PENDLETON — A body art studio has returned to Main Street during the Pendleton Round-Up.

Kim Mock sat in front of her luggage-sized makeup case Wednesday, Sept. 11, dipped her brush into the white and purple palette cups and painted a flower onto her hand.

“I love bringing some happiness to children,” Mock said. “It’s fun to watch their faces light up. Kids love to role play and imagine. They love to create a new identity and pretend. I love to paint. It’s just fun to allow them to be that creative too.”

On a rainy afternoon Mock, owner of Creative Faces and Body Art, worked with airbrush painter Jessie Guerrero inside their booth on the 200 block of South Main Street.

The artistic duo paints and glams up the faces and arms of children and adults. They draw zebra masks, lady bugs and mermaids, airbrush butterflies and slap on stick-on tattoos.

Mock, of Malage, Washington, said this is her fifth year setting up her booth for the Pendleton Round-Up.

“I love the energy at this event,” Mock said. “People are very excited to be here and when they come to our booth, we’re usually playing music, it’s upbeat, and we have a lot of fun. I love all of that because there’s so many people that come to face painting.”

She began her artistic career in 2017, while her husband had colon cancer. He died in 2019.

Mock said that left her with nothing to support herself. So she embarked on face painting full time for financial relief and independence.

“It’s been really good for me,” Mock said. “It not only helped me get over my grief, I realized I can continue on.”

In addition to her face painting business, Mocks makes jewelry for her other company, Art to Suit You. Her metal jewelry booth is set up next to her face painting pop-up shop.

Although the day was slow and gray due to the rain, Mock rolled up her sleeve and asked Guerrero to airbrush a butterfly on her arm.

He flipped through the pages of his stencil binder and slapped on a butterfly outline on her arm. Guerreo, of Tacoma, got his brush tool, turned on his air compressor and sprayed black paint onto the outline. Less than two minutes later the butterfly was ready.

Mock said airbrushing will last up to seven days and stick-on tattoos are able to last up to two weeks.

“We’re anxious to get lots of customers,” she said.”We want to have fun. So come on down and see us.”

Creative Faces and Body Art charges $20 for one face and $35 for two faces. It is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. during the week of Pendleton Round-Up.