing up as a teenager,
my religion was basically
non-conformity.
- This is sort of
- a beautified self portrait
of myself as a teenager here
being that non-conformist.
- The back turns
- a little cartoonish,
- but I got to tell you,
- they way you've done the face
with that turquoise
and the light in there,
it is timeless.
- Thank you.
- I am in love
with the front of your model.
When your model came out
and you did that beautiful
pose with your arms spread
and your head back
and your eyes closed,
I mean talk about regal.
- Okay, thank you, Alison.
Rick, your turn.
- I decided to go
- with the name Luna
'cause the name in
Spanish sounds a lot more
beautiful than just moon.
- I'm mesmerized.
That back with the cracks
and revealing the whole universe
within the body like that
I think is really poetic.
I also love how that
hand is coming down
as the tarot card reader
chooses that card.
- I love that you
- called it Luna
and you didn't refer
to it as just the moon.
It's a personal touch
that was spectacular.
The moonlight on
the water is beautiful.
- Thank you very much.
- Okay, Brittney, you're next.
- On her chest I have
the wheel of fortune itself,
and it's placed upon a clock
- because I believe
- that all good fortune
comes in good time.
I wanted to go with a very
spiritual representation here.
- Down towards
- the bottom are represented
by two guardian
angels in my life,
my grandfather and my mother,
because they've been the most
inspirational in my life
and pushed me--excuse me.
They've pushed me
the most to go after my dreams
and what I wanted.
- Are they still with us?
- They are still with us.
My grandfather is currently
battling cancer,
and it's killing me right now,
but he--knowing that
he's there supporting me...
And hoping for the best for me
really drives me.
- I love this painting.
I love how it shows
your gratitude for the fortune
you've been given, and it's
all over this painting.
- The best part about this
is just truly how much love
you put into it.
It comes across in your work.
- Thank you.
- Yes.
- Okay, Hans, you're up.
- The cool thing
- about tarot is always
the intrigue of wondering
what is on the other side
of that card.
And this mystic provides
a card for you to choose.
This here is the card.
And so I picked my card,
and then it's revealed.
The Chariot card.
The chariot.
- I didn't realize
- that the reveal
would just sort of
be turning her around.
- Point taken.
- At this point in
- the competition,
I do think I just want
a little bit more, you know?
- Something a little bit
- more active,
- a little
- bit more exciting.
- It was about control,
so it's important for that
to be what the focal point is.
- The chariot is about movement.
- You know,
- front and back,
I feel like your composition
is very static.
- I guess, you know,
there's so many different ways
to interpret tarot.
I'm very confused today.
My piece is a good piece
and it's extremely clean,
so the judges are definitely
frustrating me right now.
- Your interpretation
- of the Chariot
is very literal,
and very telling.
- All these gimmicks
- and glitz and glamour
- and shiny things that
- spin in the wind, you know,
it's not art.
- Your interpretation
- of the Chariot
is very literal,
and very telling.
- All these gimmicks
- and glitz and glamour
- and shiny things that
- spin in the wind, you know,
it's not art.
- It's a little overly
simplistic for me.
I wanted to see more
creative elements.
Ultimately, you're
responsible for that.
- Thank you, Hans.
Okay, Michael, your turn.
- This is my own
modern interpretation
of the tarot card Death,
and it's all about endings,
beginnings, and transformation.
For the pedal design
and the colors underneath
is to project life,
and to show the movement
of the transformation,
and the DNA which are
the micro and macro cosmos.
- You not only did an incredibly
detailed painting,
but you also built
two headpieces.
I can't believe how
time-consuming
that must have been to achieve.
- I feel like you were
- just on fire today.
You must have been painting
like a speed demon.
- The headpiece is spectacular.
- This is her hair bun,
and when I saw it I was like,
- "Oh, that's the chin
- of a skull,"
- and I was like,
- "That's perfect."
- It's magnificent.
- Thank you.
- I'm missing a focal point
- on the back.
- Yeah.
- I get what you're doing
with this DNA sort of motif,
but it doesn't have the same
power that the front has.
- I agree.
- Okay, Otto.
- All right.
The Sun card
represents fun, warmth,
and my little girl,
she's a great source for me.
- She's only six, but she teaches
- me just as much.
- I'm not getting the tarot,
but I am getting that your
daughter is the sunshine
of your life.
- Thank you.
- So technically,
how do you think you did?
- Still having troubles.
- The face falls
apart a little bi.
I don't like the wig.
- Your cracking issue,
- with practice,
eventually you're gonna know,
like, "Oh, this is gonna crack."
- I think I'm just
- too much in a hurry.
I got to calm down and keep my
head in the game as I'm going.
- There's not a lot of
that tarot aspect of it.
- I would've liked
- to see a little more
- of the card interpretation
- of not only your life,
- but something else
- that you can draw from that.
- Okay, Tiffany, you're next.
- My body painting
was the Star,
and basically what
I wanted to represent
is the tarot card with a more
upgraded, fun appeal,
- and on the tarot card
- there was the woman
and she was pouring
water out of her vase,
- but here I wanted her
- to kind of bring life
- with the water
- wrapping around her.
And around the pool,
if you go to the back,
it comes up and creates
this jungle theme right here.
- I wish someone would make
- me gauntlets like that
because those are awesome.
- The front of this
piece really feels tarot.
Love the star
and the belly button there.
There's just a lot
of beautiful power to the front.
- Thank you so much.
- Luis, you're up.
- The Hermit,
it's all about soul searching
and guidance, so I use art
to guide my entire life.
- The brick wall
- is kind of my skin.
