Skin Wars (2014–…): Season 3, Episode 7 - Survive & Thrive - 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, five remain

to fight for the grand prize:

$100,000 and the ultimate title

of "Skin Wars" champion.

Hello, painters.

- Hello.
- Hi.

- Today we have extraordinary

models for you to work with.

We're paying tribute to those

who have stared

into the face of adversity

and have prevailed against

seemingly insurmountable odds.

You will be painting...

breast cancer survivors.

- Oh.

- Wow.

- It's such
- a personal thing for me.

My grandma passed away

from breast cancer,

and my grandpa is battling

pancreatic cancer,

so this challenge is really,

really important to me.

- These brave women

are truly empowering.

Their journeys will serve as

inspiration for your paintings.

- Now it's time

to meet your models.

- Hi. My name is Amanda.

I was diagnosed

with invasive carcinoma

- when I was just
- barely 30 years old.

Sorry, my voice is,

like, wavering.

Before that, I was like,

"Oh, I'm gonna be 30.

30's so old."

Now it's like,

"I can't wait to be 40.

I can't wait to be 50."

Those things made me realize

what's really important.

I am a little bit nervous

being body-painted.

I'm the person who doesn't

wear shorts in the summer.

Let's put it that way.

- Hi, I'm Brandi.

I was first diagnosed

at the age of 28.

And my then doctor

didn't feel it was necessary

for me to get a mammogram

because of my age.

I could have waited

until I was 40,

if I made it to 40.

I'm here because I had

to advocate for myself

- in order
- to get the mammogram.

You're never too young

to have breast cancer.

- Hi.
- My name is Courtney.

- I have a huge problem
- with my body image

because I'm scarred from

head-to-toe because I've had

nearly 20 surgeries.

- But I think,
- on the other side of it,

it's gonna be something

that's really beautiful,

- and I think it's gonna be
- a great experience.

- Hi.
- I'm Felicity.

I was diagnosed

at the age of 28.

- Having cancer
- at such a young age...

Beyond anything else,

was really isolating.

It was really exhausting,

feeling like you're navigating

this whole experience

totally, like,

on your own.

- Hi.
- I'm Marenda.

Throughout my journey,

I always wore boxing gloves

- because once you're diagnosed
- with cancer,

you have to make a decision

on whether or not you're going

to live or not live, and...

I chose to fight,

to live.

- Painters, your models have

been randomly paired with you,

and you'll be working with them

on both challenges.

"Skin Wars" will be making

a donation of $10,000

to Young Survival Coalition,

- which is a nonprofit
- organization

dedicated to young women

affected by breast cancer,

in the name of the painter

who wins the concept challenge.

- These women

are beautiful inspirations

for so many people.

I have done makeup

for people in hospitals

- that were going
- through cancer,

and every single time,

it makes me feel so honored.

- In the first challenge,

you'll be painting

- a representation
- of the journeys

these women have gone through

as told to you by them.

You'll be painting

a front-only, waist-up design.

You have 90 minutes

to create your design,

and your time starts now.

- We only have
- an hour and a half.

Like, that is not a long time

to do any detail at all.

However, I know that there is

a limited amount of time

just for the safety

of all the women

that have been through

all these treatments.

- Hey, there.

- Hi.
- Hey.

- So we have a short
- amount of time.

Please talk to me

about your experience.

- I had a large mass

in my right breast.

- I ended up doing
- a double mastectomy.

I am cancer-free.

- And I'm good, and--
- Yay.

Yay.

- Through my entire journey...
- Yes.

- I wore boxing gloves...
- Nice.

- Because it was a fight,

and so, like, you know,

just something strong.

I was diagnosed with

triple-negative breast cancer,

stage I.

I had to have six rounds

of chemotherapy,

a double mastectomy

with reconstruction surgery.

- How about I put, like,
- some boxing gloves

- hanging from your neck,
- you know?

- I love it.

It's my hope that other

survivors will see me and feel

that there is beauty

in their body.

No matter how their body

looks after a reconstruction,

they are still a woman.

- This could be
- really inspiring.

- Oh, let's hear it.
- I'm pregnant.

- Yay!

- Yeah.

- Congratulations!
- Thanks.

I am 11 weeks pregnant.

