I’m very sad to report that Jaime Rodriguez, one of our great airbrush artists, died last night at his home in Phoenix.  He was 32.  I knew Jaime for many years, and was a big fan of his work on automotive surfaces and T-shirts.  In fact, he possessed one of the best, most intricate of lettering styles in the industry.  In this regard, I considered Jaime a true innovator with his approach to art and inimitable style. Further details to follow. Rodriguez is survived by his wife, Crystal, and their two children: Andrea, 9, and Davian, 5.  Airbrush Action requests that in lieu of flowers or gifts, to please send donations to the family:

Darrell Brown

7815 S. 5th Drive

Phoenix, AZ 85041

Memo: Crystal Rodriguez

Correspondence of condolences may be sent to Crystal at the above address as well.

It’s no secret how tough it is out there today, with so many jobs being outsourced and downsized in this troubled economy. But I’m happy to say that the art of airbrushing continues to prove a viable career across a wide spectrum of professions including automotive custom painting, body art (spray tanning, Halloween gigs, airbrushed makeup, airbrushed tattoos, etc), T-shirt airbrushing (about 30 years ago I made thousands of dollars working fairs, flea markets, and street feasts with my shirt business), portraiture and more. And that’s why I’m so proud to offer courses by some of the World’s best artists at the Airbrush Getaway workshop program, giving students hands-on instruction and a professional-caliber skill set in only four or five days.

The next Airbrush Getaway takes place at the New Tropicana Las Vegas in October 8-12, and offers 5 one-day classes, including Intro to Airbrushing class and 13 four-day classes, including Airbrush Mastery, Ultimate Airbrush F/X, and Achieving Photorealism (for the entire lineup go to http://airbrushaction.com/airbrush-getaway-workshops/vegas-october-8-12-2012). Celebrating its 24th year, the Getaway is truly a one-of-a-kind event, and the world’s best airbrush immersion program ideal for artists and non-artists seeking to learn new skills or take their art to professional levels.

The Airbrush Getaway has attracted students from all over the world and from corporations as diverse as Disney, AT&T, Boeing, Texas Instruments, Hallmark and many others, freelance artists, small business owners and students of all skill levels

Students come away learning how to make thousands of extra dollars airbrushing, and many claim that what they learn in four or five days at the workshop would take years to learn on their own. A special comradery and bond develops between students and staff at every Getaway.

If you or someone you know is frustrated by the shrinking job market, maybe it’s time to look toward a new career or lucrative side gig in airbrushing. Hope to see you there!

For those attending the Vegas Airbrush Getaway, October 8-12, prepare to be surprised! I just returned from my visit to The New Tropicana Las Vegas, and it is hands-down one of the best properties to host the Getaway, redefining the expectations of today’s traveler with a recently completed $180 million transformation into a casually elegant resort experience. In addition to a South Beach, Miami rhythm and vibe, the mega-makeover includes a fresh redesign of every best-in-class room and suite, the casino, the conference center and exhibition hall, seven new restaurants and four bars, a new poker room and race and sports book, and the recently debuted Glow®, A Mandara Spa and fitness center. First-class entertainment includes “Dancing with the Stars: Live in Las Vegas,” Laugh Factory, Recycled Percussion, the Mob Attraction Las Vegas (an amazing interactive museum), and the recently opened Bagatelle Beach & Nightclub.

www.airbrushaction.com

Just a bit of advice to those of you who are curious or interested in my emphasis on the importance of basic drawing skills for my art. Regardless the surface (illustration board, canvas, hard board, etc.), I never begin a painting unless it’s first drawn or mapped out with a pencil. This is the most critical part of the process because it allows you to exemplify your interpretation of how the image should appear.

I believe proportion is another key and critical element to any work of art, especially when rendering the human form (and 2D and 3D art). I only use a 2H lead pencil because it leaves light lines that are easy to cover with the many thin layers of acrylic paint I use to build color intensity and depth during the course of a painting. As the old saying goes, “Draw it light until it’s right.” A “heavier lead” leaves darker lines that are more difficult to cover.

