Instructors

Celena Rubin

Founder & Director

Celena Rubin is a professionally trained working makeup artist from Los Angeles with over twenty years of experience in the field. Starting at the age of sixteen, she studied theater makeup at Hollywood High Performing Arts Magnet, and went on to study advanced makeup techniques during her university theater major. Celena then studied at a boutique private school with Emmy Award Winning makeup artist, David Dittmar, taking lessons from a successful working professional. Learning never stops though. Since then, she has taken many classes in fx, hairstyling, and more makeup! She has worked in theater, TV and film, print, commercials, advertising, music videos, runway and bridal. Celena has worked with some of the top celebrities and directors in Hollywood, and working for Good Morning America and 20/20, she has also worked with some of the top politicians in the country, including US Presidents and their families. Celena’s makeup work has been spotted in W, Oprah, Rolling Stone, Time, Vanity Fair and many more top publications throughout the world.

Linda Wong

Instructor

Linda Wong is one of our prized Art of Makeup School graduates! Before The Art of Makeup she already had experience working as a makeup artist in Chicago, IL for the haunted house industry, also doing theatre, commercials, tv and film, and had an education in Fine Arts. When she moved to Portland, OR though, she wanted a formal education in makeup artistry. She attended The Art of Makeup School and became a certified makeup artist in 2016!

While working as a free-lance makeup artist in Portland doing all the things that she loves such as theater, film, commercial, runway, and editorial, Linda found a niche in her career that suited her perfectly, She now focuses on lifting the voices of women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. She chooses to work on photo shoots that empower women, building their personal brands and businesses. She also frequently does makeup for boudoir shoots and for women over 40. Linda has a reputation for this and is sought after for her nurturing and inspiring persona, and creative skills in airbrush, body painting and beauty for women of color and for mature skin.

Linda has been a guest instructor at The Art of Makeup School for 5 years. She teaches airbrush and body painting, beauty, fashion, and theatrical makeup.

Kelli Gasaway

Instructor

Kelli Gasaway graduated at Beau Monde College of Hair Design as a fully licensed cosmetologist. Not long after, she studied at Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles, and then took her studies abroad to learn state-of-the-art haircutting and makeup techniques at the L’Oreal academy in Rome, Italy. Upon completion, she received her Instructor’s License to teach cosmetology. Kelli owns her own salon, Kelz Beauty, but spends much of her time on set for photo shoots, film and fashion events such as True Religion, Rock and Republic, and LA Fashion Week. She won 2012 Portland, OR Makeup Artist of the Year.

Kelli is a featured 100 must-follow stylists in 2018 MODERN SALON MAGAZINE’S

Christina Braun

Guest Instructor

Christina is a professional multi-tasker and the owner of a successful freelance makeup artistry business called Eye Shine Beauty. A few years pre Eye Shine, Christina was working as a Traveling Artistry Trainer with Smashbox Cosmetics, traveling from state to state. Smashbox would fly her to each location, and put her up in a hotel, where she would then train audiences of over sixty retail managers and artists at a time. Although the career was exciting and adventurous, she decided she wanted to focus on her own business as a freelancer and then left Smashbox to stay local. She is now taking her personal artistry to a whole new level specializing in clean, honest beauty for fashion and commercial shoots, weddings, proms, and portraits. We’re so fortunate to have her teaching our students how to create romantic beauty looks for editorial fashion and bridal shoots, along with edgy runway makeup, during our beauty, fashion, and bridal makeup classes!

Alma Cedillo

Guest Instructor

Alma is an experienced, bilingual professional makeup artist and hair stylist, who obtained a good portion of her education from learning and working out of Los Angeles. Alma’s training began when she was 17 years old, when her interest in all things beauty sparked her study habits in hairstyling, special effects makeup, and high fashion. She then decided to attend Cinema Makeup School, and graduated in 2010. Alma has been published on countless fashion magazine covers such as Pump Lifestyle, Period, Stunning Beauty, and Hues. Additionally, Alma has an impressive fx resume, including working as an annual zombie makeup artist at Monsterpalooza, and working on-set for multiple films. Alma believes that beauty isn’t just about makeup-it’s about self confidence, individuality, and the desire to embrace your inner beauty, and we couldn’t describe her personal makeup style better than that. Alma’s creativity, dedication, speed, and training has created a unique style at The Art of Makeup, and it’s made her an excellent addition to our team. 

Rachael Wagner

Guest Instructor

Rachael was destined to work in SFX makeup and prosthetics, which was showcased after she attended and trained at New York’s Makeup Designory. Rachael has worked with diverse clientele ever since, including Fall Out Boy, Hyundai, National Geographic, SyFy, Nerdist Industries, MGMT, The Metropolitan Opera, Girl Scouts of America, Disney, Target, and Universal Studios. But the impressive work history continues! Rachael was also a finalist in multiple IMATS Battle of the Brushes SFX competitions, and competed in SYFY’s Face Off Season 7 – only to become a fan favorite, and to get re-invited to compete for a second time on Face Off Season 11. Additionally, Rachael created creature suits and fake body parts for the movie Annabelle. Currently, she is Project Supervisor of Global Effects Inc., and has had the pleasure of working with ANOVOS Productions LLC and their Star Wars license, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, Castle, Doctor Who, and Orbital Outfitters, to name a few. Needless to say, Rachael is the best in the game, and we couldn’t be more ecstatic to have her at The Art of Makeup to pass her knowledge on to our students.

