When I’ve used both the 3mm and 5mm airbrush I’ve discovered they both respond differently to a range of paints.

Here are some pro’s and con’s that I’ve discovered about both 3mm and 5mm Airbrushes, hope this comes in handy to those Rembrandts out there.

3mm Airbrush

• Good for spraying detail when diluted to the right consistency.
• Favours solvent based automotive paints which helps prevent tip drying on the airbrush needle
• The solvent based paints flow better through the airbrush without the need of too much reducer
• Solvent based paint colour is more concentrated in dilute form
• Struggles with water based paints i.e Acrylic because of frequent tip drying
• Water based paints run easily when too diluted.
• Water based paints spray thinly and more layers are needed to be applied to build up colour.
• Water based paints when not diluted tend to clog and spit making it difficult to create a continuous line.

5mm Airbrush

• Most paints I’ve used spray well through a 5mm
• The coverage, compared with a 3mm Airbrush, is seen to be far better
• You can achieve easier detail with Acrylic paints as it doesn’t clog hence spit as easily.
• Less time is spent cleaning the Airbrush therefore giving you more time to spray.
• The needle is a lot more robust and less sensitive to damage.

Overall, I find the 5mm to be a far more user friendly Airbrush when spraying on canvas with Acrylic paint. One of the biggest benefits of spraying with Acrylic is that you don’t have to breathe in the toxic vapours of solvent paints, bearing in mind that your exposed to these vapours for long periods of time. Now that I’m getting familiar with the 5mm Airbrush I find that I’m achieving far greater detail.I do enjoy painting with solvent paints however the conditions have to be well ventilated. All things considered, 5mm is a reliable, robust workhorse that will get the job done.

Happy Days

My first exhibition in a few years, its great to get back out on the scene with my new exciting body of work. The exhibition is held from the 14th of June to the 10th of July at Gallery on Sturt.

The Opening was a buzzy evening, with special guest Dean Frenkel; who is a world recognised overtone singer and harmonic singer. Dean performed live soundscapes in tune with my artworks which was an amazing unique experience. His soundscape art is a journey through resonance, microtones and acoustic spaces.

A few photographs of the paintings in their prime element, and of the space before the onslaught of people.

A few onlookers.

A few people in ore over Dean Frenkels harmonic sounds, Dean is giving a demonstration on the left.

Below is my daughter Jess, the photographer of the night, who is responsible for all these great photo’s. Jess also helps me out with my blog quite often as she’s a lot more techno savvy than what I am.

She keeps me on my toes making sure I keep my blog updated – thanks Jess!

Enjoying ourselves after the exhibition, casually having a social with some food and more wine.

Mixing colours using a transparent base and water, I have found I can make an opaque colour into a transparent glaze with extreme reducing (diluting); the transparent base holds all the pigment together.

Once all my paint has been prepared in separate batches, I then add them to the spray bottles as seen below.

Preparing the canvas. With this canvas I kept the background white, drew my image with a pastel pencil, then sprayed over the pencil with a dark purple paint; outlining the image.

Introducing the paint to the canvas I now work from light to dark, making each sprayed layer darker than the previous until finally reaching the desired finish.

The reason why I love these flower paintings is because I can have a bit of fun with them and not concern myself too much with detail, it also allows me to become more familiar with the airbrush and the paint consistency. Otherwise too much work and not enough play makes Johnny a dull boy.

The final painting below, is hanging in a gallery so the lighting looks a lot different from my studio.

I’m currently working on macro flower compositions.

I’m enjoying them because they boarder on the abstract which is a novelty for me. Another reason why I enjoy painting these flowers  is because it allows me to use the airbrush without dealing with too much detail.  It gives  me an opportunity to focus on colour, tone and shade which the airbrush is a master at producing.

I found that using a board and manipulating a couple of nails makes an ideal holder to sit my airbrushes. As seen below.

For this Red Gerbera painting I’ve prepared my full range of colours in these pots, from light to dark.

Having them already made up, the colour range over the painting will stay consistent. For detail or a sharp edge I simply dip my paintbrush into these prepared colours which I know will match the airbrush colour.  Happy days.

For this over the top in your face red painting; I’ve rolled the canvas red then  drawn the image using a white dry pastel pencil.  The pastel can be easily removed and doesn’t affect the spray from the airbrush.

You may have noticed, on the bottom of my easel I’ve taped a piece of cardboard that I spray onto to ensure the airbrush is spraying correctly.

Using a purple which comprises of red and blue making it compatible with red, I spray in all the shaded areas creating contrast.

I’m using inks in my pots because they are transparent, this painting will solely comprise of a multi layered glazing technique to create more depth of colour. I want this painting to leap out at you.

Using a white acrylic paint I’ve hand brushed the highlighted areas, this creates an luminosity through the glazing.

This is the final painting, in the flesh this painting glows.

]]> http://artsjet.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=78 22 http://artsjet.com/blog/?p=56 http://artsjet.com/blog/?p=56#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2010 05:17:57 +0000 John http://artsjet.com/blog/?p=56

I’ve been working on this painting off and on for the last 2 years, floundering around trying to resolve the problems with the colour and composition – it’s now time to have another go at finishing the painting. It’s either finishing it off or ending up in a nut house.

Oil on canvas

]]> http://artsjet.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=49 66 http://artsjet.com/blog/?p=10 http://artsjet.com/blog/?p=10#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:03:41 +0000 John http://artsjet.com/blog/?p=10 Finished painting

Any idea’s on what to call this piece?

I am currently working on a painting that is apart of my ‘Fish in the Landscape’ series.

Working with airbrush and paintbrush in acrylic paint.

We have recently just sold our mudbrick house on the hill in Daylesford, Hepburn springs and moved to Castlemaine where we are now renting a house opposite the train station – a nice change of lifestyle, from country panaramic veiws to a rusting urban landscape.

I’m converting a bedroom into a painting studio – renovation mayhem. I just made a makeshift PSYCHOPATHIC DUCTED AIR EXTRACTION MONSTOROUS looking thing, hopefully it’ll work!

After working out my horizon line I painted the sky with an airbrush.

Blocking in the foreground with my under colours and working out my composition with one point perspective in mind.

As you can see here I’ve changed the foreground rocks because the original rocks didn’t work because they were too small for the depth of field I wanted to create. I have also taken away the two fish to the left for they were making the composition very awkward.

Here’s the final painting, of windswept fields with trout grazing. I think I’ll call this one ‘Fish grazing in the field’?? Any idea’s for a title?

thanks, stay safe, John.