This week's cover features one of the coolest images we've ever featured on the face of this publication. But it wasn't, however, easy to produce this photo.
For our Snowrider's Guide, we wanted a photo that captured the mystique of our huge winters (while also getting our readers into the Halloween spirit) and so we tapped the skills of local artist Willow Durant, a painting teacher who took to face and body painting about four years ago after turning a friend into a clown and has been excelling the medium ever since. For our model, we chose local backcountry skier and instructor Jana Rogers, who was bravely up to the task. The 23-year-old University of Oregon graduate who has been skiing since she was three years old can be found out at spots like Lake Paulina and Todd Lake during the winter months.
"I've gotten more into getting up early and skiing before dawn when there's nobody out there," she says, adding that she was also drawn to the project because of her interest in art and architecture, which she studied in college.
But again, this wasn't a simple project. It took Durant more than six hours to paint Rogers from the waist up and most of that time required Rogers to remain still as the intricate details of the design were carefully applied.
Capturing Durant's incredible design was photographer Tambi Lane, who has shot other covers for the Source, and despite some challenges, was able to provide the image you see on the cover, as well as the one on this page.
Durant is, as you might expect, busy this weekend painting customers for Halloween, but she still has some openings if you want to get colored like Rogers. Check out her website (willowartandhealing.com) or email her at [email protected]. She says the medium of body painting, although foreign to some, is nevertheless exciting.
"Sometimes it's uncomfortable because you're embracing a new persona, but it's also an adventure," says Durant.