Alexander McPherson

Guest Instructor

Alexander gained experience in the makeup industry from a young age, as his father, Alistair McPherson, worked as a Special Effects Technician at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios in London, England. Pinewood Studios produces some of the world’s most-loved films and TV shows, such as Black Widow, Maleficent, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Needless to say, Alexander grew up learning the ins & outs of beauty and special effects, and did his first apprenticeship with his father at 14 years old. By the age of 19 he was department head on a feature film.

Alexander now works as a full-time makeup artist on the east coast, spending much of his time on film productions in Atlanta, GA. He is a member of IATSE Local 798, Hair and Makeup Union, and is a writer, director, and film producer too. His makeup skills cover everything from beauty, character, special fx, hair laying, bald caps, aging, trauma, prosthetic makeup and fabrication, and more.

Some of his commercial clients include Snapchat, Goodwill, Lowe’s, and General Electric. Alexander’s film credits are many! He has worked on over 30 films and TV shows, the majority as Head of the Makeup Dept, and the remainder as Key Makeup Artist. Recent film credits include Scorn, Dead of Night Season 2, The Warrant, and Overcomer. You can see more of his film credits on IMDB.

Todd Debreceni

Guest Instructor

Todd Debreceni of Special Makeup Effects for Stage and Screen: Making and Applying Prosthetics, is a Colorado-based special effects makeup artist who has worked for Disney, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, among many others. Todd has worked and been an educator in film, television, and theatre makeup all over the world for more than 30 years and has been awarded a True West Award, two Denver Post Ovation Awards for special effects makeup, a Henry Award nomination for Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award. His background in orthopedics and reconstructive plastic surgery have made his transition into prosthetic makeup creation a natural evolution. Todd continues to teach college courses in cinematography, acting, and visual effects in Denver, and we look forward to each of his visits to Portland.

Kevon Ward

Guest Instructor

A two-time competitor on the hit SYFY reality tv series, Face Off. Kevon specializes in FX makeup and creature design, and has worked on several additional mediums including puppetry, set and prop design, illustration, graphic design, fine art, body painting, and film production. On top of his impressive FX makeup experience, Kevon was also nominated for best actor in Hans Crippleton: Talk To The Hans in the FANtastic Horror Film Festival, San Diego. Kevon’s work has been featured in film, television, theatrical productions, theme parks, VR games, body paint competitions, retail stores, and children’s books. Kevon Ward is the creator of the dark horror comedy web series Bored as Hell, out now on YouTube.

Michael Key

Guest Instructor

Michael is an Emmy Award winning makeup artist, and the creator of both Make-Up Artist Magazine and IMATS (International Make-up Artist Trade Show). Michael has worked as a make-up artist for multiple award-winning film productions, such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Planet of the Apes, and Star Trek Generations. With 4 Emmy nominations and 2 wins for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993 & 1995), Michael pushes the industry standard while unveiling the secrets to the mystery of makeup transformation. In 1996, Michael published the first film industry professional make-up artist magazine, simply named Make-Up Artist Magazine. Over the last 23 years, thousands of the top artists in the industry working on the latest Blockbuster films have been interviewed for the magazine, showcasing their work and explaining their process. As if this extraordinary accomplishment wasn’t enough, the year following the magazines’ release, Michael started the first ever makeup artist trade show, which quickly became an international success and the largest celebration of makeup artists in the world. Each year, thousands of aspiring and successful makeup artists gather across the globe at each IMATS where the best of the best lecture and demonstrate their passion for their art. Michael is a truly inspiring human being and we can’t express how lucky we are to have him!

Diane Trapp

Guest Instructor

Diane Trapp has been doing hair and makeup for professional theatre productions since 1972. Diane is a proud member of the IATSE local 28, and for 19 years has been part of their Wardrobe, Hair and Makeup Department. She has worked for several theatre companies as the Makeup and Hair Designer, including Musical Theater Co., Eugene Opera, New Rose Theatre, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and Columbia Dance (to name a few). Currently, Diane’s main focus is in education, with over 30 years experience as Portland Community College’s Stage Makeup Instructor for their theatre arts program. She designed many shows for the college, including Amadeus, Little Shop of Horrors, Hairspray, and Usagi Yojimbo. Diane also works on touring Broadway shows that come into town, most recently Aladdin at the Keller Auditorium.

Michael Peterson

Guest Instructor

At age 20, Michael Davis Peterson achieved a dream position in the Hollywood film industry as a Special Makeup Effects Artist, hired to work for Captive Audience, owned by Academy award winning Makeup artist Greg Cannom. During the time he worked at Captive, he helped create makeups for many films including four academy nominated films: Bicentennial Man, A Beautiful Mind, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and The Passion of the Christ, as well as other films such as Hannibal and Van Helsing. Michael was trained and worked alongside industry masters like Brian Sipe, Steve Wang, and Christian Tinsley. Soon thereafter, Michael expanded his relationships to other makeup effects studios with industry legends like Steve Johnson, creating all the silicone appliances for the lead villain Eli Damaskinos in Blade II, and with the Chiodo Brothers on Bible Man.

After 9 years of working as a makeup artist, he opened his own studio, Image Alchemy Productions which became the largest Special Makeup effects/specialty costume studio in Arizona. Michael led a team of artists to create special costumes and props as well as character makeups and gore/wound simulation. Over the last 6 years Michael is also finding passion in his other roles in filmmaking, as a producer, director, and also selling screenplays for web, TV and film.