A lot of times,

post-chemo babies

are called miracle babies

'cause it can be

- really, really hard
- to conceive after chemo.

- So by being here,
- I'm showing

- that there is a purpose
- after breast cancer.

- All right, you want
- the nipple one first?

- Makes sense, right?
- The nipple.

She's about caring for her

child at this point in time,

so all I could think of

is a blossoming flower

and hummingbird,

- because it's such
- a beautiful process to watch.

- It's like the dawn

of a new era.

- Yay!

- So what kind of colors
- did you want to use?

- I don't know.
- I love this palette

that you have going here.

- I feel excited
- about being body-painted.

It just feels like

a really awesome and fun way

to express

what I've been through.

- Are you feeling this?

- Yeah, that looks pretty rad.

The metaphor that I've always

seen my experience as being

has been, you know, the phoenix

rising from the ashes.

- All right, girl.

- I was diagnosed at 33 with
- no breast cancer in the family.

I got re-diagnosed at 35.

I was completely blindsided

by my diagnosis

- the first
- and the second time.

I had two mammograms

that both came out negative.

- I had a ultrasound
- that was negative.

- They were gonna send me on
- my way for another six months,

and I told them I would not

leave the doctor's office

without having the biopsy,

- and I don't think
- I'd be here today if I hadn't.

But I worry daily

every ache and pain

- is probably
- cancer again, so...

- Right. Right.

- My breasts are
- completely different

because of my breast cancer.

I've been a single mom

for many, many years,

and nobody sees me

without clothes on.

So, yeah, this is

a terrifying situation for me,

- but I'm gonna get
- out of my comfort zone

and do this.

- I was thinking
- of doing sort of

a Day of the Dead

kind of a face.

Since Courtney's surgery,

she has not looked

at herself in the mirror.

So I wanted to give her

this really beautiful

Day of the Dead face

- because I feel
- like she faces death

- in the mirror
- every single day,

and she does

these 16-mile walks,

and they all wear pink wings,

so I figure these wings have

to make it into her piece.

- Okay.
- That's great.

- Ladies and gentlemen,

grab a hold of your tatas.

We got 30 minutes left,

you guys.

- You're supposed
- to paint the tatas,

not touch the tatas.

- My model tells me
- that the experience

was like having stone

or concrete weighing her down,

but she found strength through

the cracks of the stone,

and she does mention that,

for fertility purposes,

she freezes her eggs.

- You know, throughout
- all of these challenges,

I've been painting spermies

to represent fertility,

- and this is
- a great opportunity

to represent fertility

with eggs.

- All right, think
- you could stand up for me now?

- Mm-hmm.

- I've never worked
- with a breast cancer survivor,

so I have never felt

as much pressure

as I'm feeling right now.

- I definitely don't want
- to let Marenda down.

- Five minutes.
- Saddle up.

- This hummingbird

better fly so fast.

- Lift your arm up.

- Oh, my God.

- Tools down, painters.

That's it.

- Whoo!
- Whoo!

- You're a champ.

- I'm a champ.

- You like it?

- Honestly, it's perfect.

It's really awesome.

- I know that the phoenix
- doesn't smack you in the face

and says "breast cancer,"

but what it does say

is empowerment,

and if she loves it,

I've done my job

whether I win or I don't.

Rawr.

- I love that.
- I love it.

I love it.

- Oh, my God.

It's so amazing.

- Wow.
- It's beautiful.

Wow.

You're amazing.

- Oh, my God.

I am so blown away

by my model's reaction.

All the breath was knocked

out of her body.

It's just really empowering,

and I'm really happy

with the way it turned out.

- Alison, how you
- doing over there?

- We're good.

- I never look at myself
- without clothes on...

- Look at you.

- 'Cause I'm so ugly.

But this is beautiful.

So...

- You are gorgeous.

- Gorgeous!

- Thanks.

- So Courtney,

she has a gene mutation

that gives her an 85% chance

of getting breast cancer,

so she's sort of

facing death every day.

- I've never, ever felt

beautiful like this,

- I mean, after cancer,
- ever.

Oh, and I have gratitude

for just even being here

and doing this today.

- It's wonderful.
- Thank you, Alison.

Thank you, Courtney.

Thank you.

- All right, Brittney,
- tell us about your painting.

- I wanted to just basically

turn her into the hummingbird

so that she's feeding

off of the flower

as the motherly approach.

