Airbrush Setup

[MandiIlene]

I met up with a bar owner last night who is retired twice over and is just having fun owning a bar in his golden years. He wants me to paint the girls for halloween like old time saloon girls, so I practiced and he was impressed. He offered to partner with me (he provides the money I provide the talent, he said) to buy airbrush equipment for me ($400 budget) and I will come up and paint on wednesday nights, temp tattoos, faces etc on the patrons and I will work for 75 for 2 hours instead of 75 an hour in the beginning until we I can pay off the airbrush (5 weeks) and then he will pay me the normal fee. He said I can take tips and charge for larger tattoos, and offer simpler ones for free.

The bar is only 6 miles away, too!

Who sent me this angel, because THANK YOU!!

~*~Mandi~*~
anyone have any tips on lace. I saw another pic of groups 3 teardrops to form a scalloped edge over top of light white sponging.

my practice. . .

[Sherry]

Wow, Mandi!  Gorgeous work!  Isn't it wonderful when these things just come out of the blue.

Have you airbrushed before?  Or will you be learning?  I've never airbrushed, sounds daunting, but something I would like to try someday.

[MandiIlene]

I tried my hand at airbrushing t-shirts 5 yrs ago, its didnt pan out, i cant be consistent in the lettering. But this, I can't wait!

~*~Mandi~*~

[Alison]

Yeah - that is beautiful, Mandi.  GFU!  Yay!
 Airbrushing face-paints?  That's a thing?

I did recently paint a really neat lace
on another face-painter's arm -
She had painted on a light 'cross-hatching' from a special brush
that had alternating high-low bristles.  Then I 'scalloped the edge
with white teardrops.

But I don't have her fancy brush.  And I'd want to know how to apply
a 'light white sponging' anyway.  What are the details?  Wet?  Dry?  Only
a little paint?  Or a watery paint?  How do you apply that 'light white sponging?

[Sherry]

There's an airbrush artist at the fair I'm working right now.  They do t-shirts, handbags and such.  Such pretty work... I want to take my camera over and snap away, but I thought they might not like that!   

So I just look.  I did try their dolphin design on my arm during a slow period.  It's a dolphin jumping over waves.  I tried to post it here, but the session keeps timing out.  I might try again later.

[Alison]

Oh - you mean airbrush on t-shirts?

I once saw something very interesting.  It was actually funny. 

I was face-painting at a College in NJ, and the airbrush artist showed up real late. 
She wanted to dress up a lot of people to 'apologize'.  So instead of doing things
like lumpy shaded letters and hints of scenery, she just took out Black.  Used her
natural rushed scribble (as though she was writing herself a note), and wrote the
kid's names across the white t-shirts.  They loved it.  Looked like the real 'raunchy'
graffiti.

[MandiIlene]

No I mean faces, I have only had experience with t shirts though.

There is plenty of room in the industry for airbrush face paint, tanning, theatrical makeup and wedding makeup with an airbrush.
Silly Farm even sells face stencils like this one to face paint way quick and impressive


~*~Mandi~*~

[Alison]

Oh my - something to think about.
Elitist Arteest that I am, I haven't even given in to Stencils for glitter tattoos yet.
But I do think that that's the Way to do those beautiful wow things.

Airbrushing - with stencils - probably beautiful  And probably fun to make too.
I guess you have to carry around a compressor though too?

[MandiIlene]

Yeah you do need a compressor, but they make them quite compact these days and your work goes on so much faster. I am one of those elitist artists as well that has not given into stencils and the newest most popular things, but someone is willing to buy this for me and I figure I can start with stencils and learn to freehand after some practice.
So often, I know what you mean, Alison.

~*~Mandi~*~

[Alison]

Hi Mandi -
I'm excited for you.  Did you get your airbrush?  Did you try it yet?

Warning - Learn from my mistake.  My brother bought me a regular airbrush many years ago - when I couldn't possibly find the time to use it.  But once, in the midl of the night, I took it out - just had to try it.  Since then, I really dragged my feet in trying it for real - bcause I figure that I probably ruined it by not cleaning it out properly.  I'm afraid to face

A Clog.  I hear that's a concern with Airbrushes.

[Party Picassos Facepainting]

Mandi,

Your work is always beautifully done and very imaginative. You could also go into room murals or children's illustrations. Your cartoon style would be very marketable. Can you draw on the computer too? It is a lot of fun. It's what I have been doing for most of my career.

[MandiIlene]

Sophies baby girl, I do do murals just trying to get more of them. I can't really do alot on the computer because I dont have the right expensive programs

No Alison I havent gotten the equipment yet, he said november its in his budget. He is the same owner pictured with the saloon girls I painted on halloween, he owns the bar.

~*~Mandi~*~