Story by Josh Rudderforth

Standing in a roomful of beautiful naked models is a fantasy for some and a career for Baltimore’s premiere body painter and makeup artist Jen Seidel.  Jen is a one of Baltimore’s up and coming artists with a hell of a marketing strategy. She has painted the nude bodies of beautiful women and men with everything from product logos (Mike's Hard Lemonade©) and fitness apparel (Under Armour©) to original designs from her personal art collection, all featured in her upcoming new book entitled, “Covered: A Body of Work” due out this year.

When I first saw Jen Seidel's photographs, I was astonished at the detail and clarity that she was able to convey using the human body as a canvas. Every one of her photos displays her subjects in artistic and visually striking images. I'd heard of body painters before, but this was different. A thin layer of acrylics was all that separated the taboo from fine art.



​I met with Jen on a balmy afternoon in Maryland in a small coffee shop.  When I saw Jen, the thought occurred to me that sometime in her mid-20s her DNA must have lost the ability to age.

photo copyright 80WestStudios.com/JenSeidelStudios.com

Jen is receiving quite a bit of recognition for her hard work from the Maryland art and fashion world and has been nominated for Top Commercial Make Up Artists by the Maryland Fashion Awards.   She is a regular guest on Baltimore’s 98 Rock© (WIYY 97.9), were she received the affectionate moniker of Jen The Body Painter by 98 Rock's©  radio host Mickey. Her Facebook page has over 3300 likes and is steadily growing with new people interested in seeing her work. She not only uses her talent for business, but also to give back to charities. Jen is currently working on a Wounded Warrior Foundation project and some of the proceeds from the sales of her book are going to breast cancer, specifically Red Devils and Susan G. Komen through Dr. Dean Kane w​ww.DrDeanKane.com,  the Casey Cares Foundation  http://caseycares.org/ and others.

Maryland Underground: When did you know that you wanted to do makeup?
​
Jen Seidel: I knew my entire life that this is what I wanted to do. My mother has done makeup since  I was a child. She (Linda Seidelwww.lindaseidel.com) was a pioneer in  Aesthetic Rehabilitation using corrective makeup. I saw her work with patients and how fulfilling it was for her to do what she was doing. Now she has a full makeup line and it's an amazing product. She was and is my mentor.



(Note: When Jen talks about her mother, her face lights up. Just a few words into her answer you can see how much she loves her mom). 

MU:Why stay in Maryland when there is so much more work in beauty and fashion in the larger hubs like Los Angeles and New York?
​
​JS:  We have so much talent in Maryland. People like Oprah and Michael Phelps are from here and our sports teams are national icons. Baltimore is being recognized as a better place and our community and our icons bring us closer. Baltimore is only getting better.​





​Shortly after our first questions, we are joined by Jen's mother Linda and Jen's boyfriend Chris, who is a photographer; his work can be seen at www.80weststudios.com ​

photo copyright 80WestStudios.com/JenSeidelStudios.com

MU:What is your favorite part of living here?​



JS: We have it all. Everything is so close and there is so much to do. I grew up in Baltimore and I am an east coast girl. No plans to go anywhere else.​​



We leave the coffee shop and she takes me to her mother's studio and retail shop: a small, comfortable office with bottles of makeup displayed in perfect arrays. Jen's mother is sitting next to Chris at a computer editing photos from an event they showcased a few nights before. Jen enthusiastically describes the benefits of her mother's professional line. Everyone works together here, businesspeople and artists with the same goal: beauty. 

MU: I have read that you have a book coming out, can you give me a synopsis?​
​
JS: Oh my, I'll try. It's called “Covered: A Body Of Work”  and it's my story, from beginning until now. It's about how I got to where I am with body painting and turned it into a business.  It brings in my history with Baltimore, Maryland and the people who have helped and inspired me. The book was a group effort and I am really excited to get it out there and let everyone read it.