Paintings In (Really) Living Color

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This is a painting of man. But it's also a painting on a man. His skin and clothing have become a canvas for Alexa Meade, an artist based in Washington, D.C. The result is striking -– especially when the subject leaves his acrylic world.

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First-time viewers of these "Living Paintings" usually react in disbelief: "Wait, that's a real person?" Even Meade's first model, whom she painted back in 2009, mistook a photo of himself for a two-dimensional portrait.

Once you've convinced your stubborn brain that yes, these are living figures with depth, breadth and breath, there is a kind of joy in knowing the secret. My favorite pieces are those in which the "real," unpainted world intrudes. I feel like I'm backstage -– I know the magician's trick.

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"I'm not painting on a static canvas," Meade says. "My brush strokes are a product of my mood and the mood of the model. It almost feels like a collaboration at times."

Meade paints, photographs and destroys each piece in a single day (she can't send her subjects home covered in paint) so she has to work fast. Sometimes she uses a household broom as a brush to paint large sections and speed things up.

"It's part of the adrenaline rush," Meade says. "Everything is in the moment — I can't take a step back to look over the painting. I just have to trust my instincts."

On Wednesday I visited Meade's interactive installation at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Two women, costumed in paint, posed and shifted and posed. It was a little eerie. Some paintings have eyes that follow you around the room but usually their bodies don't come along.

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Small windows cut into the backdrops invited viewers to occupy the artwork. I queued up with a few friends to have my photo taken; we all wanted a chance to disrupt the illusion.

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At the end of the day, Meade's models peel a thick layer of acrylic from their bodies and performance of the piece is over. What remains is portraiture in triplicate: A photo of a painting of a person, and the real person hidden somewhere underneath.