Stanley Steamer & The Airbrush

Though Abner Peeler invented the first airbrush device, which he called the "paint distributor," it was Francis Edgar Stanley who patented the first airbrush pistol in 1882. Stanley, a photographer and inventor from Massachusetts, along with his twin brother Freelan Oscar Stanley, built the famous Stanley Steamer automobile. Stanley designed the airbrush device to assist with retouching photographs and named it the “Stanley Air Brush.” It revolutionized photo retouching. The tool used hand-pumped bellows to push air through a small nozzle, producing a fine, controlled spray of color.

The airbrush quickly found its way into the automotive industry with its greater precision and speed for painting cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles. Charles Burdick patented an airbrush device in 1893, more similar in design to what is most familiar today. During the 1930s and 1940s, airbrush pioneers included George “The Petty Girl” Petty, who used airbrushing to create highly realistic illustrated pin-up girls that were adopted as nose art on some WW2 aircraft. Alberto Vargas made famous his scantily-clad “Vargas Girl” illustrations, considered by many at the time to be an obscenity.

Hollywood makeup artists adopted the airbrush, offering a revolutionary way to smoothly apply color. By the 1960s, the hippy generation used airbrushing for dreamy psychedelic artwork on album covers, surfboards, panel vans, and, of course, the Volkswagen Transporter. During the 1980s and 1990s, airbrush shops became a cultural phenomenon, offering customized designs on apparel and more. Other artists could often be found at county and state fairs. The airbrush shops faded by the new millennium as digital printing and mass production became more commercially viable.

Airbrushing retains its versatility in various art forms, including illustration, portraiture, professional graffiti-styled art, makeup, fashion, murals, cake decorating, and vehicles. 

Bethlehem

 

My design and construction for a contemporary Christmas promotional graphic. The entire unit is approximately 36" wide and made from white foamcore board, then airbrushed. There are four linear sections cut out and each attached to one another by half-inch adhesive foam pads. The photographer and I placed a blue background sheet behind the design. Using a single light source between the layers, it was shot in various exposures to get the desired effect. The red "sand wave" was entirely by accident due to the dark exposure setting.

Life in Black and White

 

On this date in 1941, American photographer, Ansel Easton Adams (1902-1984),  photographed a moonrise over the town of Hernandez, New Mexico. It would become one of the most famous images of his 1940s period. The American landscape photographer and environmentalist is known for his black-and-white images of the American West. Adams had a life-long passion in photography since being gifted with his first camera at age 12 while visiting Yosemite National Park. He developed his early photographic work as a member of the Sierra Club and was equally famous for his rich Yosemite and Grand Teton photographs.