With the drawing complete, I move onto “mapping-out” the transparent colors in and around all areas of the painting, and then carefully add more layers of color until I’m satisfied. Then it’s onto cutting out stencils for the airbrush work, and moving on from there.

It’s a pleasure to share my insights with you.

Airbrush Action Magazine Offering
Limited Number of Discount Coupons
For Its Las Vegas Airbrush Getaway

With less than two months until its Airbrush Getaway workshops (October 8 -12), Airbrush Action Magazine is offering a limited number of high discount coupons to help promote its new Facebook and social media campaign. People who log on and “like” Airbrush Action’s page can register to receive a variable-rate coupon of 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% off a Las Vegas Airbrush Getaway class. There are only 25 coupons available, and the amount received is randomly generated.
“Social media is a great way to raise awareness for our magazine and reach new artists and a wider audience,” explains Cliff Stieglitz Airbrush Action Magazine founder.

That’s why Stieglitz has recently begun dedicating time and magazine resources to all aspects of social media including Facebook, Twitter and the publication’s website blog. Postings feature everything from tips from the industry’s leading artists and professionals, to personal stories and inspirations drawn from his nearly 25 years promoting the airbrush and tattoo industries.

Coupons will be offered for a limited time and can be applied to the registration for any of the Las Vegas Airbrush Getaway courses. For more information, please visit Airbrush Action’s Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/AirbrushActionMag, or visit Airbrushaction.com.

About the Airbrush Getaway:
“The Airbrush Getaway is a one-of-a-kind event—the world’s best airbrush immersion program,” according to Cliff Stieglitz, Airbrush Action’s publisher. “It’s ideal for artists and non-artists seeking to learn new skills or take their art to professional levels.”

The Airbrush Getaway has attracted students from all over the world and from corporations as diverse as Disney, AT&T, Boeing, Texas Instruments, Hallmark and many others, as well as freelance artists, small business owners and students of all skill levels. Students come away learning how to make thousands of extra dollars airbrushing, and many claim that what they learn in four or five days at the workshop would take years to learn on their own.

“We’ve worked hard to develop our exceptional faculty,” Stieglitz explains. “All our instructors are at the top of their field. A special comradery and bond develops between students and staff at every Getaway.”

Former Student Quote:
“I’m blown away! This is my passion. The Getaway classes make me realize how far I can go.”
—Quincy Russell, Cenla Customs, First Time Getaway Attendee

About Airbrush Action Magazine:
Founded by Cliff Stieglitz in 1985, Airbrush Action magazine is the longest continuously published airbrush magazine in the world. Distributed internationally through Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, 7-Eleven, all military branches, and many other mainstream outlets, Airbrush Action is edited for airbrush enthusiasts and art professionals. It covers all popular applications of airbrushing, including body art, automotive custom painting, T-shirt airbrushing, tattoo art, pin-up art, hobby/model uses, illustration, fine art, and more.

Claim your coupon in 3 easy steps.

Here’s another fabulous top pro tip from illustration great Rick Lovell:

There is a huge variety of pre-made, hand-held masks for airbrushing on the market. Some specialty masks with specific shapes are worth paying for, but I’ve found that I can make my own masks very inexpensively that work for most day-to-day applications.

French curves are templates made out of rigid materials like metal, wood or plastic that draftsmen used to use to create a variety of smooth, precise curves. A Burmester set consists of three different templates that when used together, can create almost any compound curve you can imagine. They aren’t cheap, and they are usually found in a set of one particular size. They are also relatively thick and inflexible. Wouldn’t it be great if you could have a wide variety of sizes of French curves that were really cheap, and that could be bent and lifted off the surface for crisp-to-soft edges, or just thin enough to allow for really sharp edges that thick materials don’t allow?

