Alisha Muller lives for “mirror moments.” She can create them in just five minutes, using paint, sponges, brushes, and a touch of glitter.
Her clients, most often children, climb onto a tall director’s chair and choose a design from Muller’s face painting samples. Then they try to sit still, anticipating their transformation.
Ready to party?
Book events with Alisha Muller online by visiting inspirationalartcenter.com or by calling (805) 264-6878. See the colorful fun on Instagram @inspirationalartcenter.
At a birthday party in late January, one young girl wanted a rainbow kitty cat across her face but wasn’t sure if Muller would be able to do it. Of course, the professional artist had no self-doubts.
“I turned the mirror around and I showed her. She was just like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” Muller remembered. “She jumped out of my chair, and she was just absolutely stoked.”
Muller has been giving mirror moments to Central Coast kids (and adults) going on 10 years. Her business, Inspirational Art Center, is a “one stop shop” for birthday parties and private events. Muller and her team provide face painting, character performances, glitter tattoos, games, and crafting lessons, all catered to the client’s idea of a perfect party. If they can’t create the client’s vision, chances are they can recommend another local business that can.
From humble beginnings painting kids’ faces at small church events, Muller’s business has grown to include two more artists and six character performers. During busy seasons, they’ll book three gigs in one day, each with dozens of blank faces to paint and entertain. Muller invested in a portable craft table to transport her paints and brushes to all the party locations, from Santa Barbara to Paso Robles.
“It’s literally live art and instantaneous art, which is fun,” she said about face painting.
The Santa Maria native has always been a creative type, but learning how to paint faces was completely new. Muller started with YouTube tutorials and moved on to an international face painting school where she learned new techniques and color theory.
“A lot of people don’t think there’s a lot of technique that goes into face painting but unfortunately there really is,” Muller said with a laugh.
One of the basic styles is sponge work. Muller picks up a solid color with her sponge and dots on large shapes before finishing with line work to fill in the rest of the details. Sometimes she’ll use a second sponge with a different color for highlights or contrast.
The other style is known as one-stroke. It’s how she originally learned, running a brush through a palette of colors to create an ombre look on the face.
“You can go inside of your paint palette, and you’re picking up between three to four different colors all at once. So you automatically will have that color variation without using the sponge,” she said.
With all face paint, the goal is to create a symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing design, the artist added. When mistakes happen, she wipes them off and restarts the section. Another trick is to cover missteps up with glitter, which makes most kids even happier.
Once she got the face painting down, the business owner brought on performers to act as characters. Spiderman and Princess Elsa are popular choices among her clientele. Muller’s employees are usually actors from the Pacific Conservatory Theatre and high school drama programs or students who go to Cal Poly.
For an extraordinary birthday party, parents can choose the coronation day package. The birthday girl will walk down a red carpet underneath a tunnel made by all the guests’ outstretched arms. Elsa will crown her with a sparkly tiara, and everyone claps for the new princess.
Alternatively, superheroes can ascend on the party for action-packed games and retellings of their astounding missions.
“I love working with kids,” Muller said. “I have five children of my own, so working with kids has always just been a passion.”
Not all of her clients are youngsters, though. If there’s extra time at a kids’ birthday party the parents will jump into Muller’s chair, especially if the adult beverages are flowing.
Clients have also booked Inspirational Art Center for their weddings. The company worked one wedding specifically to entertain the kids, but Muller discovered there’s a market for wedding party face painting.
To get the community feeling even more creative and inspired, Muller and her team organize free painting lessons for kids at the Santa Maria Town Center mall every month. She wants to expand her teaching to include more adult classes as well.
One goal is to partner with a coffee shop for a regular paint night.
“It’s important to be able to do things that are for the community but also at the same time supporting your local small businesses because that’s really what makes Santa Maria what it is,” Muller said. “We love having it a small town, but as we grow, our small businesses kind of get lost sometimes. So, it’s nice to be able to network within our own community.”
Staff Writer Madison White is ready for coronation day. Send sparkles to mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in February 19 – February 26, 2026.