Press kit
Paul Roustan • Body Painter & Photographer
Paul Roustan is a Los Angeles-based body painter and photographer who has spent over 20 years transforming the human form through paint and image. Roustan also evolves the work with technology, creating virtual worlds, augmented reality, and embracing AI.
This page provides editorial ready background, representative work, and downloadable assets for media use.
Press release
Redondo Beach, CA. Body painter and photographer Paul Roustan has spent the past few years painting bathing suits and photographing models predominantly at South Bay beaches. Living here, he started thinking more about how lucky he is to be able to walk down to the beach, something most of the world never gets. That idea led to this series: illusion swimwear painted directly on the body, then photographed where he lives and works.
Locations include El Porto, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Rat Beach, the Breakwall, Hammerland, and Malibu. The painted suits only last a few hours. The photographs are what remain.
Selected works from the series appear in Roustan’s third hardcover volume of body paint photography. The book launches with a one-night show on October 30, 2026, 6-11 PM at VEFA Gallery (21825 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503), with painted performers and a live DJ set by Thes One from People Under the Stairs.
Thes One, the Los Angeles producer, DJ, MC and co-founder of the influential hip-hop duo People Under the Stairs, will provide the music for the opening reception. Born Christopher Portugal and raised in the South Bay, Thes One spent more than two decades building People Under the Stairs alongside the late Double K, becoming known for their deeply independent approach to hip-hop, extensive record collecting and sample-based production. The duo released 12 albums, toured extensively around the world and performed at festivals including Coachella, Glastonbury and Bonnaroo. Thes One continues to create music and preserve the culture of independent hip-hop through his solo work and Piecelock 70. He also wrote the foreword to Roustan’s new third volume, and contributed an original beat to the limited-edition flexidisc included with the book. For the opening reception, Thes One will DJ a set that brings his distinctive approach to sampling, soul, funk and hip-hop into the gallery environment, connecting Roustan’s visual work with the music and record-collecting culture that has influenced the project.
Event
- What: One Night Show. Book launch for Roustan’s third hardcover volume, featuring the painted bathing suit series, with painted performers
- When: October 30, 2026, 6-11 PM
- Where: VEFA Gallery, 21825 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503
- Music: Live DJ set by Thes One (People Under the Stairs)
- Bring out your inner child! Costumes encouraged! Prize for the best costume!
Images for editorial use
Images are numbered for easy reference. Click any thumbnail to view full size (use arrows or arrow keys to browse).
Roustan Body Paint Vol. 3
A 260-page hardcover photography book featuring over 150 body paintings by award-winning artist Roustan.
Roustan Halloween Bash
Photos from the Halloween Party 2019 at Resin Gallery in Hermosa Beach, CA
Photos by Brad Jacobsen
Photos by Patrick Coyne
Painted Bathing Suits on South Bay Beaches
Bella Donna at El Porto
Daisy at Hermosa Beach
Kapila May at Manhattan Beach
Melissa LadyBug at Hammerland
Posie Pocket at Breakwall
Sawyer Croft at Rat Beach
Shadia Elise at Rat Beach
Steph Sinn at Malibu
Stella Gray at Rat Beach
About the artist
Short description
Paul Roustan is a Los Angeles based body painter and photographer whose work explores illusion, impermanence, and the living canvas of the human body. A winner of the North American Bodypaint Championships, he has built a global audience through YouTube (480k+ subscribers) while expanding his practice across photography, virtual worlds, augmented reality, and embracing AI.
Story
I was drawing for as long as I can remember. It was the one thing I consistently excelled at, and teachers and classmates always encouraged me to pursue art.
In 2005, when I was 25 years Old, I worked as a freelance illustrator for a magazine. One day, I pitched the idea of creating a body painting for a photo spread, even though I had never actually painted on a person before.
They said yes.
So I figured it out.
The moment I painted my first model, I realized I had found myself.
What surprised me wasn't just that I enjoyed painting on a person. It was that the artwork didn't stop when I put down the brush. The model became part of the artwork. Every movement changed the painting. The piece was alive!
Painting on the human body also freed me from something I had struggled with for years: brutal self-critique. A canvas can sit in the studio for weeks while I obsess over every detail. A body painting doesn't allow that. You have a few hours to create something beautiful before it's gone.
That time pressure matches the way I naturally create. I'm an impatient artist. I love the result more than the process, and body painting demands instinct over perfection.
I've now been creating body painting art for over 20 years. During that time, I've watched the creative world transform through the rise of social media, the creator economy, virtual worlds, and now AI. Each shift has challenged artists to rethink how they create and connect with audiences.
Rather than resisting those changes, I've embraced them. I've built an audience on YouTube, experimented with immersive virtual galleries in the metaverse, explored augmented reality and volumetric capture, and recently begun incorporating AI into my creative process. For me, technology has never been the destination. It's simply another tool that allows me to tell stories in new ways while staying true to the art form that captured me more than two decades ago.
The artwork still exists for only a brief moment before it disappears, surviving through photographs, video, and the memories of the people who experienced it. That sense of transformation and impermanence is what continues to inspire me today.
Career highlights
Through photography, Roustan’s temporary painted works become lasting visual compositions. His practice spans fine art, editorial, and commercial work, with features in GQ, Playboy, Maxim, The New York Post, and The Chicago Sun-Times. He is an alumnus of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Rhode Island School of Design.
Key details
- Los Angeles-based body painter and photographer
- over 20 years creating body painting art
- Winner: North American Bodypaint Championships
- Alumnus: School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Rhode Island School of Design
- YouTube creator with 480k+ subscribers; work spans fine art, editorial, commercial, and digital formats
- Explores virtual worlds, augmented reality, volumetric capture, and AI as creative tools
- Featured in GQ, Playboy, Maxim, The New York Post, The Chicago Sun-Times, and international exhibitions
Links
- Website: https://bodypainter.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roustan/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/roustan
Photos
Headshots and sample work for editorial use. Captions below each thumbnail may be used directly or adapted. Images continue the numbering from the bathing suit section above. Click an image to view full size; use the arrows or arrow keys to browse.
Headshots
Sample work
Notes for editors
Images are available for publication with credit to Roustan. Additional materials, captions, and interview requests are available upon request.
- Body paintings are photographed by Roustan unless another photographer is credited.
- Roustan Halloween Bash photographs are by Brad Jacobsen and Patrick Coyne, as captioned.
- Images may be cropped for editorial layout as needed.
- Credit: Roustan and models accordingly.