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54 • THE ARTISAN SUMMER 2024 and I have collaborated on two films about historical American figures. A decade ago, we did Selma, celebrated for its unforgettable portrayal of Civil Rights leader Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., and most recently, Lawmen: Bass Reeves, about the life and career of the first African American US deputy marshal, west of the Mississippi. David initially mentioned the Bass Reeves project to me while we were shooting a film in Canada. He described it as an epic story about an American hero that needed to be told. Of course, I was thrilled to transform him into another iconic figure in US history, this time, one on the early western frontier. David's appreciation for my creativity gave me the opportunity to formulate a make-up, hair and special effects department for the Paramount+ series under my direction. I was tasked with capturing Bass Reeves' image and essence as precisely as I could. I drew inspiration from black-and-white photos I found during my research, as well as images shared by our costume designer that showcased men of the same era. I even had a personal connection to that time period, as my great-grandfather was from the same era. I studied old photographs of him with the hope of reproducing his skin texture. Early on, David and I shared our creative ideas about who Bass Reeves was, so that we could fully bring him to life. As a young man, Reeves was enslaved and forced to work as a Confederate soldier. During that time, he had to protect a Confederate Army leader who fashioned himself as Bass Reeves' master. To replicate the brand burned onto his back, I created a prosthetic scar with the letters "RVS" and insisted that it be raised because the skin for people of color tends to keloid as their scars heal. By sculpting molding clay, I craed the scar and used Illustrator Adhesive to attach it and professional Skin Illustrator Dark Flesh Tone Palette to give it texture and color. In Bass Reeves' early life, David was barefaced and embodied an innocence. I used prosthetic teeth to change the shape of his mouth and my prosthetics team distressed and stained his set of irregularly shaped teeth to reflect the period. I further altered David's facial structure with a technique I created that doesn't require additional prosthetics by strategically placing Peter omas Roth under eye gel patches on certain areas of the skin to tighten it and create a youthful look. As the story progressed, I achieved an aged look on David by placing the same Peter omas Roth under eye gel patches on the skin, this time, in areas where I wanted to create depth and age lines and slowly added wrinkles to his forehead to sculpt and contour his facial structure further. I hand-laid human Afro tech hair on David's face to replicate his hair texture and color. For continuity, I laid strands of gray using 151 Matte Adhesive and held it in place using Schwarzkopf got2b hairspray to create the grizzled look dictated by the script. e series filmed in Texas from January to July 2023 where, for those six months, the rain and heat affected both the production and our process. Since we were block-shooting, I oen transformed David's face into all three stages of Bass Reeves' life in one day. Dennis Quaid portrayed the trail-worn and weathered deputy Sherrill. He embodied the true essence of the effects of years spent outdoors, taking on all weather conditions while hunting down outlaws. We achieved this look by applying Illustrator Tan 2 bronzer, no powder. We used this technique on other actors as well. In this instance, the humidity was an asset by allowing our actors' skin to remain damp and ruddy, acting as a natural adhesive for the bronzer we used around their necks, hairlines, hands, and ears (inside and out). We used liquid dirt accents on the skin in places like underneath their fingernails. It was a meticulous process maintaining that weathered look and the team and I knew we were doing a great job when our actors returned from their days off saying they looked gnarly with dirty fingernails despite plenty of showers and repeated hand washing. I worked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the beginning of my career, so it was a full circle moment to work with the legendary Donald Sutherland again. e contribution that each character—Jennie Reeves (Lauren Banks), Sally Reeves (Demi Singleton), Billy Crow (Forrest Goodluck), and Esau Pierce (Barry Pepper)—gave to the story was pure art. Since the actors started their day in my trailer, I created a space where they were immersed in the world of Bass Reeves from the moment they MAKE-UP Continued from page 53 L-R: Kristen Wiig and Josh Lucas as Douglas Dellacorte Simmons L-R: David Oyelowo and Dennis Quaid as Sherrill Lynn