Artist Paul Roustan creates a South Bay take on Pink Floyd album cover body painting

by Mark McDermott

Artist Paul Roustan has recreated the famous Pink Floyd album cover body painting, but with a South Bay twist. All six of his models, and the art he drew on them over the course of five hours on a recent afternoon, are native to the South Bay.

Roustan, an artist and photographer who is regarded as among the premier body painters in the world, completed an idea he’d had in the works for a long time last weekend, photographing his models both underneath the Hermosa Beach pier and on the Strand Wall. He titled the work, “Painted Ladies of the South Bay”. Each served as a living canvass for six different aspects of South Bay culture: Morgan Sliff (surfing), Sawyer Croft (rollerblading and skateboarding), Amber Jones (punk rock), Caitlyn Deering (Hermosa Beach and volleyball), Suzi Paine (the Redondo Beach pier), and Kristen Best (the El Segundo stacks).

Roustan’s artist’s statement said the work is a combination of both his life’s work and the place he has come to adore, the South Bay. He’s a native of Chicago.

“I’m an artist. Specifically, I’m a body painter,” Rouston wrote. “I paint on people and photograph them. I’m also a Redondo Beach resident, and am infatuated with the history and culture of the South Bay. The surf, punk, and skate scene, as well as some of the iconic landmarks of the area have engrained themselves in my mind since moving here. The visual popped in my head a year and a half ago to combine these elements and pay homage to the famous Pink Floyd albums bodypaint image, instead with South Bay flare. It felt like just the right type of art to give back to the beach cities. And I’m overjoyed to have included these six native models to give the artwork local authenticity.”

Roustan’s career spans both the fine art and commercial worlds. His work has been commissioned for corporate, private, television and nightclub events worldwide, including work for Playboy, Bacardi, Tupperware and Absolut. His bodypainting has garnered numerous awards, including 1st place North American Body Paint Champion at the North American Body Paint Championships. It has also been featured in a wide variety of fashion shows, community events, parades and workshops. His work has appeared on media including, Spike TV, Sabado Gigante, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Providence Journal, Playboy Magazine, Airbrush Action Magazine, Univision, and DIG Boston.

Roustan earned a Master’s Degree from Rhode Island School of Design and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In addition to being an alumnus, he was also faculty at both schools. He will be the subject of an upcoming Beach magazine profile. To learn more about Roustan and his work, see RoustanBodypaint.com.