H

ow many people can remember the first movie your parents took you
to see? I can. It was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I remember it was also the
first time I became fascinated with the aspect of a custom vehicle. Heck
for years I wanted to either build amazing cars, or be an eccentric inven-
tor. (I guess I kind of got to do both!). I can honestly say that the reason
I got into automotive kustomizing is because of movies like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,
and The Great Race. When I heard that Garner Holt was hosting “A Night with Dick
Van Dyke” and there was going to be a silent auction to raise money for the Dick Van
Dyke Foundation, I was definitely interested in being a contributing artist.
The Dick Van Dyke Foundation for the Per- performances were by numerous musicians and
forming arts is a non-profit group that supports friends of Mr. Van Dyke, with a closing performance
the performing arts in schools by empowering by Dick Van Dyke himself and his quartet, the Van-
young people to discover their performer within. tastix. This amazing event was hosted by Garner
The event I was part of consisted of a VIP dinner, Holt Productions in San Bernadino, California and
silent auction of artwork and signed memora- included a guided tour of their facility. (A big per-
bilia, and ended with a live performance MC’d by sonal thank you to Todd Regan for including me
Tom Bergeron from Dancing with the Stars. The in this event). >>

74 | AIRBRUSH ACTION | WINTER/SPRING 2018

 After receiving the official invite, I had to start figuring out what I
wanted to paint for the Silent Auction. I had barely a week to prepare,
but I didn’t want the piece to reflect that. I settled on a vintage looking
poster ad that would be promoting Caractacus Pott’s Flying School.
This reflects on a very brief scene near the beginning of the movie
where Professor Potts unsuccessfully tries to take off using his Rocket
Powered wings. Though a brief section of the film, It always had a
lasting impression on me and makes for a very kool image. Search-
ing for the right canvas and frame is also of extreme importance.
I wanted to emphasize the vintage look by going with a classic
Victorian style oval portrait piece. This would also make the piece
standout from everything else in the auction. I was pretty sure my
subject matter would be unique, but I also wanted the shape and
look to be unique as well.

Well, that’s enough talk, time to paint!

1 2 3

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3

After applying a few additional coats of gesso
to the pre-gessoed canvas, I let it dry over-
night. (I actually like to use either black or
white Createx Autobourne Sealer as a final
gesso on my canvas). The next day I came
in and sketched out my design using a blue
photo-pencil. (These pencils are used quite
a bit in drafting, since they cannot be picked
up by a copier, or blueprint machine). I have
been using these blue pencils more and more
for good reason. Namely they erase easily,
and additionally, they are less messy than
pencil on a canvas.
Using my trusty Iwata SB Micron, I came in and
began rendering the actual painting using a
combination of Createx Bloodline’s “Decay”
and some 4012 reducer. I always let my mix
of paint sit for a few minutes before using the
micron. The paint gets a chance to emulsify
the pigments a bit with the reducer and it
sprays much cleaner.
You can see how detailed the SB Micron can
go and how clean the Bloodline sprays in this
pic. You can also see the effect the canvas
texture can have on your airbrushing. I could
have sanded and re-gessoed the canvas until
smooth, but I kind of like the texture. (If I
wanted smooth I would have just used illus-
tration board, or a metal panel).

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 4 5 6

STEP 4 STEP 5 STEP 6

After finishing all my line rendering and pri-
mary coloring on The Professor, I go over the
entire surface with a kneaded rubber eraser to
get all blue lines and overspray off the canvas.
I also come in with my Iwata-TH mini spraygun
and hit the painted area with a light coat of
4040 bleedcheck sealer. This locks down the
existing color, and prevents any bleeding, and
anchors the paint before masking.
Using a small Dremmel with a grinder tip,
I come in and remove paint to give myself
some hard highlights. I don’t use an electric
eraser on this type of textured canvas, since
it mainly skips along the texture and gives a
spotty look. (This is when I am extra apprecia-
tive for the additional Gesso on the canvas.
Even so, you want to be very careful when
doing this and use it sparingly).
Mixing up a concoction of Bloodline’s Coagulat-
ed Crimson, Blood Red and Decay, I start laying
in the only other color in this dichromatic piece.
I want the red to literally look just as aged as the
rest of the painting. Any overspray at this point
erases off nicely over the dried 4040 with the
kneaded rubber eraser. Just don’t wait too long.
(These paints crosslink over a 24 hour period,
which can make some removal techniques a
bit more difficult).

