Biographies
Kris Jorgensen ~ Airbrush
Instructor
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Wendy Ann Rosen
Makeup has been my life for over thirty years. As a freelance artist, I was very fortunate to
be represented by the prestigious Cloutier Agency in Los Angeles for more than fifteen years and
the Opera Agency in London for two years. I have worked on everything from celebrities, fashion
editorial, fashion shows, print advertising and commercials, as well as music videos, album and
cd covers, men’s grooming, body makeup, television, and more…
I frequently worked on fashion editorials with Donald Robertson, an art director who also worked
for MAC Cosmetics. He was responsible for creating MAC’s original image. After much persuasion,
Donald recruited me to work at the MAC Pro Store on a part-time basis while still working as a
freelance makeup artist. That job lasted for over ten years!
While working with MAC, I advised many co-workers who were aspiring makeup artists embarking on
freelance careers. When asked why I chose work at MAC while I was already so successful with my
freelance career, I realized that there was more than one answer but the main reason is that I
found that I really enjoyed helping people by teaching them new techniques as well as assisting
them in building their kits as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. It finally dawned
on me that I should be teaching makeup! The next day, I heard about a position that just became
available at a makeup academy and I took the job. It was clear to me and to everyone who knows
me that teaching would be my ideal job. This was confirmed by the amazing response and support
that I received from my students. Unfortunately, I grew more and more frustrated by the limitations
of what I was able to teach based on their established curriculum and limited time restrictions.
I researched other schools but soon realized that I would ultimately have the same problems with
them. In order to provide everything I think a professional makeup artist needs to learn, I found
that the only solution is that I must teach my own classes. With the encouragement of my students,
that is exactly what I decided to do!
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Bruce Grayson is one of the rare few to be born and raised in Los
Angeles. So it's no surprise that he was exposed to the entertainment business at a very early
age.
Bruce's father, Dave Grayson, was one of the top make-up artists of his day with clients such
as Lauren Bacall, Kim Novak and Shelly Winters. Bruce loved to tag along, for obvious reasons,
but it also exposed him to the art of beauty make-up.
The real education started when his Dad became John Wayne and Kirk Douglas's personal make-up
artist. Bruce literally grew up on the sets of the biggest Westerns ever made. Bruce thought of
these celebrity icons not as stars but as family. His father approached his clients with professionalism
and level headedness that was in turn passed on to Bruce. Soon after graduating from Hollywood
High School (Go Sheiks!), Bruce was afforded the opportunity of working along side some of Hollywood’s
greatest artists. In this environment, Bruce was able to fine-tune his craft and thus launch his
career in make-up. Bruce soon established himself as one of Hollywood's top Make-up Artists. Since
that time, the Emmy nominated Make-up Artist has traveled all over the United States and Europe
as a spokesman for several cosmetic and skincare companies. His work with celebrities has been
seen in many magazines including Vanity Fair. Bruce is in charge of the make up department on
both the Emmy Awards and Academy Awards television broadcasts. He has also worked and overseen
several make-up teams on such shows as “The Larry Sanders Show,” “News Radio”
and “Just Shoot Me.
Bruce has also had the pleasure of working for President Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton as
their personal make-up artist. He worked on the 1992 and 1996 Presidential Campaigns, Presidential
Inaugurations as well as other White House Events and editorials. Thank God he was able to receive
“Secret Service clearance”.
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Kris Jorgensen
After working in Wardrobe on films for over 10 years, and experiencing the frustration of the
long process from creative development to finished product, he sought the instant results that
makeup offered as a creative outlet.
Toward the end of Kris’s wardrobe career, Michael Westmore, Head of Makeup for Star Trek,
inspired Kris to begin transitioning to working in a makeup capacity in the film industry. While
working with Westmore, Kris was introduced to air brush makeup. That began a new relationship
with makeup artistry. Bruce Grayson, who worked as a makeup artist in television, is another great
influence that encouraged Kris to pursue makeup as a career.
Kris was given another great opportunity to advance his makeup career when he met Frank Toskan
and Frank Angelo, creators of MAC Cosmetics, who gave him the opportunity to join their company.
MAC appealed to Kris as a company that could and would do things differently, and he carried that
mentality with him when working with different mediums related to his art.
Once a tool just for special effects, Airbrush is now another tool that can be used for beauty
makeup applications serving more contemporary requirements. Airbrush can be a useful technique
for handling makeup needs for new technologies like HDTV, as well as for editorial, body makeup
and weddings, among other things. Learning good technique for airbrush is similar to learning
good technique in any other makeup medium – once learned the results can go from adequate
to incredible. Kris’s airbrush teaching philosophy revolves around educating his students
about the techniques needed to achieve the incredible results.
Oftentimes, artists and customers alike will ask “what should I do?” when trying to
achieve a specific result or perfect a technique. The word should is the biggest killer of creativity
for any artist. Kris encourages each person to find the best way to create an artistic achievement
for them as an individual. Great results are often arrived at by creative thinking and not by
following set rules.