- Amanda, how are you

feeling about your paint?

- I love it.

- It speaks to me,
- and Brittney was really calm.

She was awesome.

- We had a bond today.

- We totally did.
- She just read my mind.

- I love it.
- It says "life."

It says "hope."

It says "good luck

and prosperity."

- I decided to go

with the lotus flower

'cause it's a flower

known for healing.

There's some butterflies

coming out of the lotus flower

representing the team

that has been with her

through thick and thin.

- Family, friends,

my community.

- And also, I threw

the boxing gloves in there.

- That represents the fight,

- because I was fighting
- for my life.

- Float like a butterfly,

sting like a bee.

- Yes, exactly.

- Tiffany and Felicity.

- So she was
- telling me her story,

and she said,

"Let's do a phoenix."

- This is so beautiful,

and I love the bright,

vibrant, fiery colors,

- and I feel like you
- kind of tuned in

to your model's spirit.

- Yeah, I'm pretty sassy.

- So Brandi was diagnosed

with breast cancer,

and she said that

it felt more like

- a stone was
- weighing her down,

but beyond the stone,

there was strength.

- You look like a Polynesian

or a Hawaiian goddess.

- I love this metaphor.

I love the light

taking over the dark.

It's the everyday battle

of the yin and the yang.

- So how about
- those paintings?

- The first one that comes

to mind is Michael's.

It exemplified

the dark and the light,

and that's the life struggle,

right there.

- For me, Alison's

really stood out,

because the sugar skull

is such a perfect symbol

of facing our mortality.

Boy, Rick really turned it out.

- Yeah.

- I loved the idea

of the boxing gloves.

I just wish they were painted

just a little bit stronger.

- Mm-hmm, and then

the firebird from Tiffany.

- Yes.

- It spoke to the rebirth

that all of these women

have experienced.

- I also really loved

Brittney's.

- I just thought there was
- something about it

that was so peaceful

and healing.

- Yeah, it was
- very effective.

- Brittney.

Alison.

Michael.

Congratulations.

- You're the top
- three painters.

- Yay.

- I'm in the top three

yet again.

- I'm like,
- "Come on, you guys.

- This would be
- a really good one to win

for my grandma

and my grandpa."

Just, just this one.

- And the winner is...

- Painters,

you had 90 minutes

to complete your paintings

illustrating the journeys

of your models.

- Michael, you really

captured the eternal dance

of dark and light,

and it was powerful.

- Alison, her journey

was expressed in your painting,

and it was gorgeous.

- Brittney, there was such

harmony in your piece--

peaceful, loving,

and healing.

- Thank you.

- And the winner is...

- Alison!
- Congratulations.

You're today's winner.

- Thank you!

- This is more of a win for her,

even, than it is for me,

and this is so huge for her,

and I'm so excited.

- Alison, you've won

a complete airbrush kit

and compressor, courtesy of

Iwata Medea Airbrush Company.

- Congratulations, Alison,

and thank you, Courtney.

- We'll see you tomorrow.
- Thank you.

- Painters, these women

aren't just survivors.

They are warriors.

For this concept challenge,

- you're transforming
- your survivors

into the warrior

princesses they are.

You will paint a 360-degree,

head-to-toe design

depicting your model's

inner warrior

on the outside.

- You'll have three hours
- to complete your paintings.

- Ooh.
- Hello.

- What?
- Wow.

We only have three hours.

That's nothing

in body-paint world.

We need, like, this many.

- See you tomorrow.

- All right. Thank you.

- Good luck.

- Bye.

- It's an emotional day.

My grandpa is more or less

my father figure

- that I looked up to
- from when I was younger,

and he's my biggest supporter

as far as my art career goes.

My grandpa was the one

that pushed me the hardest,

and he believes in me

whether I make it or not,

and, you know, he's, like,

fighting back at home,

and he can't wait

to hear good news,

and that's all I want

to take home to him.

- To be able to go home
- and tell him

that I won this, I went

through it all just for him...

it would be great.

- Do-do-do.
- Eeh.

- Yay.

Models.

Yay, they're here.

- Hello.

- Yay.

- All righty.

So let's get you started.

For this concept challenge,

I've got a lot of elements

of her story

and her life in this piece,

but I wanted to just

punch them up and make them

fierce and bold.

