November 12, 2012

Things I hate to airbrush


Almost from the instant I became capable of coherent thought, I have felt an alien in this world. As if I was accidentally sent to this planet as a result of an administrative error made by some temp angel who could not care less about the consequence of his efforts. I really must have a chat with this chum if ever I will meet him. This alienated mindset applies to all occurrences in my life in which I am involved. That of course includes my efforts to achieve a decent level of creating airbrush art. One of the things I never felt drawn to, is to spray portraits of perfect, flawless faces, that exist only in imagination. I made several exceptions to that.


The stunningly beautiful and smart MM


The first is a portrait of Marylin Monroe, the outlandishly beautiful and smart model and actress who reached celebrity status mostly by her looks. But most overlook the mind behind the beauty, that was probably overshadowed by her stunning appearance. Her looks and above average perception lead her into circles where dangerous men live and sadly that ultimately cost her her life. She also wrote poetry that could not be conceived by a 'dumb blonde' that envious people liked to call her.

The second exception is Tina Turner, who survived long lasting domestic abuse and fought her way to a high place on the public stage with her talent. It says a lot about the power of her mind and the extent of her artistic talent. The men that were in her circles often had dubious characters - Ike Turner who beat her up and producer Phil Spector who was suspected to have killed actress Lana Clarkson. The fact that she managed to escape the realm of violent spirits and went on to share her talent with the world, is a major achievement that deserves respect, even though my personal musical taste is quite different from her repertoire.


The talented Tina Turner



Apart from those the portraits I made were of real people, i.e. not molded by the movie- or music industry. The portrait of JFK was one of the only US president who actually cared for the people over whom he was given responsibility. This unique frame of mind among politicians, contributed to his assassination. The portrait of Gorbachev was a mistake influenced by the corrupt reports spawned by lamestream media that made me misinterpret his true personality.


The president who cared for his people



Other things I hate to airbrush are the proverbial skulls and flames, that many airbrush artists love to spray. I can do it, but I hate to do it. I prefer to apply the talent graciously extended to me to airbrushing people who have the intention to make their stay in this dimension comply with the talents graced unto them in a positive way that helps the human race advance in the direction to its determined destiny.



Test of Inspire urethane paints



It was the first and last time that I ever sprayed a skull and flames. I must admit it was nice to do, but that feeling mostly came from the excellent handling of the Inspire paints. Urethane paints are beyond compare to other type of paint. This was a test on paper to familiarize myself more with its particular conduct. It handles quite similar to HOK, and coverage is even better. The downside is that they are not particularly beneficial to the artist's health if safety precautions are not taken. Other than that, Inspire is a brilliant paint.

Skulls and flames are no challenge; they don't have to resemble anyone or anything. Just loosely spray where the image continues to look real and you're done. It is nowhere near the art of airbrushing portraits, where when a line or area is one millimeter off target, the likeness is gone. In addition, skilled airbrush artists can interpret a portrait and by subtle changes (compared to the reference) enhance the subject's essence, thereby taking airbrushing beyond the act of simple copying.