There's this wall
which is pretty much
the barrier that I put up,
- so the wrecking ball,
- it's, like,
I'm not afraid anymore
to just knock out a word
once I understand it.
- I feel like
the head-to-toe brick
is a little bit oppressive.
- I also just
don't feel the Hermit.
I just wish there was a bit more
of the actual tarot.
- Okay, thank you, Luis.
- Thanks, guys.
- Painters, please return
to the painters' lounge
and we'll call you back shortly.
So who were your favorites?
- I really enjoyed Michael's.
I thought he really depicted
the Death card beautifully
because he also included the
rebirth and the regeneration,
which is so important
for that card.
- It spoke
of the card without question.
- Another one of my favorites
was Rick.
I think he just did
a fantastic job tonight.
- I loved that piece.
I thought it was
a wonderful interpretation.
I felt like it really embodied
what this competition
particular was about.
- Putting that glitter
as the reflection
on the water, that was
a stroke of genius.
- Well, what'd you guys
- think about Alison?
- It was just exquisite.
And the face,
she looked like Nina Simone.
She looked like
an African princess.
- Otto had the best intentions
with this piece.
There were parts of it that
were so charming and beautiful,
but I think he kind of
missed the mark completely
as far as execution
of the challenge.
- He painted a carnival picture.
- It's sort of cheapened the idea
- and the mystique
of a tarot card.
- Here we are,
- halfway through the competition,
and his paint is still cracking.
- Luis's work was
very difficult for me to follow.
- That '80s vibe thing
just wasn't doing it.
- I just felt that
- he didn't really
understand the depth
of the Hermit card.
- At this level
- in the competition,
it is not good enough.
Hans is not trying
hard enough for me,
and this was a safe painting.
Even the wheels on the chariot,
which are suppose to take him
to the next phase of his life,
were sort of an afterthought.
- They looked stuck and stopped,
- and that's how I feel
- like he is right now.
- I feel the same way.
I'm uninterested
in what he's doing,
and that's the worst place
you want to be
in a competition like this.
- Okay, so have you made
a decision?
- The cards have spoken.
- Welcome back, painters.
You did unbelievable work.
The judges had to conjure up
all their wisdom
- and they've made
- their decisions.
Tiffany.
Brittney.
Congratulations, you're safe.
- Thank you.
- Please head back
- to the lounge.
- Good luck, guys.
- Michael.
Alison.
Rick.
Congratulations,
you're the top three painters.
Michael and Rick.
You are the top two painters.
Alison, you're safe.
- Thank you.
- You may head
- back to the lounge.
- Thank you.
- Michael...
- You're the winner.
- Congratulations.
- Yeah!
- You not only depicted
Death beautifully,
but also life,
which is the true meaning
of that tarot card.
- You and Rick may go
back to the lounge.
- Thank you so much.
Yeah, that's right.
I'm feeling so good and smooth.
- Congratulations.
- So cool to win.
- Hans,
I have a question for you.
- Shoot.
- Do you really want to be here?
- It's been a little
- rough for me lately,
- finding my inspiration
- and passion
and making beautiful art,
but I'll tell you,
I haven't really had a chance
to do that,
and it's been very
uncomfortable.
- This competition,
- we recognize,
is not comfortable.
- Yeah, it makes you not want
to do it anymore, you know?
- If that's the case,
then why be here?
- Maybe you're right, Ru.
- Maybe I don't
- want to be in the competition.
- You have to realize
- that in L.A., I'm the guy
who goes and makes the model
more pretty on the runway.
- Hans, we feed off
of your energy,
and we need you
to want to be here.
- It has been hard for me.
- Do you want to leave
the competition?
- If I don't have a place
where I can make my best work
in a passionate place,
I would say that--
- This is a lot of words again.
I want you to answer
the question.
Do you want to stay
or do you want to go?
- Well, you know,
- everything in this competition
has been a new question and
a new riddle within each day,
so this right here
is a riddle like the rest.
- How dare you disgrace
this competition
with your bull?
If you don't want to be here,
then get out.
- Hans, do you want
to leave the competition?
- Sure.
- Well, we hear you
loud and clear.
This is not the place for you.
- Thank you, Hans.
Good luck.
- I'm not into, like,
- these fickle little stupid games
about who's better
or who should win.
I don't play that game.
- Okay, am I safe
or am I not safe?
- Otto and Luis,
as if tonight hasn't been
difficult enough,
you are in the bottom two
and one of you
will be going home tonight.
- Otto, you had
the best intentions,
but you just didn't depict
much of your tarot card,
and technically,
that cracking was distracting.
Luis,
there was too much brick,
and it felt sort of outdated.
It just didn't really
relate to the tarot.
- The judges had a very
hard decision to make.
Otto...
It's time for you to go home.
- No problem.
- Luis, you're safe for now.
You can go back
to the painters' lounge.
- Thank you, guys.
My confidence is destroyed,
but I'm safe,
and I get another day to paint.
- I told you
- you weren't going home.
- But I wasn't expecting Hans
- to just throw in the towel
- like that.
- What?
- Wow.
- Otto's gone as well.
- No.
How the hell did they choose
your piece over his piece today?
- If you have a problem
- with that, talk to the judges.
- I'm just utterly
shocked that they picked
Luis's piece over Otto's piece.
It wasn't beautiful in the way
like a tarot card should be.
- You are a gentle giant,
a sweet, sensitive man
with a lot of talent.
Your daughter is a lucky,
lucky little girl.
- Otto,
please go wash off your canvas.
- Thank you.
This whole opportunity,
this whole experience
was outstanding.
- No, no, no, no,
no, no, no.