I'm focusing

on her powerful intuition

- and the walks
- and the footprints

and the mutated gene.

I just want it to scream,

"Power."

- In the back,
- I wanted it like

- a film reel,
- like a camera.

Felicity loves

doing documentaries,

so my concept is to create

a filmstrip of circumstances

that happened in her life

- that project other outcomes
- from her life.

In the top of it,

I have her getting a mammogram.

- The second part
- is her doing yoga,

and then the last portion

is her getting the tattoo

- that was inspired
- by her yoga instructor.

- Do you like that?
- I think this looks so cool.

- Okay, and then
- maybe your face like that?

- Yes!

- I also want her to look
- kind of Egyptian too,

because her tattoo

is that Egyptian style.

- A butterfly pattern
- going up your arms.

- Mm-hmm.

- And then go from there,

take it from there.

A butterfly represents

my model, like, 100%.

- She had to fight
- to be that beautiful butterfly

that she is now.

- That is so freakin' fly.

- You like it?

- Yeah.

- I decided to throw

a butterfly on her hands

to represent Marenda,

and right under that,

I decided to throw

other butterflies

following that big butterfly,

which represents

Team Marenda.

I want to do the picture

of a butterfly wing

as, like, armor on her legs

and, from there,

kind of keep it just tribal-ish

going up towards her chest.

- Good plan.

- Let's get it.

- Let's get it, champ.

- So I want to illustrate

the cancer, the chemo.

And so this is what

the cancer cell looks like...

- Uh-huh.

- And I want to paint that
- on your breasts...

- Okay.
- And make that into your armor.

My model's cancer

was found in a mass

on her right breast.

The word "Amazon"

means "woman without breasts."

These women would rip out

their right breast

- in order to shoot
- their bow and arrow,

and so I want to transform her

into an Amazon warrior.

- So it's

Mother Nature-themed.

You're gonna be capturing

all of Mother Nature

- and what she's got to offer.
- Gorgeous.

- My concept is

a Mother Nature theme

because Amanda is pregnant.

I really want to focus on

pulling in all

of the elements of nature.

So I'm painting lightning

and other forces

and weather

that she controls.

- I seriously was like...

"Lightning would be so cool."

I'm not kidding.

I'm so serious.

After breast cancer,

I'm living proactively

and with purpose.

- I had HER2-positive
- breast cancer.

I had a lumpectomy,

and then I did chemotherapy

for just over six months.

Then after chemo,

I had a bilateral mastectomy.

- I don't want to be wistful
- about the past.

- Like, I'll never be able
- to breast-feed

because I don't have breasts.

- Like, I have
- what looks like breasts,

but there's

no breast tissue inside.

- There's no nipple
- on my left side.

So there's no hope for

breast-feeding, and that's okay,

because if that hadn't have

happened, I might not have

- the experience to even be here
- and be pregnant.

- There's a baby in there.

- We have one hour and a half
- left, guys.

- Whoa, holy cow!

- Let me see this--

- Oh, ****,
- ****,

- ****, ****,
- ****, ****.

- I am having
- a little bit of trouble.

My strategy was

to work my way

- from the feet
- all the way to her head,

but little details

on the butterfly wing

on her legs,

it's a lot of work,

- and it's taking
- a lot of time.

- I don't want
- to let Marenda down.

I'm freaking out right now.

- Where'd our time go?

- We all have to paint

super fast today.

- So our concept challenge

today

is to turn our

breast cancer survivor

into a warrior princess

in three hours.

- I love it.

It's gonna look like body armor.

- I was diagnosed just a week

before my 29th birthday.

I found the lump myself,

and I didn't have insurance

at the time,

and actually, the doctor

who had initially diagnosed me

kind of insinuated

that I was going to die.

Thankfully,

we did catch it early,

and so I'm here

to represent young women

and get our story out there.

- This is the part

where we panic.

Ah!

- All right, you guys,

we are down to one hour!

- This is when it gets crazy

up in here.

- Crazy.

Whoo!

- Oh, my God.

- Whoo.

- Super fast

painting powers.

- Can you face me
- but still brace yourself?

- Yep.

- I want to put footprints

all over this breastplate piece

that she's wearing,

so I put paint on my feet

- and put my feet
- right up onto her chest

- and her belly
- to represent these walks

that she's doing.

