It’s not the usual canvas she’s used to, but it’s a popular one.

Laura Herbert of Hamilton is making a name for herself painting pregnant women’s bellies.

Herbert owns Fancy Faces and Maternity Belly Painting, and paints women’s bellies with elaborate flowers and designs.

She fell into it by chance. She was working at Curry’s in Hamilton when she stumbled on some face paint, and brought it home. She’s been a visual and mixed media artist for years, and loves makeup, so she started playing around with face paint.

She started doing face painting at events such as Supercrawl, and “had a line all day,” the mom of two said. “I made more in that one day face painting than with any other piece of artwork I’ve ever done.”

One day, a pregnant friend asked her to paint her belly. She did, and “it just spiralled from there,” she said.

She gets satisfaction when she goes to that friend’s house and sees a photo of her belly painting on the wall of their daughter’s room.

“It’s so incredible to see women bond with their unborn babies through this experience, and it’s such a privilege to be a part of it,” she said.

Herbert takes her work to numerous shows, including the Bump, Baby and Toddler Expo on Nov. 15 and 16.