- Just to be able to meet
all these different artists,
just to be able to...
to play.
- My dude.
- All right, bud.
- It was a fun ride.
- Always.
This battle was fun.
I had a blast.
Bye, Otto.
See you later.
I'm not gonna cry about it.
I'm not gonna get mad about it.
Just being able
to make it to "Skin Wars"
is one of the highlights
of my life.
- Next time on "Skin Wars"...
- We're sending you
- on a little field trip.
- Whoa!
- We're gonna get into
- the tank.
I've never done that before.
- It's like an adrenaline rush.
- Is anyone freaking out?
- Yes!
- You got so much
foam on that girl.
- Yeah.
- Luis has no idea
- what he's doing.
- Do you now what that is?
- It's a lobster, right?
- No!
- This piece reminded me
of a third grade play.
- It's a -up mess.
- You need to check your ego.
It could send you home.
- of competitive body painting,
you can either keep your cool
or turn up the heat.
- ♪ This ain't no illusion,
babe ♪
♪ Yeah, you're heaven made ♪
- It's a sizzling season three
of "Skin Wars."
The art of body painting
is more powerful than ever.
- 12 of the most talented artists
- from around the world
will push themselves
week after week...
You painted your heart out.
- Proving who is brilliant
- with a brush...
- Yeah!
- Just amazing.
- Loved it.
- I came here to win.
- And who can't handle
- the pressure.
- I'm freaking out.
- Wow.
- What?
Almost there.
- How dare you disgrace
this competition
with your bull****?
- Do you want to leave
the competition?
This week, eight remain
to fight for the grand prize:
$100,000 and the ultimate title
of "Skin Wars" champion.
- Now that I've won
my first concept challenge,
I'm feeling so strong.
I am so excited
to keep this run going.
- Hello painters.
Hi!
- You've seen your competitors
disappear one by one,
and if you aren't careful,
your dreams could
go up in smoke.
- Oh!
- Hello, painters.
Hi.
- Well, hello, everyone,
Ru-dini here.
- Ru-dini.
- Painters, for your
first challenge,
- you will have
- three hours to paint
waist-up, front or back,
optical illusion on your models.
- Yes!
- When your paintings
- are finished,
you'll pose your model in front
of a black backdrop.
Please use the backdrops
set up in the studio
while you work to ensure
your illusion is successful.
- We have a black background,
- so with the black paint,
- you can actually
remove body parts.
There's a lot of different ways
that you can play
with people's eyes,
play with their vision
to make them believe
that what isn't there is
or what is there isn't.
- This is a very difficult
concept to design,
so pay attention
to your negative space
to create the illusion.
- Don't be the painter
who disappears next.
- You'll have three hours
to complete this challenge.
And your time starts now.
- Ooh.
- Okay.
- I'm, like, really
excited about this one.
This is way more my speed.
My strategy has been to
kind of stay under the radar,
but today,
I'm going in full confidence.
Basically this arm is
gonna be free floating.
We're going android-ish.
- Okay.
- Esque.
I love robotics.
I love metal.
With robotics, I can, you know,
have sparks flying.
I can actually rip
her arm off, you know,
- and have the mechanical
- parts all in there
and that's my base idea,
that's what I want to run with
and see what happens.
- Who was the bottom last time?
- It was me, Jess, and Rick.
- Not the funnest ride.
- Yeah.
- Being on eliminations
stage is very scary.
It was like tunnel vision.
In a way, I felt like
I was losing my marbles.
I created the marbles
coming out from within
and then that tunnel
vision going inwards.
- It's like any artist,
- you know?
- You make good art,
- you make bad art.
- Right.
- This is my good art.
- This is my forte.
- Mm-hmm.
- I start thinking
- about this quilt
that my mom has.
Why not create
a quilt on this girl,
like she's sewing herself?
Put your hands up for me.
- I can blend her
- into the background
like she's uncomplete.
How beautiful is that?
- All right you guys,
we've only got one hour left.
- My piece is
prisoner of "Skin Wars."
- It's been very
- interesting for me
to take all these
guidelines from the judges.
I want to have
creative freedom,
so definitely struggling.
- I'm, like, exactly where I
- wanted to be to be at one hour.
I'm stoked.
- I look over, and Alison's
doing the same thing,
but she doesn't have
any optical illusion.
- Luis has got
the exact same positioning
of his model's hands
and the same exact
effect of the skin
being pulled open,
but I know
that mine's better overall.
- All right, you guys,
we have 15 minutes left.
We need more time.
We need more time!
- Time's up!
Tools down!
Time to see what tricks
you have up your sleeves.
Michael, tell us
about your painting.
- So this painting is called
Gator Is In Fashion,
and I wanted to make
a statement about animal abuse
in the fashion industry.
When she opens her arms,
there is an effect of
the gators screaming for help.
- I remember on one
of the earlier challenges
you did wolves.
- Yeah, and pieces.
- Wolves.
You've been playing it
safe in this challenge.
- Well, I feel like I wanted
to still show that idea
but with a stronger visual.
- I decided
- to evolve the pattern
of my own tattoo.
- I want to know about
- your color choices here.
You've got some trippy colors.
- These are very bright colors.
I feel like if I would've
went with a really
- darkish tone,
- it would've just been more of
a 2-D type of image.
- Stay away from that muddy dark
you've been warned about.
- I used inspiration
from a old quilt.
I wanted it to be like she was
stitching herself together.
- Like, it was a metaphor
- for life
as not all the pieces
of the quilt are beautiful.
That's what makes the quilt
full and whole inside.
- My painting is based on
the last elimination.
