A German speech therapist spends her free time transforming human “canvases” into living, breathing works of art.

The days of using a traditional canvas are long behind Gesine Marwedel — she instead opts to paint horses, eagles and fantastical landscapes onto the bodies of nude models.

“In contrast to painting a canvas, during body painting you have a 3D canvas, that is living, breathing and moving,” she told Barcroft Media. “You have to take care about the model, they cannot sit all the time in the same position and you have to be finished in only one day.”

The 27-year-old Dortmund resident says she’s always loved painting, whether it’s on paper or skin. Mardewel has been creating her breathtaking works of art for around five years, according to Barcroft.

“I have been painting on canvas since before I could hold a pen, but I’ve never taken any course or workshop in painting or body-painting,” she said. “But despite the difficulties I like the living art, because I can talk to my canvas, and make the model happy.”

At the end of the day, it’s the finished product that truly resonates with Mardewel.

“It is always great to see how the models transform into something else and how they love it,” she concluded.