- Why are you stepping
- on your model like that?

- Who wants someone's

dirty feet, like, on your body?

- Like, you know,
- that's kind of weird.

- I just feel

really lightheaded.

So sorry.

- No, no, no.
- You're fine.

- Deep breath.
- You're fine.

- Do you need a snack
- or something?

Would that help you?

She's not feeling good.

You want to lay down on

the ground, put your feet up?

- Sorry.

- No,

stay where you are.

My model starts really

getting sick at this point.

She's feeling dizzy,

and I've got nothing covered

on her face,

- and she's sweating,
- and I'm thinking,

- "I can't apply anything
- to the face

- "while she's sitting down
- until she feels better,

because all she's gonna do

is just sweat it all off."

I'm really freaking out

at this point.

- Do you want me to stand up?

- 'Cause I feel like
- my butt's, like,

getting everything everywhere.

- Don't--just don't
- worry about that.

You sit.

I'd rather you sit right now.

- Down to the wire.

- I'm looking
- around the room,

and Rick didn't paint

a lot of her body,

- which is just
- kind of ridiculous,

- 'cause what
- are you doing, dude?

- Like, you're one
- of the best painters here.

You're totally

my strongest competition,

- and you're not doing
- your best work.

- Like,
- what are you thinking?

- Holy ****.

For the first time,

I feel that pressure of,

"I'm not gonna be able

to finish this on time."

- I haven't even painted
- her face.

- I don't even know
- what to do with that part,

and I see her undies,

and they're still not painted.

- I could totally see
- my mistakes,

and I don't have time

to finish it.

- Oh, my God, guys,

we have five minutes left.

- Ahh!
- No!

No, no-no-no-no,

no, no.

- After letting Amanda

sit down for, you know,

10, 15 minutes,

she feels better.

Are you okay to stand up?

You can open your eyes.

But right now,

- I'm struggling
- a lot with time.

****.

- Man, I need
- more highlights,

a lot more detailing.

My lines aren't lining up

exactly how I wanted them to.

All I can think about is,

"Oh, my God.

"If I don't finish

this job right now,

I'm gonna be sent home."

- All right, painters,
- time's up.

Tools down!

- Whoo!
- All right.

- The judges can't wait
- to see your work,

- so follow me over
- to the elimination stage.

- All right.
- Come on, guys.

- Whoo!
- All right, let's go.

- I have never been

so stressed out in my life.

It's a horrible feeling,

knowing you could do

way better.

- Welcome, painters.

- Hello.
- Hello.

- You had three hours

- to paint your breast
- cancer survivors

into warrior princesses.

Now let's welcome back

our esteemed judges,

master body painter

Craig Tracy...

- Hello, painters.

- Robin Slonina...

- Hi, everybody.

- RuPaul Charles...

- Shaka Zulu.

- And we have

a special guest judge.

- You know her from
- "Entertainment Tonight"

and "Dancing with the Stars."

Please welcome

Samantha Harris.

- It means so much
- for me to be here, everybody.

I am a breast cancer survivor,

- and it's so powerful
- and impactful

to be here

with all of you today.

- Who is better to judge

- these stories being told
- than someone

who's gone through

this journey herself?

- And a reminder,
- painters--

"Skin Wars" will make

a donation of $10,000

to Young Survival Coalition

in the name of the painter

who wins this

concept challenge.

Okay,

let's see your warriors.

- I feel like I did a really

good piece for Felicity.

I really like the red chest,

because it represents

being scarred on the inside

but not being able

to show that on the outside.

There was a story.

It was Felicity's story,

her story, her life,

through body painting,

and so if she

feels good about it,

I feel good.

- She looks beautiful.

I love the way the brown

and the gold really

goes good together,

and I also decided

to throw a butterfly

on her hands,

and right under that,

I decided to throw

a lotus flower on her stomach.

But mine's the only one

that has gaps of skin exposed,

and that's definitely not

a good thing.

- It just feels amazing

to see Courtney

walking up that catwalk.

She looks so strong

and fierce.

I can tell she feels

like a real warrior.

But I wish I had made

the handprints

and footprints darker,

because, from a distance,

- it's just reading
- as a little bit muddy.