I felt like I was
at a chopping block,
and I felt like
I was losing my marbles.
- So you're happy
- to be here right now?
- Oh, definitely.
I'm very grateful, and I hope
not to let you guys down again.
- This right here, I'm calling
- it Self Construction.
- As you can see,
- she's kind of, like,
- putting her arm
- back together
and just building herself
all the way out.
- Okay, Otto, thank you.
- Thank you.
- This is the
- Green-Eyed Monster--
- Yes it is.
- 'Cause, you know,
- thinking some of my competitors
are a little green-eyed jealous
over my win last time.
- There's some
similarities with Luis's.
- Funny that we ended
up with a similar thing.
- The chance that two people
have the exact same pose,
I'm not buying it at all.
- Do you think yours
is better than Luis's?
- It's different.
I wanted to cover all of her
and not leave the flesh tone.
- Hans, tell us
about your painting.
- This piece is a POSW:
Prisoner of "Skin Wars."
- Wow.
- Prisoner of "Skin Wars."
This feeling personal?
- All wars have a prisoner,
and so I figured that would
be a good, fun theme to do.
- I also like doing
- the illusion of a fish tank.
- You know,
- the fish is stuck in its tank.
- I always wondered
- what they were thinking
inside that little bowl.
- It's a very dark piece,
so is this a reflection
of how you're really feeling,
like, deep inside?
- You could say that.
- Yeah, there's something coming
from you that you're not saying.
I have a sense that
if you let it all out,
you're afraid that you might
hurt some feelings or something.
- Basically, yeah.
- This piece is called
The Butterfly Effect.
- Every competition
- that I go into,
I always feel butterflies
in my stomach,
and I'm slowly
gaining more respect
for myself and my artwork.
Each butterfly is escaping,
and making me feel
better as we go.
- How were you able to get
that lattice work so precise?
- I used my trusty tape today.
- Okay, thank you, Brittney.
- Thank you, judges.
- So what'd you think?
- Visually strong works.
- Yeah.
- I really did appreciate
the lattice work
that Brittney's had.
It tricked my eye.
- I wish she would've
- used more black.
- Absolutely.
- Yeah.
- I wish she would've not used
so much of the skin
because when you're using
that black background,
you can really segment things
so that it's not
just a lattice work
painted on a woman's body.
- Right.
- Right, right, right.
- What about Hans?
- Sounds like he's having
so much struggle internally,
but even though
Hans' piece was a bit dark,
I really enjoyed
the optical illusion part.
- Feels like he's
right at the tipping point.
- He's fighting something.
- Yes.
- What about Tiffany?
- Tiffany's work
- with the patch quilt.
- Oh.
- That quilt.
- It had heart,
and it was just
so beautifully painted.
She had the optical illusion
where she broke it
down into the black,
and then the model actually
trying to, you know,
hold that needle.
- I also enjoyed Luis's.
I loved that.
That was really spooky.
- Yeah, it was spooky.
- There were textures,
things that were playing
with my eye.
- And that sort of tunnel
he created
in her chest cavity
was beautiful.
- Alison's piece
was painted beautifully,
- it's just there was
- no optical illusion.
- We wanted that trick.
- We wanted to trick our eyes.
- We want our
- eyes to be tricked, yeah.
- She'd win
- the eyeball challenge.
- Yes.
- Yeah.
- So have you made a decision?
- I think we got it, yeah.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Yeah.
- Okay, let's tell them.
- Let's go, let's go.
- Okay, painters, let's find out
who tricked the eyes
of the judges the most.
Tiffany.
- Brittney.
Luis.
Yes.
You are the top three painters.
Please step forward.
- Once again,
- I'm not the winner,
- and my feelings get hurt
- because they don't understand
my piece today,
so I'm pretty pissed
about it, but...
- Great job, painters.
You all did wonderful work,
but of course,
there can be only one winner
for this challenge.
And the winner of
this challenge is...
- Okay, painters,
- you had three hours
to create an optical illusion
on your models.
- Tiffany, that quilt
was exquisite,
And I love that you really
used the patchwork
to share moments
from your life,
both good and bad.
- Thank you.
- Brittney, that lattice
work was wonderful.
It had depth, dimension,
and really tricked the eye.
- Thank you.
- Luis, you took the criticism
from the last time
and used it.
That spiral really
tricked the eye.
You may have found
your marbles.
- I just hope
- I don't lose them again.
- You all did wonderful work,
but of course,
there can be only one winner
for this challenge.
- The winner of this
- challenge is...
Yay.
- Luis, you are the winner.
- It feels good
- to redeem myself.
I'm feeling pretty confident.
- Okay, painters,
as far as your next challenge,
if you want to see what
the future holds,
please meet us
over at the elimination stage.
See you there.
Bye!
- Oh, this is interesting.
- There's, like, a séance
going on or something.
There's a crystal ball,
- and Rebecca and the judges
- are sitting there
like they're about
to look into the crystal ball
for us and read our fortunes.
- Hello, painters.
Hello.
- In your first challenge,
- you worked to trick our eyes
and bend our minds
with your optical illusions.
In this concept challenge,
you will draw inspiration
from another mystical tradition.
You will design your own version
of a classic tarot card.
- I'm not an expert
- in the tarot,
but if you go to a reader,
- certain cards
- represent the past,
the present, the future,
and so where the card is
in the placement of your reading
will determine what its
meaning actually is for you.
- Consider your
- card's visual aspect
- as well as
- the meaning behind them.
You'll have five hours to create
a head-to-toe,
360-degree painting.
Let the spirit move
you to select your card
from the table.
- The tarot cards,
they're so beautiful.
