Stenciling with an Airbrush
Sheri Hoeger is the lead designer and director of Big Oak Arts Studio. She also started her stencil company, The Mad Stencilist, back in 1992. We were happy to profile her for our Portrait of an Artist series back in 2010. She has kindly agreed to write about something she is quite known for: Stenciling with an Airbrush. It is truly a wonderful way of working with stencils, giving beautiful lines and blended color. Let’s dig in…
Sheri Hoeger: The airbrush is an incredibly versatile tool that is capable of the softest shading, the finest line and beautiful displays of color. This is achieved by delivering a fine spray of paint to the intended surface. I have always been fascinated with the combination of soft airbrushed shading and the wide variety of edges that are defined by using stencils and masks. A stencil is simply a sheet of holes that one paints through to make an image. A mask can be an edge or found object that is cut, torn or used in its entirety to create a shape.
The array of effects you can achieve with relative ease is one of the big advantages of using the airbrush. I enjoyed being able to keep a consistent look to this cow mural even though the vent was in the way.
To get started with airbrush you need a good tool and clamp holder, an air source and high quality paint, such as Golden Fluid Acrylics, which I use along with Golden Airbrush Medium for thinning to skim milk consistency. Also, try to set up a work area where you can leave your equipment set up and close at hand. Be cautious about using the cheapest airbrush you can find. A quality tool will set you up for success. There are many airbrushes on the market that are excellent and I find the Iwata Eclipse to be a workhorse of a tool and suited to almost everything I do. It is available in either siphon-feed style or gravity feed styles.
For most of my airbrushed stencil work, I layer several colors within each window starting with the lightest and working to the darkest. I generally alternate between warm and cool colors with each color covering less area than the color before it. This allows you to see the full range of hues that are created by that particular combination and there is also a muting effect that tones the colors, which makes them look natural. I load an airbrush for each color, which are attached to a manifold, which is attached to my compressor. I usually use no more than 4 colors for any given design such as the floral shown. As an example, a floral like the one shown here is airbrushed with four colors: yellow, green, red, blue. (The one exception being the robin’s egg blue, which could not be achieved with the 4 color palette used in the rest of the composition.) The different tones and values are achieved by the order and ratio of the colors being layered.
Objects can be painted to look cartoon-like or stylized, like the image below.
Realism can also be achieved depending on the colors used and level of development.
I also enjoy combining airbrushing with other techniques and materials. Here, I extended the faux stone fireplace to create an arch with a gritty plaster and stenciled stones made from torn tape. Once that was dry, I added color and shadows with airbrush. In the same project, the airbrushed stair rail led to an archway adorned with a striped drapery.
For the cherubs (above left), I used airbrush to delicately shade the skin tones, but brush painted the hair with Golden Proceed Slow Drying Acrylics to give it more texture. (Cherub Stencil by Jeff Raum) I also appreciate the ability to allow a natural surface to show through the paint, becoming part of the artwork when airbrushing on wood or stone (above right). Click on images to enlarge.
Another of my favorite techniques is to use natural foliage as masks when airbrushing trees and landscapes. This dining room mural was created using a variety of leaves, some large, some small. Even though it is a “negative print” your eye makes it into a positive when they are clustered together.
Even though they look monochromatic and sepia toned, I have used at least three colors to give the foliage more depth and interest. I love sepia tones, and have several ways of rendering them. In the airbrushed Renaissance border shown here, all the shading is done with one color which provides the values and undertone. Then I lightly spray with soft color, giving the appearance not unlike a hand-tinted photograph.
Finally, sometimes airbrush is the answer to a technical problem. For this painted ode to a William Morris tapestry, I cut a stencil of just the darkest brown background areas, including a pencil-line thickness cartoon of the design, because airbrushing was the best way to transfer the pattern onto my textured base. From there. the tapestry could be hand painted.
I hope this article gives you an inkling of the striking appearance and versatility that is at your command when mastering the airbrush. Of course, this is only pertaining to using stencils, and many more uses are possible when using the airbrush freehand for clouds, finishes and fine art. The sky is the limit!
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Thank you, Sheri Hoeger for sharing your time and talent! Please note that if you’d like more information, keep checking her workshops page because as Sheri says, “It can be very helpful to take a class in airbrushing basics or intermediate airbrushing, as there are some tips that will help you along and save a great deal of time.” She also has videos and books she has created and/or participated in on her website page. You can also find the company on Facebook via the fan page, Big Oak Arts. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post — love how it’s chock full of information. Hope you are having an inspired week!
Please note that all stencils are from The Mad Stencilist line unless otherwise indicated.
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