And I can tell that she's

gonna be forever changed

- from this experience,
- and I feel like

- if I've done nothing else
- in this world,

I've touched

this woman's life.

- I see my model onstage.

She's working it.

She's owning

this beautiful armor.

The colors are popping.

The headpiece is cool.

My model is just thrilled,

- and I'm just so happy
- that I could help illustrate

- the courage,
- the strength,

- and the power
- that my model has

for undergoing her battle

and winning.

- I hate presenting work

that's not completely finished.

- You know,
- I could've done a lot better.

- I would have
- definitely loved

to render the legs

a bit better.

I wish I could have added in

more details to what I wanted,

but to see Amanda transform

and loving her body

- and loving the paint
- that she was in,

that right there is just

icing on the cake for me.

- Painters, you've given

the judges a lot to discuss,

but first, they have some

questions about your work.

Brittney,

we'll start with you.

- So what I wanted

to do for her

- is create her
- into an immortal being

by bringing on Mother Nature

into her spirit,

- and through here,
- it's represented

by the lightning bolts,

because she uses it

to energize her for living,

and then on the back--

- through all of the bad weather
- and the stormy days,

she can wash away

all of the pain.

On her sides here,

these are leaves

of a hyacinth flower,

which represents fertility

and death and revival.

- Do you feel like
- a warrior now?

- I feel like Brittney

spoke through me,

and it just works.

- You look beautiful.

I'm getting "Mother Nature."

- I'm getting
- "superhero" here.

You are alive,

and it's beautiful to witness.

- Brittney,

you've made a lot

of design choices

that puzzle me.

- Can you tell me
- a little bit

about the shape

on her lady region there?

Um, it is the womb area

where her baby is,

so I wanted to make it

almost a heart

- with the ventricles
- coming out

and following to the back,

because it's her life source

and where all of her

energy starts to go

and resonate.

- Okay, Tiffany.

- All right.

This is Felicity,

my model,

and whenever she found out

that she had breast cancer,

she went through this journey,

and she wanted to document it.

I wanted to create

her own documentation,

- and I wanted to show
- that even though

she didn't have

any visual scars,

when she took off

the barrier,

you can see inside where her

pain led in the very beginning.

On the back,

she got this tattoo,

and the tattoo was this tattoo

that her yoga instructor had.

- And so if you look
- throughout the body painting,

- it has a lot
- of Egyptian elements

as well as this tribal,

you know, strong elements.

- Tiffany, it kind of

bothered me on the back

that you left out

the last line

on the filmstrip

so that it kind of

left it open at the bottom.

- I really wanted to see
- that precision

of the three

separate segments.

Felicity, how do you feel

about this painting?

- I feel like

a total badass.

- You look like a badass.

- Gorgeous.

- Thank you so much.

- Okay, Rick, you're up.

- Ladies and gentlemen,

we have a very special

guest tonight.

Straight out

of Compton, California,

we have Marenda!

Nice job, baby.

Get it! Get it!

- Nice delivery.

- First of all,
- I thought of an armor

that a warrior carries.

Then instead of doing armor,

I decided to do a texture

of a butterfly on her legs.

This represents Marenda,

and if she puts her arms

a little bit more up,

you will be able to see

a lit--more butterflies

following that big butterfly.

That represents her team.

- Marenda, how you feeling?

- Like a butterfly.

Yeah?

- What were your first thoughts

when you saw this painting?

- I was blown away.

The gold just

really popped.

- Then I thought,
- "This is right."

- I was like,
- "All right, Rick."

- I feel that
- your work represents

your model beautifully,

but, Rick, head-to-toe,

you really needed to add

a little more to that face

to be able to pull that off,

- and then you left
- the whole front

of those panties--

they're half-painted,

and it's not helping

your painting at all.

- I blew it, you know?

- I feel like I'm
- definitely in trouble.

I don't want to go home.

- Rick, you really needed

to add a little more

- to that face,
- and then you left

the whole front of those

panties--they're half-painted.

- You do have to remember
- that when we say,

- "Head-to-toe,
- front-to-back," you know,

those are the rules

for the particular challenge.

- I love the butterfly.

You brought tears to my eyes,

and I can't commend you enough

for having the strength

to be here today.

- Okay, thank you, Rick.

Thank you, Marenda.

Okay, Alison.