Their art is amazing on them,
and I'm super excited.
- Brittney.
- The Wheel of Fortune.
- Oh.
- Otto, you're next.
- The Sun.
- Luis.
- The Hermit.
- Death.
- The Moon.
- Hierophant.
The what?
I have never heard
of this thing before.
- The Star.
- Hans?
- The Chariot.
- Painters, this is
another tough challenge.
- I want you to put
- a lot of thought
and energy into your design.
- Y'all, I want to see
bold decisions,
lots of creativity
and energy in your work.
Your future depends on it.
- Good luck, painters.
Bye-bye.
Bye.
- I'm a little scared
because I don't know tarot,
and without that confidence,
that eats at you,
that tears you down,
so this challenge is gonna
be really hard for me.
- How are you today?
- We got this.
- Are you ready for today?
- Yeah.
- We're gonna do, like,
- a wrecking ball
going through you.
- Like, a brick wall
- and then graffiti on it.
I have the Hermit.
It means guidance,
soul searching,
and introspection,
so I relate to that a lot
because I always have the fear
of stepping out of
- my comfort zone
- like a hermit.
The wrecking ball,
- that's gonna start
- from your hand
and the chain's gonna go down,
and it's gonna, like,
shatter through your chest.
- I'm not big into tarot cards,
but I figure I'll do
a nice little story.
The Sun tarot represents fun,
- warmth,
- positivity,
and I'm all about that, so...
- the expression on
- the sun's face,
I want it to have, like,
a wicked smile.
You know,
a mischievous good time.
- We're gonna win today.
- See, that's the kind of
attitude I like to hear.
- I have the Death card,
and most people think of death
as the ending of things,
but what we don't realize
- is that there's
- a new beginning,
and that's really what
the Death card means.
- Bring your arms up.
- Yeah.
I want to incorporate
a regular skeleton
over the color red to represent
passion and the pain.
- On the other half
- of the skeleton
I want to use bright colors
to project life.
- I'm excited to see what's gonna
- come from this.
Oh, my God, oh, my God,
oh, my God,
oh, my God, oh, my God.
- The Chariot card
has to do with control,
determination, and victory.
Chariot takes you places.
It's also about willpower.
- It's like, do you want to do
- something or do you not?
- Whenever you're in
- a position where you're
- trying your hardest
- and you're doing your best work,
and they keep letting you know
that you're not really valued,
it's, like, I'm not gonna waste
any more of your time then.
- So at this point,
- I have no idea what the judges
are looking for,
so I don't care anymore.
- All right, I need to start
- stepping this up.
- Looking around the room,
everyone's piece is popping
and just looks awesome,
but I do not get Luis's piece.
It doesn't look
anything like tarot.
- The movement
will go like that.
- He killed it in
- the first challenge,
but this could take him down.
- We have five hours
to do this tarot card
front-and-back body painting.
I chose the Star,
and I noticed
on the tarot card,
there was a girl,
there was water flowing,
- there was a bird
- about to take off.
I want to incorporate them
into a design on the body.
I'm gonna go literal
with the body painting.
On the front, I want
it to be very symmetrical.
I wanted to show
the girl with the water
wrapping around the body,
- and I wanted her
- facial expression
to be very happy and hopeful
because that's what
my card is about.
- The description behind my
tarot card is fear and security
and illusion, so I wanted
to make the illusion
of outer space coming
from the inside of my model.
- I wanted to pretty much
- break her apart
with the phases of the moon.
- No matter what
- destiny you have,
it all happens within time.
- Wheel of Fortune
- actually represents
turning points in your life,
karma, luck, and destiny.
I put it on grandfather clock
because that's the route
that I want to take it,
- is that I'm creating
- my own time
and my own destiny.
At the bottom of my piece
there are going to be
these angelic figures
representing
that support system around me
from all of my family.
- I want to come across
- to the judges that
I truly understand
the card and what it means,
and how it factors
in my life as well.
- Good morning, painters.
Well, as you can see, I have
Craig and Robin here today.
- We're gonna go around
- and take a look at your work.
- So you pulled
- the Hierophant card.
- Uh-huh.
- Hierophant means religion,
conformity, tradition?
- Right.
- In high school, non-conformity
- was like my religion,
so that's what my sophomore
high school yearbook picture
looked like.
- Oh, okay.
- That's me.
- I want to represent my
- non-conformity of my youth,
and then this radiant mother
energy embracing the group.
- So you pulled the Sun card.
- Oh, I did.
I'm just gonna have fun with it.
- I'm gonna stay away
- from the flames
- and the phoenix
- and everything else.
- Tell us about your sketch.
- My daughter's my source
- of enlightenment,
so I got to put her on there.
- Do you miss your daughter?
- Oh, I do,
and I know that she misses me.
- What death does is teach us
how to cope
with the ending of something
and start a new beginning.
- You're gonna build
- a headpiece for this?
- I would like to, yeah.
- It's just gonna
- be, like, paper I think.
- So you need a lot
- of time management
with something this complicated.
- Yeah, well, I'm hoping that
- I can make the headpiece,
but I don't know if I can.
- We're gonna have
- a wrecking ball
that just kind of,
like, open me up, you know?
- Are we gonna be able
- to look at this piece
and understand that it's
for the Hermit card?
- It's more of an explanation
- kind of deal.
- I didn't just want
- to do something literal.
- Hello, Hans.
- Hello, judges.
- Hi.
- How are you?
- The Chariot card
stands for control,
willpower, victory,
and celebration.
- You're going with
- a pretty bold pattern
as a focal point on your front.
Are you saving the chariot
for the back for us?
