I try to keep up with the many airbrush forums, tweets, and blogs to maintain a pulse on what people say about us.  Good, bad, or indifferent, I love it all.  We listen, and much of the way Airbrush Action has evolved over the years is a direct result of this feedback.  One of the most frequent complaints concerns “the ads.”  I, too, agree that there are perhaps too many “house” ads in Airbrush Action, and a couple of issues ago, we eliminated about two pages worth with more chopping to come. Unfortunately, we publish in an industry that does not support Airbrush Action with enough advertising to even justify the magazine. The house ads keep it all going; they’re our fund-raisers, or life-line, if you will. Without the revenue streams of the DVDs, books, and Airbrush Getaway workshops, there would be no Airbrush Action. In fact, two former publishers of airbrush magazines have echoed: “Now we know what you go through, and man, we don’t know how you do it! We have a new-found respect for you.” The good that we’ve done as the World’s longest running, and leading, airbrush publication (we’ll be 26 this May) by far outweighs the negatives. Most of the “celebrity” names in airbrush that you know well, admire, and even emulate owe much of their notoriety to Airbrush Action, and we’ve done more, hands down, for their names and the crusade of airbrushing than any other publication or source in the industry. And, we do listen to our readers. Hey, we’re not perfect, but our determination, commitment, and success in keeping an airbrush magazine alive are unmatched. NOT bragging, just proud. 2010 and 2011 have and will be especially solid editorially.  Some of the upcoming incredible art and features will blow you away.

About the Jan-Feb issue. I truly apologize to any loyal subscriber who felt left out by not receiving the now notorious free DVD. We absolutely meant no harm or snub by it. The DVD version of Jan-Feb was a very expensive promotion designed to increase sell-through on the newsstand, introduce Airbrush Action to an entirely new audience, and to promote the effort’s major sponsor, Auto-Air Colors, whom, by the way, has been the most generous and progressive company I’ve ever worked with. As a personal aside, Auto-Air’s Craig Kennedy is a true visionary. I know he’ll hate me for saying that (he’s an overly modest dude), but I believe it to be accurate. Because of your collective response, and our error in judgment (I must say that to satisfy today’s quota of Jewish guilt), we will never exclude subscribers again. I welcome all to contact me personally (ceo@airbrushaction.com) with any issues, questions, or comments you may have about Airbrush Action.