Creative Vision
Photographer Bianca Gascoigne, photo by Apple Wagon Films
Bianca Gascoigne Puts an Artistic Spin on Portraits
Story by Bonnie Schiedel, Photos by Bianca Gascoigne
Talk about a triple threat: Bianca Gascoigne is a skilled makeup artist, visual artist, and photographer, and all three disciplines work together when she’s prepping for a shot. She began as a self-taught makeup artist back in 2019. “I’m an artist at heart,” she explains “Makeup was never about vanity for me; it was about creating a feeling. Body paint was my first love, and then I was pulled into the beauty direction. So photography became a way of having control over how people could see the art: I wanted colours to be accurate, lighting to be flattering. At first it was just to document and build a portfolio for social media, but it quickly turned into a passion for capturing portraits and creating moods and concepts.” Her partner, Curtis Jensen of Apple Wagon Films, showed her the basics of lighting and lenses, and then she got to work in her studio, working first with a mannequin to hone her techniques, and then offering to photograph her makeup clients.
Today, much of Gascoigne’s photography work is with women celebrating personal or professional milestones. “They tend to express that they feel more confident afterwards. It’s something that they are proud that they did. It makes them feel good about themselves,” she says. “That’s feedback that I love to hear.” Gascoigne also does slightly more unconventional shots with women in creative industries. “It allows them to bring [a] creative vision to life and be a part of an artistic community.”
Special projects are part of Gascoigne’s artistic work too. Last year, she had a photography exhibit that used makeup techniques to celebrate first- and second-generation Canadian women’s cultural backgrounds. Her current project, which will be shown this October, is called Penumbra—a term associated with the shadow and light of an eclipse. “The first photo kind of starts off in a dark place, and then there’s that journey of healing until you’re in a more peaceful, happy place,” she says. Each model is either a local artist, works in the mental health field or is in support of mental health awareness and transparency, or a combination of all three. “The arts and mental health go hand in hand. Art is cathartic, expressive, transcending and universal.”
To see more of Biana Gascoigne’s work, visit @biancaartistry on Instagram.