- I have a whole presentation
that I think will be understood.
- As you know,
- I like to tell a story.
You'll understand the way
everything is designed.
- Well, we like surprises.
- Awesome.
- I'm excited
- to show you all later.
- Thanks, Hans.
- No worries.
- All right,
- we'll see you all shortly.
Thanks, guys.
- I put my daughter on the back
because one
of the ideas represented
- by the Sun card
- is enlightenment.
She is my enlightenment,
my hope,
my guide, and I do a lot of
stuff that I do because of her.
- Looking over
- at Hans's work here,
I think he's more on
the simpler side,
- and everyone else
- has more detailed work.
I'm over Hans.
- I think a lot of people
- in the house are over Hans.
- He's always just, like,
- talking and talking
about how great he is
and how well he's doing,
but in reality, it's ****.
I don't think he has the skills
- to stay in this
- competition long enough.
- It's just been really
- hard in this competition.
- Art's not usually
- about being judged.
It's about personal expression,
so at this point now,
I'm just over it.
- How does it look?
- It looks cool.
- All right, everybody,
we got ten minutes left,
- Ten minutes left!
- All right, ten minutes!
- Down to the wire!
- Y'all better get your work!
Awesome.
- Lot of people
- are going crazy today.
- All right.
I am happy with it.
- I got you, girl.
Look how good she looks.
I'm hella proud.
- That's it!
- Time's up.
Tools down, painters.
- Whoo.
- Now the judges can't wait
- to see your final design.
Follow me over
to the elimination stage, guys.
- I look at my piece,
and I look back around,
and I'm like, "Aw, crap."
Don't see a lot
of tarot in my piece.
- Welcome, painters.
- Hello.
- Howdy.
- Hi.
- Let's welcome back
our esteemed judges:
Craig Tracy.
- Hello, painters.
- Hello.
- Robin Slonina.
- Hello.
- RuPaul Charles.
- Abracadabra.
- Poof.
- As if by magic,
we have the perfect guest judge
for this challenge.
She's an internationally
known magician
and one of the judges
on SyFy's popular magic
competition show, "Wizard Wars."
Please welcome
magic critic Christen Gerhart.
- Hey, painters.
- Hey.
- I'm a huge fan of art,
- and I'm really excited
- to see how you guys
- take your interpretations
of these tarot cards.
- I can't wait to see it.
- I know it'll be fantastic.
- You've had five hours
to redesign
a classic tarot card.
The most fortunate painter
will win this challenge
and one of you,
as fate would have it,
will be sent home.
Let's see who has the cards
stacked in their favor.
- The Hierophant
represents conformity,
tradition, and religion.
For the front, I just want
to embody religion.
There's these rays of light
coming out of her.
For the back, non-conformity
was my religion,
and that self portrait,
it's just beautifully rendered.
- When my model
- walks out on stage,
it looks way better
'cause the lighting
on stage just makes
your colors pop.
It makes the glitter
flakes so crazy.
The breaking apart illusion
represents how people change
when there's a full moon.
I definitely feel like
I'm gonna be on top.
- The Wheel of Fortune
has to do with destiny
and turning points.
It's all an illusion of time,
so I centered that
around her chest.
On the backside, I got a little
more spiritual with it,
because if you take
a better approach
in morality, good karma
will always lead its way
into your life.
- I'm proud
of the piece I created.
- The Hermit,
- it's about boundaries,
and that wall is a boundary,
- and you have to have
- that wrecking ball
to knock it down.
- I feel good about it
- as an artist,
- but if they
- don't understand it,
- the whole thing
- just falls apart.
- The model comes out,
and I'm just like,
"Damn that's good."
The colors are popping,
the skeleton looks alive.
I made a headpiece with all
of these little spermies,
and I paint DNA to represent
life coming after death.
I'm super proud.
- I painted a portrait
of my daughter
on the back of my Sun card.
She is a huge influence
in what I do
and why I do what I do.
I have issues
with paint cracking.
- I don't know
- if I'm applying it wrong,
but I'll just cross my fingers.
I had fun with the piece,
but it didn't stack up
to what I normally do.
- I wanted to represent
- every single person
that was there for "Skin Wars,"
so I pick eight stars.
There's eight people there.
I wanted to show
the girl with the water
wrapping around the body,
- and I wanted the bird
- on the back
to represent hope
and vitality in this card.
I'm feeling pretty safe.
- I have a pretty good piece.
I mixed all these
different medias together,
bringing fabric and bringing
the lashes, the makeup.
I've used the gems,
applied wardrobe.
I don't need to fill every
little inch full of detail.
I think that's not good.
- Wow, painters, great job.
Okay, Alison, you're up.
- I pulled the Hierophant.
It was described
as representing religion,
conformity, tradition.
Growing up as a teenager,
my religion was basically
non-conformity.
- This is sort of
- a beautified self portrait
of myself as a teenager here
being that non-conformist.
- The back turns
- a little cartoonish,
- but I got to tell you,
- they way you've done the face
with that turquoise
and the light in there,
it is timeless.
- Thank you.
- I am in love
with the front of your model.
When your model came out
and you did that beautiful
pose with your arms spread
and your head back
and your eyes closed,
I mean talk about regal.
- Okay, thank you, Alison.
Rick, your turn.
- I decided to go
- with the name Luna
'cause the name in
Spanish sounds a lot more
beautiful than just moon.
- I'm mesmerized.
That back with the cracks
and revealing the whole universe
within the body like that
I think is really poetic.
I also love how that
hand is coming down
as the tarot card reader
chooses that card.
- I love that you
- called it Luna
and you didn't refer
to it as just the moon.