- So this is Courtney,

and she is an amazing

winged warrior.

She also has really

powerful intuition,

so I sort of represented

that here on the face

with the big third eye.

And on the back,

she has the double helix here,

and then this is

the mutant gene here

in the strand of DNA.

- And then here
- on her breastplate,

I have a lot of footprints

that represent

the 60-mile walks.

- You know, that's

such a risky move,

because normally we think

about a footprint

on a person as almost

a disrespectful thing,

and so for you to completely

turn that on its head

and have it become this mark

of your walking,

you know, it was risky,

but I think you pulled it off.

- The mutant on the back,

I almost wish

it wasn't so large.

- I don't want
- to give it power.

Other than that, though,

how you have taken her story

and put it into such

a beautiful artistic expression

is phenomenal.

- It means so much
- to hear that from you.

- Courtney, how was your
- experience getting painted?

- I've had close
- to 20 surgeries

because of breast cancer.

- You know, every time,
- you're going in for surgery,

- and they're cutting,
- and then there's another scar,

- another scar, another scar,
- and you're like, "Okay.

- I can cover this.
- I can cover this."

- But it's the minute the clothes
- have to come off that it just--

- I can't--
- I just--you know,

it was really difficult, but

I think it'll be easier now.

Thank you.

- Okay, Michael,
- your turn.

- This is Brandi,

warrior princess.

- For this piece,
- I asked her

how she was feeling

throughout her battle,

and she expressed that

she felt like there were

stones weighing her down,

but she found life

through the cracks.

So I illustrated

all of these stones

as her armor

to fight the cancer

within her.

I wanted to illustrate

the actual cancer cells,

- because they're
- actually kind of pretty.

- Michael, did you
- talk with Brandi

about depicting

the cancer cells

- in her breasts
- prior to doing it?

- Of course, yeah.

- And, Brandi,
- what was your thought?

- For me,

it showed the truth.

- The first time

that my eyes saw this piece,

I felt the fierceness

and the beauty,

and those two

don't always go together,

but they go together

perfectly here.

- How do you feel in

this transformative painting?

- Having stage IIIB cancer

at 28 at the time

- was, you know,
- very difficult,

so it just shows

my strength

beyond what people

see on the outside.

It feels good.

- Wow.

Thank you, warriors.

- Ladies, you don't
- know what it means

for me to be able

to be here with you today.

To see the strength

of my sisterhood here

is a tremendous inspiration.

So thank you so much

for being so brave.

You look amazing.

- Thank you, warriors.

So, judges, what'd you think

about those paintings?

- You know,
- the stakes are very high.

We're down to five,

and this kind

of touchstone with life

- was exactly
- what they needed.

- So who were some

of your favorites?

- What I think is great

about Michael was,

his piece, when you saw Brandi

walk on the stage,

you felt something.

- To see someone turn

a breast cancer cell

into this gorgeous,

glittery bustier, you know,

- that is very provocative,
- and--

- It's punk rock.

- I feel like
- that's something

that some people could even go

so far as to be offended by.

- And that is the ultimate

survival technique, you know,

that type of alchemy

- of turning, really,
- the worst thing

that could happen to you

into the best thing

and then wearing it

as a suit of armor.

- Mm-hmm.

- For me,
- the back of the head,

it was a big negative space.

- Even just quick stripes

would've been better

than nothing.

- When Alison's model,

Courtney, walked out,

it was my favorite.

- Was it?
- Yeah.

- And I loved
- that color combination

with the Chinese red

and the green.

- There was something

a little messy about it,

- the way that it
- was put together.

- And the foot was

such a strange choice,

- because when you first see it,
- you're like,

"Oh, my gosh, someone's

been stepping on her,"

and it became this mark

of honor for how many footsteps

she's taken in the fight

for a cure for cancer.

- I think Tiffany's work

on Felicity called to me.

- I didn't expect

that futuristic "Tron" look

that she gave us

- with all the Egyptian imagery
- on there.

- I thought it was
- really fantastic.

- And then on the back,

she did this filmstrip,

but she forgot

the last line,

so they weren't

equally segmented.

- For Rick, with Marenda

and that butterfly, I...

That butterfly got me.

- Did it bother anyone else

that he didn't paint

those panties?

- Uh, hear, hear.

- That was driving me nuts.