Here’s how to do it. If you have a set of French curves already, use a photocopier to make copies at various sizes: 25%, 50%, 100%, 150% and 200% of the original sizes which will give you 5 sets to work with. Or, you can just go online and search for images of French Curves. Download the highest resolution graphic you can find and print it at the sizes listed above. This variety of sizes should provide you with just about any curve you will ever need to paint, large or small.

Finally, tape .005mil acetate over the photocopies or prints and carefully cut out the curves with an x-acto knife.  With acetate, you don’t have to cut all the way through the material; just score it with a sharp knife, gently bend the acetate at the score line, at it will snap along the score creating a nice, clean edge. You can use Mylar, but it’s harder to cut and you have to cut all the way through; it won’t snap like acetate will. I have the 5 sets I made years ago out of acetate, and they are still good as new. I store them in a regular file folder in a flat file drawer, and when they get too opaque from lots of painting, I clean them with rubbing alcohol and a paper towel.

For more great information, visit the Airbrush Action article archives via www.airbrushaction.com.  Or, for great airbrush how-to videos to stream check out www.Airbrush.TV

Here’s a cool quote of the day:

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.  Albert Einstein

I want to introduce you to a great new paper, RendR, from Crescent Cardboard Company, written by my special guest blogger, Mays Mayhew.

Like most artists I use a sketchbook to brainstorm, conceptualize, and come up with ideas for my larger work. My sketchbooks are very important to me. I want to use the best materials in my work. One the most annoying problems with sketchbooks is using heavy media/mediums that soak through the page and make the reverse side useless. Or worse, just finishing a meticulous drawing and then using media on the other side that ruins it. I’ve heard other artists complain about this, too, but since it was always like this, artists accepted it.

But as a Product Developer for Crescent I have the unique ability to invent new products. I don’t have to accept annoying problems. And as an artist, I wanted a sketchbook that I could ink up one side and then use the other side of the page. The goal was that every page was a clean slate, a blank canvas. I wanted a sketchbook that allowed every page to matter.

My team and I worked with several paper mills to develop the perfect paper that not only prevented inks to bleed through but also didn’t have any show-through on the other side–not even a ghost image. It took a year. It wasn’t a simple task. There were several challenges creating a paper with no bleed-through, an artist grade paper and one that artists could afford.

The result was a phenomenal paper that exceeded all of our goals. RENDR paper is smooth enough for marker and inks with a slight tooth for pencil. Now you can get a sketchbook with full confidence that every page will start as a clean one. A sketchbook documents an artist’s journey. It’s important to respect that journey by using quality materials. Take pride in your work. Use RENDR – No Show-Thru Paper sketchbooks.

Mays Mayhew, artist and inventor of RENDR – No Show-Thru Paper

Billy Dee Williams liked my energy and entrepreneurial spirit, and we stayed in touch.  On a visit to Los Angeles in 1994 we arranged to meet for lunch.  He was gracious enough to pick me up at my hotel with his assistant Patricia.  The conversation quickly turned to Billy’s disappointment in not getting the cover of Airbrush Action, which went to famed movie poster illustrator Drew Struzan.  He was very diplomatic, but his point was most clear. Uncomfortable. Nonetheless, Williams and Patricia invited me to check out his new home and art studio somewhere in the Hollywood hills.  When we stopped at a red light a street person approached Billy’s side (he was driving) for money.  “Go get a job!” Billy snapped and raced off.  “Man, I can’t believe these people,” he exclaimed.  “And he didn’t even know who I was!”

It was a very funny moment, but you probably had to be there.  I loved hearing Williams’s stories about celebrities, and this time I asked, “Tell me about Richard Prior.”  [Note: at the time Prior had multiple sclerosis, and a history for drug use and spousal abuse].  Pointing to the back seat, he replied, ”Why don’t you ask Patricia back there.  She used to live with him.”  Patricia went on to share her horror stories about a physically abusive Richard Prior.