It's a personal touch
that was spectacular.
The moonlight on
the water is beautiful.
- Thank you very much.
- Okay, Brittney, you're next.
- On her chest I have
the wheel of fortune itself,
and it's placed upon a clock
- because I believe
- that all good fortune
comes in good time.
I wanted to go with a very
spiritual representation here.
- Down towards
- the bottom are represented
by two guardian
angels in my life,
my grandfather and my mother,
because they've been the most
inspirational in my life
and pushed me--excuse me.
They've pushed me
the most to go after my dreams
and what I wanted.
- Are they still with us?
- They are still with us.
My grandfather is currently
battling cancer,
and it's killing me right now,
but he--knowing that
he's there supporting me...
And hoping for the best for me
really drives me.
- I love this painting.
I love how it shows
your gratitude for the fortune
you've been given, and it's
all over this painting.
- The best part about this
is just truly how much love
you put into it.
It comes across in your work.
- Thank you.
- Yes.
- Okay, Hans, you're up.
- The cool thing
- about tarot is always
the intrigue of wondering
what is on the other side
of that card.
And this mystic provides
a card for you to choose.
This here is the card.
And so I picked my card,
and then it's revealed.
The Chariot card.
The chariot.
- I didn't realize
- that the reveal
would just sort of
be turning her around.
- Point taken.
- At this point in
- the competition,
I do think I just want
a little bit more, you know?
- Something a little bit
- more active,
- a little
- bit more exciting.
- It was about control,
so it's important for that
to be what the focal point is.
- The chariot is about movement.
- You know,
- front and back,
I feel like your composition
is very static.
- I guess, you know,
there's so many different ways
to interpret tarot.
I'm very confused today.
My piece is a good piece
and it's extremely clean,
so the judges are definitely
frustrating me right now.
- Your interpretation
- of the Chariot
is very literal,
and very telling.
- All these gimmicks
- and glitz and glamour
- and shiny things that
- spin in the wind, you know,
it's not art.
- Your interpretation
- of the Chariot
is very literal,
and very telling.
- All these gimmicks
- and glitz and glamour
- and shiny things that
- spin in the wind, you know,
it's not art.
- It's a little overly
simplistic for me.
I wanted to see more
creative elements.
Ultimately, you're
responsible for that.
- Thank you, Hans.
Okay, Michael, your turn.
- This is my own
modern interpretation
of the tarot card Death,
and it's all about endings,
beginnings, and transformation.
For the pedal design
and the colors underneath
is to project life,
and to show the movement
of the transformation,
and the DNA which are
the micro and macro cosmos.
- You not only did an incredibly
detailed painting,
but you also built
two headpieces.
I can't believe how
time-consuming
that must have been to achieve.
- I feel like you were
- just on fire today.
You must have been painting
like a speed demon.
- The headpiece is spectacular.
- This is her hair bun,
and when I saw it I was like,
- "Oh, that's the chin
- of a skull,"
- and I was like,
- "That's perfect."
- It's magnificent.
- Thank you.
- I'm missing a focal point
- on the back.
- Yeah.
- I get what you're doing
with this DNA sort of motif,
but it doesn't have the same
power that the front has.
- I agree.
- Okay, Otto.
- All right.
The Sun card
represents fun, warmth,
and my little girl,
she's a great source for me.
- She's only six, but she teaches
- me just as much.
- I'm not getting the tarot,
but I am getting that your
daughter is the sunshine
of your life.
- Thank you.
- So technically,
how do you think you did?
- Still having troubles.
- The face falls
apart a little bi.
I don't like the wig.
- Your cracking issue,
- with practice,
eventually you're gonna know,
like, "Oh, this is gonna crack."
- I think I'm just
- too much in a hurry.
I got to calm down and keep my
head in the game as I'm going.
- There's not a lot of
that tarot aspect of it.
- I would've liked
- to see a little more
- of the card interpretation
- of not only your life,
- but something else
- that you can draw from that.
- Okay, Tiffany, you're next.
- My body painting
was the Star,
and basically what
I wanted to represent
is the tarot card with a more
upgraded, fun appeal,
- and on the tarot card
- there was the woman
and she was pouring
water out of her vase,
- but here I wanted her
- to kind of bring life
- with the water
- wrapping around her.
And around the pool,
if you go to the back,
it comes up and creates
this jungle theme right here.
- I wish someone would make
- me gauntlets like that
because those are awesome.
- The front of this
piece really feels tarot.
Love the star
and the belly button there.
There's just a lot
of beautiful power to the front.
- Thank you so much.
- Luis, you're up.
- The Hermit,
it's all about soul searching
and guidance, so I use art
to guide my entire life.
- The brick wall
- is kind of my skin.
There's this wall
which is pretty much
the barrier that I put up,
- so the wrecking ball,
- it's, like,
I'm not afraid anymore
to just knock out a word
once I understand it.
- I feel like
the head-to-toe brick
is a little bit oppressive.
- I also just
don't feel the Hermit.
I just wish there was a bit more
of the actual tarot.
- Okay, thank you, Luis.
- Thanks, guys.
- Painters, please return
to the painters' lounge
and we'll call you back shortly.
So who were your favorites?
- I really enjoyed Michael's.
I thought he really depicted
the Death card beautifully
because he also included the
rebirth and the regeneration,
which is so important
for that card.
- It spoke
of the card without question.
- Another one of my favorites
was Rick.
I think he just did
a fantastic job tonight.
- I loved that piece.
I thought it was
a wonderful interpretation.
I felt like it really embodied
what this competition
particular was about.
