Live art shown in body painting competition

Artwork took on a more lively form today in Madison at the Greater Midwest Body Painting Competition.

More than a dozen artists from surrounding states came to compete against each other by painting the bodies of their models from head to toe.

Prizes include a flight to Florida’s International Face and Body Art Competition, but organizers said the real prize is the ability to create a temporary piece of art.

“We paint it, the model displays it, you enjoy it in the moment, and then they go home and take a shower,” Michelle Soltis, one of the competition’s organizers, said. “It changes every time you paint a model, and it only lasts for a little bit, so you enjoy it in the moment.”