Airbrush Experimentation

First attempts at airbrushing

I am all for trying new techniques in my practice and I needed to build my confidence and have a go at airbrushing asap if i was going to master it in any way for use as final artwork and in my designs/concepts for this module. I really want to branch away from the typical 80's album artwork that everyone seems to associate with the airbrush technique. To me airbrushing is just another painting tool and I instantly see the potential of this method for use with acrylic ink/paint and stencils.

Further research/tutorials that i used throughout the experimentation:

Cleaning:

Setting up:

Inspiration:

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My first attempts at airbrushing:

Positives:

• I really like the effects generated using this technique
• Fine spray creates a lovely even coverage of paint - not dissimilar to printing techniques (both analogue and digital)
• Intricacy and detail are not too dificult to achieve
• This technique - or ones I have explored throughout this experimentation - lends well to the pattern exploration within coral / natural forms I am basing my 505 project around
• Frisket is great for stencilling. I have previous experience of making stencils with acetate and making tape etc and despite being fiddly, frisket is a lot more reliable for clean lines and ease of cutting/stencilling intricate designs.
• Luckily the range of acrylic ink colours that I have made it easy to create colourful pieces as intended - without needing to spend extra time pre-mixing colours.

Negatives:

• My airbrush is brilliant, but is primarily for use in designs with tiny detail and outlines/line work. The spray range isn't large enough for mural pieces as I have intended for this project, therefore stencil work took a lot of fiddling with my equipment and getting used to.
• A work around for this could be that instead of actually creating a real large scale physical mural (either in an arranged/commissioned area / space in leeds...or my back garden wall), I could stencil up the artwork on a much smaller scale (as I have done in these first experiments) and mock up as a mural digitally
• Messy and easy to smudge/make mistakes
• Fiddly in terms of stencilling - however this is made easier with the frisket at this small scale
• Bad for lungs and surrounding area if not ventilated / wearing a mask This is important, however another factor to take into consideration when producing artwork
• Time consuming when I don't know what results can be achieved / how to acheive the desired effect I want. - Hoping this will improve as I continue to practice.
• Time consuming due to small spray area of my airbrush model and the fine acrylic mist that is produced. Many layers needed to create vibrant "block" areas of colour in designs.
• Time consuming because of the amount of time it takes to set up and clean the airbrush, as well as the process of transitioning between paint colours. Between each paint colour, the airbrush requires cleaning fluid to be pumped through through the needle, to prevent clogging/drying paint particles - as well as colour bleeds.

Thoughts moving forward:

• find digital mural mock up

• still consider physical mural or large scale painting (on MDF / mount-board/wood etc)

- use spray paint instead or airbrush?

- use paint/acrylic and airbrush mixture?

- What would I use for stencils on a large scale? Frisket stencilling used in above  

  experiments is for small scale artwork and too expensive to cover a larger surface