Fascinating stuff.  Williams further shared that he could no longer be friends with such a high-maintenance person, and that he believed Prior’s illness might be AIDS, not MS!  Again, fascinating stuff.  Williams home, a contemporary on the edge of a cliff, was beautiful and his studio, a “dreamy” space, would be the envy of most artists.  His landlord stopped by with his early-teen, if that, son, and in no time the inappropriateness started to fly as Billy talked about one of his favorite subjects: women and his herculean conquests.

This was a tense, awkward, and extremely hillarious moment, especially in the stiffened company of a mortified father and his young child.  Also, again, Billy Dee did not disappoint in the colorful company department.  As a favor, later that year, Williams made a guest appearance, gratis, at an early Coast Airbrush/Airbrush Action Party in Anaheim, and I’ll be forever grateful for that.  We fell out of touch until I ran into him at a convention in Burbank about three or four years ago.  I thought I’d be long forgotten, but he gave me a big bear hug, suggested we meet for dinner before I departed for Jersey, and offered his latest telephone number.  I try calling from time to time with no luck. I’m proud of the extraordinary memories I clutch of the time spent with a Hollywood legend and airbrush artist.

Until now, I shared the following story strictly with my closest friends. 

In 1993 I discovered that Billy Dee Williams, one of Hollywood’s top leading men in the 1970s (Lady Sings the Blues, Mahogany, Brian’s Song, and others) and 1980s (Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, and even 1989′s Batman) airbrushed, and I thought it would be a great coup to feature his art in Airbrush Action.  I called his agent and sure enough (I have to admit that I didn’t have much confidence in a positive response), Mr. Williams was not only interested, but I was told he read Airbrush Action!  I was truly flattered that an A-lister read the magazine.

A breakfast meeting was arranged for the interview.  Present were Joel Cohen, the writer, my best friend Art Beins (I needed a hometown witness for this seemingly historic moment!), Mr. Williams, his assistant, and me.  After meeting at his upscale Manhattan hotel, all of us piled into Williams’s limo.  I felt that we connected immediately, and Billy’s focus was directed at me throughout most conversations.  As the limo careened across 40-something street, Williams stated, “Clifford, I killed a lot of women on this street.”  “Really,” I replied, not completely understanding what he meant.  “That’s right,” he continued, “I used to have three women a day, every day.  I had to have it.”  “The same three women?”  “No.  Three different women every day.  I had to have it.”  All of us just sat in silence. . . . . . and awe.

Soon after we were seated, Billy discovered that no alcohol was served before lunch, so we had to uproot and relocate.  Even for Manhattan, the happening center of the universe, finding a legal joint that served alcohol in the morning was a challenge.

Billy sat opposite me, and regardless who asked him a question he responded to me.  He oredered a Rob Roy cocktail (scotch, sweet vermouth, Angostura bitters, and a cherry); we all did.  I’ve never been a drinker, but I didn’t want my very special guest to feel alone here.

Williams is one of the most charismatic people I had ever met, and I soon realized that the most charming thing about him was that he had absolutely no filter!  The interview itself consisted of the typical garden variety questions asked of any featured artist; how it all began, choice of airbrush (Aztek, if you’re curious), compressor, paint, surface, blah, blah, blah.

I was intriqued by his stories, and I craved more.  Believe me, if you hang out with Billy Dee Williams long enough he will never disappoint.  He went on to reminisce about a meeting he had with the execs at ABC to discuss a possible TV series that centered around Williams.  “Clifford, there was an attractive female at the meeting with very large breasts, and you know how it is when you’re really thinking about something, and you mean to say one thing, but another thing comes out? Well, I looked at her and said, ‘My, you have beautiful breasts.’  My agent, always fearing I might say the wrong thing, was floored. It was funny because I really had no intention of saying that.”  “What happened next?” I asked.  “Well, the meeting ended soon after and the show never materialized.”

Tomorrow, in Part II, I’ll write about my visit with Billy Dee in Hollywood.

FYI, Billy Dee Williams was featured in the 1994 January-February issue of Airbrush Action.