- Putting that glitter
as the reflection
on the water, that was
a stroke of genius.
- Well, what'd you guys
- think about Alison?
- It was just exquisite.
And the face,
she looked like Nina Simone.
She looked like
an African princess.
- Otto had the best intentions
with this piece.
There were parts of it that
were so charming and beautiful,
but I think he kind of
missed the mark completely
as far as execution
of the challenge.
- He painted a carnival picture.
- It's sort of cheapened the idea
- and the mystique
of a tarot card.
- Here we are,
- halfway through the competition,
and his paint is still cracking.
- Luis's work was
very difficult for me to follow.
- That '80s vibe thing
just wasn't doing it.
- I just felt that
- he didn't really
understand the depth
of the Hermit card.
- At this level
- in the competition,
it is not good enough.
Hans is not trying
hard enough for me,
and this was a safe painting.
Even the wheels on the chariot,
which are suppose to take him
to the next phase of his life,
were sort of an afterthought.
- They looked stuck and stopped,
- and that's how I feel
- like he is right now.
- I feel the same way.
I'm uninterested
in what he's doing,
and that's the worst place
you want to be
in a competition like this.
- Okay, so have you made
a decision?
- The cards have spoken.
- Welcome back, painters.
You did unbelievable work.
The judges had to conjure up
all their wisdom
- and they've made
- their decisions.
Tiffany.
Brittney.
Congratulations, you're safe.
- Thank you.
- Please head back
- to the lounge.
- Good luck, guys.
- Michael.
Alison.
Rick.
Congratulations,
you're the top three painters.
Michael and Rick.
You are the top two painters.
Alison, you're safe.
- Thank you.
- You may head
- back to the lounge.
- Thank you.
- Michael...
- You're the winner.
- Congratulations.
- Yeah!
- You not only depicted
Death beautifully,
but also life,
which is the true meaning
of that tarot card.
- You and Rick may go
back to the lounge.
- Thank you so much.
Yeah, that's right.
I'm feeling so good and smooth.
- Congratulations.
- So cool to win.
- Hans,
I have a question for you.
- Shoot.
- Do you really want to be here?
- It's been a little
- rough for me lately,
- finding my inspiration
- and passion
and making beautiful art,
but I'll tell you,
I haven't really had a chance
to do that,
and it's been very
uncomfortable.
- This competition,
- we recognize,
is not comfortable.
- Yeah, it makes you not want
to do it anymore, you know?
- If that's the case,
then why be here?
- Maybe you're right, Ru.
- Maybe I don't
- want to be in the competition.
- You have to realize
- that in L.A., I'm the guy
who goes and makes the model
more pretty on the runway.
- Hans, we feed off
of your energy,
and we need you
to want to be here.
- It has been hard for me.
- Do you want to leave
the competition?
- If I don't have a place
where I can make my best work
in a passionate place,
I would say that--
- This is a lot of words again.
I want you to answer
the question.
Do you want to stay
or do you want to go?
- Well, you know,
- everything in this competition
has been a new question and
a new riddle within each day,
so this right here
is a riddle like the rest.
- How dare you disgrace
this competition
with your bull?
If you don't want to be here,
then get out.
- Hans, do you want
to leave the competition?
- Sure.
- Well, we hear you
loud and clear.
This is not the place for you.
- Thank you, Hans.
Good luck.
- I'm not into, like,
- these fickle little stupid games
about who's better
or who should win.
I don't play that game.
- Okay, am I safe
or am I not safe?
- Otto and Luis,
as if tonight hasn't been
difficult enough,
you are in the bottom two
and one of you
will be going home tonight.
- Otto, you had
the best intentions,
but you just didn't depict
much of your tarot card,
and technically,
that cracking was distracting.
Luis,
there was too much brick,
and it felt sort of outdated.
It just didn't really
relate to the tarot.
- The judges had a very
hard decision to make.
Otto...
It's time for you to go home.
- No problem.
- Luis, you're safe for now.
You can go back
to the painters' lounge.
- Thank you, guys.
My confidence is destroyed,
but I'm safe,
and I get another day to paint.
- I told you
- you weren't going home.
- But I wasn't expecting Hans
- to just throw in the towel
- like that.
- What?
- Wow.
- Otto's gone as well.
- No.
How the hell did they choose
your piece over his piece today?
- If you have a problem
- with that, talk to the judges.
- I'm just utterly
shocked that they picked
Luis's piece over Otto's piece.
It wasn't beautiful in the way
like a tarot card should be.
- You are a gentle giant,
a sweet, sensitive man
with a lot of talent.
Your daughter is a lucky,
lucky little girl.
- Otto,
please go wash off your canvas.
- Thank you.
This whole opportunity,
this whole experience
was outstanding.
- No, no, no, no,
no, no, no.
- Just to be able to meet
all these different artists,
just to be able to...
to play.
- My dude.
- All right, bud.
- It was a fun ride.
- Always.
This battle was fun.
I had a blast.
Bye, Otto.
See you later.
I'm not gonna cry about it.
I'm not gonna get mad about it.
Just being able
to make it to "Skin Wars"
is one of the highlights
of my life.
- Next time on "Skin Wars"...
- We're sending you
- on a little field trip.
- Whoa!
- We're gonna get into
- the tank.
I've never done that before.
- It's like an adrenaline rush.
- Is anyone freaking out?
- Yes!
- You got so much
foam on that girl.
- Yeah.
- Luis has no idea
- what he's doing.
- Do you now what that is?
- It's a lobster, right?
- No!
- This piece reminded me
of a third grade play.
- It's a -up mess.
- You need to check your ego.
It could send you home.