‘Lipstick Artist’ Natalie Irish Paints With Kisses, Literally [Video]

It seems like every artist these days needs both talent and a gimmick. In the case of Natalie Irish, she has both in spades, painting beautiful and engaging portraits of celebrities and pop culture figures with nothing but her own two lips.

According to Irish’s website, she’s been making art since at least the age of 5, but didn’t discover her “gimmick” of painting with her lips until 2001. After putting on some red lipstick for a night on the town, she blotted it, and looked at the imprint she had made. Ultimately, she decided that she could make art with lipstick, and thus an internet/viral-friendly sensation was truly born.

The “Lipstick Artist,” as some media outlets have taken to calling her, has made news on-and-off for at least a year, with a Huffington Post profile from 2011 and most recently, an interview on Conan O’Brien’s show where she revealed a portrait of Coco himself.

Irish’s portraits aren’t just appealing due to her unique gimmick, either. The “Lipstick Artist” actually produces beautifully rendered images of pop culture icons that dwarf many a serious artist’s hand-painted works. Irish doesn’t just rely on her puckered lips, though. She also uses her thumbprints and ink to make fetching pieces of art.

According to her website, her next task is adjusting to her “new life as a CYBORG…”

We have included a video of Natalie Irish painting with her lips, the video of her interview with Conan O’Brien, and a short gallery of her work. Enjoy!

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