- But I thought his painting

was absolutely beautiful.

- The choice of colors

were not obvious,

but they seemed

to really work.

- Brittney, with

the really vibrant colors

that she did on Amanda,

- it didn't speak to me
- like the others did.

- Yes.

- I wouldn't have looked at it

and went, "Oh, Mother Nature."

- No.
- She was more of a superhero.

- Superhero was the vibe

I was getting.

I was confused by the legs.

I was confused by

the elements on the womb.

On the back, she also had

a big magenta shield,

and I have no idea

what that was.

- I loved hers.

- I really did get
- "Mother Nature."

I got the electricity

and the vibrancy

of her painting.

- At this point
- in the competition,

it doesn't even really

come down to,

"Who was the worst?"

It comes down to,

"Who was the very best?"

- and then working our way
- backwards from there.

- Exactly, yeah.

- Have you made your decision?
- Yes.

- I think we got it.

- Michael.

Tiffany.

Alison.

Congratulations.

You're the top three.

Tiffany...

- You are safe.
- Thank you.

- You may head back
- to the painters' lounge.

- Michael, you were fearless

tonight in your concept,

and you weren't afraid

to take something scary

and turn it into

a beautiful focal point.

- Alison, you pulled

so many different elements

into a cohesive painting

that told such

a beautiful story

of her journey.

- Thank you.

- It's a shame only one

of you can win this battle.

Michael, Alison,

the winner of

this challenge is...

- Michael, Alison.

It's a shame only one of you

can win this battle.

Michael...

You are the winner.

Congratulations.

Hey.

- Michael,
- "Skin Wars" is making

a donation of $10,000

in your name

to Young Survival Coalition.

- I'm so happy
- that I could provide that

and that I could stand

here strong

for everyone out there who's

fighting this battle.

- Michael, when your model

hit the stage, I felt it.

Everything

that you put onto her body

radiated throughout the room.

- Thank you.

- Great job, Michael.

You and Alison can go back

to the painters' lounge.

- Well done.
- Thank you.

- Rick, Brittney,

your work has been inspiring,

but unfortunately,

you're in the bottom two.

- To go home on a piece

that has such

an emotional connection

with my family...

I can't accept it.

- Rick, overall,

we loved your design,

but when we tell you,

"Head-to-toe, 360,"

that's what we need

to see from you.

- I understand.

- Brittney, your piece

made your model so happy,

but I just felt that

that was a missed opportunity.

- Brittney and Rick,

the judges deliberately

extensively.

It was a very tough decision

to make.

Brittney...

You are safe.

Congratulations.

- Thank you.

Rick.

- So that means
- I'm going home.

It's disappointing for me,

'cause I feel

like I got so close.

- Rick...

You are also safe.

- Oh, my God!

- Guys, even with

your minor flaws,

your artwork

was so beautiful,

- the judges decided
- to keep you both.

- Bravo.
- Yay!

- What's going on right now?

I'm back in the competition,

- and I'm just, like,
- speechless at the moment.

It's, like, so much

to take in right now,

but I don't want to be

in this spot ever again.

- Well, you are gonna
- have to step it up

- if you want to stay
- in the competition.

- You may head back
- to the lounge.

Congrats, guys.

- Yay.

- That was crazy.

This has never happened

in "Skin Wars."

It's a miracle

that they decided

to keep us both,

and now I have to make the most

of what's left of my time

and never give up.

- Yo!

- I told you

you weren't going home.

- For me to get a pass,

to still be

on this competition,

makes me feel like I can't

let the judges down.

I definitely will be bringing

a whole different level

of competition,

and this pass

won't be wasted.

- Let's do it, baby.
- All right.

- All right.
- Whoo!

- Ah!

- Yay.

- Next time on "Skin Wars"...

You need to adapt

and be prepared

for whatever comes your way.

- What?

- Wha...

- Alison, you really

screwed Brit over there.

- We have a lot
- of damage control to do.

- How are you doing over there,
- Michael?

- Dude, I just
- **** started.

- Hopefully he will

crash and burn.

- Man, that thing's

gonna fall apart onstage.

- Please welcome

Adrienne Bailon.

- I want that dress,
- like, right now.

- Wow.
- Flawless.

- With only five of us,

they're splitting hairs.

- One mistake,

and you're gone.