That (fake) Airbrush Magic
When I was a a kid my older cousin’s whole world was so cool. He’s the guy who got me into hip hop, comics, and drawing, but his own art was some next level shit. His weapons of choice were markers and the airbrush, the latter of which he wielded like a master. Just stepping into the art chemical mix in the air of his room would get you high. (Also, he smoked a lot of weed.)
Airbrush art is odd because it seems to occupy an extremely specific niche. Bucket galaxy spray painters in Times Square, 70s & 80s van murals, etc. They felt like the cutting edge of art technology from around the late 70s to the early 90s. For my cousin it was an indoors extension of his tagging, so his visual language was totally different from mine. Sports cars with fat wheels, little green men with obscured faces and glowing eyes wearing baggy jeans & hoodies, weed leaves everywhere, and the insanely baroque tags themselves. As cool as all that stuff is, my interests skew more towards lasers, sorcerers, and the cover Def Leppard’s Hysteria.
I tried my hand at the airbrush a few times, but only ever made a mess. Over the years I’ve thought of going back and trying it again, but the equipment is just so clunky. I’ve developed my art around compact, easy to carry tools so it’s never quite gotten past the curiosity stage. But of course, digital tools are a whole other ball game. I’ve recently discovered a bunch of airbrushes in Clip Studio’s library which, along with my first screen tablet ever, have made me fall in love with the look of this stuff all over again. Naturally, the change in tools, which has coincided with a far-too-delayed deep dive into the work of the late Jim Steinman, lead to a slight shift in subject matter. More foreboding cyborg magic than hyperscience. That old van mural shit, but like in 2021.
I’ll do more of this kind of thing once I wrap up some freelance assignments, but here’s the little bit I have so far. The stills are from Streets of Fire, which I just can not recommend enough.
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Marylin Martin’s version of Sorcerer (from Streets of Fire) has been my theme song for the week.