7 8 9

STEP 7 STEP 8 STEP 9

While I have used many masking systems in
the past, by far my current favorite is the Gold
tape by FBS. I literally use this stuff on every-
thing from automotive, to guitars, to canvas.
It keeps a clean edge, doesn’t leave any glue
behind, and cuts easily, which prevents major
cut-throughs. I always keep a few rolls of vari-
ous sizes in stock for any job.
I wanted to add some background effects
and texture, hence the back-masking with the
Gold Tape. This also gives me an opportunity
to hit the background with white to cleanup
any overspray and to make the edges on my
painted areas really pop. For a cool border
effect, I’ve chosen to use my old favorite,
“Gearhead” from the Artool Kustom series
of stencils. Using the same Decay as the rest
of the painting, I randomly move around the
outside of the banner in the painting to give
it a kool wallpaper look.
Besides stippling the canvas with Decay to give
it an overall aged look, I bring in one of my fa-
vorite Artool stencils, Gerald Mendez’s Texture
stencil. This stencil creates a very realistic aged,
or water damaged look to the canvas which re-
ally pushes that vintage “poster-ad” look I was
going for. Notice I continue to use the Decay
with little modifications to it. The best thing
about Tim Gore’s Bloodline palette is that the
colors are translucent enough to build incred-
ible values with, yet they are still bold enough
to really punch when needed.

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 10
STEP 10
Another great thing about the Bloodline
paints is that you can brush them, as well as
spray them through an airbrush. Using a tiny
liner brush I come in and hand outline the
scrollwork as well as the letters themselves
to give it all a hand painted feel. I love us-
ing mixed media when working, that way
the piece is not just as advertisement for a
specific technique.
13
STEP 13
While the canvas dries, I tackle the next part,
which is the frame. I never like to leave the
frame alone. I feel it is a necessary piece of
the overall artwork. If I am not making, or em-
bellishing my own frames, I at least will add
color, or airbrush effects to them. In this case
I have already sprayed the entire oval frame
with some Bloodline Injury Ochre and am us-
ing my texture stencil with a combination of
Decay and Surgery Siena to age and weather
it. I want it to be similar to the painting, yet
also have a different color to it as well.
78 | AIRBRUSH ACTION | WINTER/SPRING 2018
11
STEP 11
I also like using “water-pens” for blending in
colors as well as rendering details. Sakura
(the Koi) and Pentel make great water-pens.
These are similar to a Japanese calligraphy
brush, but I fill the reservoir handle with
Createx 4012 reducer. These are phenom-
enal for rendering long lines without the
brush drying up, as well as allowing you to
re-blend previously airbrushed areas for a
water-color effect.
14
12
STEP 12
With my colors all laid in, background effects
finished and details complete, I finish the piece
with some airbrushed Illustration Opaque white
to really punch the rocket exhaust . The 4040
Bleed Checker really comes in handy here, pre-
venting any of the underlying colors to migrate
and bleed into my white. With the artwork fin-
ished, I let the canvas dry for an hour before
hitting it with a coat of Coast Airbrush “Save-T”
spray. This is my go-to protective sealer I use
on all my canvas, leather and illustration work.
STEP 14
Well, there you have it! “Caractacus Pott’s
Flying School” all finished and assembled.
I was hoping to give the piece a vintage
carnival poster look, yet also wanted it to
look like a Victorian oval framed portrait as
well. (I think I accomplished that!). If you
are wondering how I got the highlights on
the beading and frame details, that part
was easy. With everything painted on the
frame, I give the edges and details a quick
wipe with a rag and a little isopropyl al-
cohol. (Of course, this works best when
the underlying frame is white to begin
with). With all the aging completed, the
frame is given the same coating of Save-T
spray matte sealer as the canvas and she’s
all done!
As you can see in this article, there are a lot of varied tricks, tech-
niques and effects that can go into a painting, even when it is just
a two color piece. The winners of this piece at the silent auction
were Ellen and Andrew Dawson. The painting went to a very good
home and is hanging right next to their Professor Fate painting,
(My second favorite car movie, “The Great Race”). The entire silent
auction was amazing and all the money went to a great cause. If
you have any questions, or would like to contribute to “The Dick
Van Dyke Foundation for the Performing Arts”, please check out
their site and other social media links at www.theofficialdick-
vandyke.com. Or contact Todd@toddregan.com for any info on
corporate, or individual sponsorships. Thanks again to Garner
Holt for hosting this spectacular event. n

Paint to live, live to paint — Fraser

Garner L Holt, the Founder and President

of Garner Holt Productions, Inc.
Garner Holt Productions, Inc. is the gateway to realms of incredible
imagination, artistry, technical wizardry, experienced industry vet-
erans, and unmatched, proven quality. From creating the world’s
finest and most lifelike animatronic figures, to design for themed
attractions, museums, retail and restaurant locations and more,
GHP is the most complete design and production workshop in
the world.

Craig Fraser has been involved in kustom painting for over 30 years. The in-
house artist and designer for Kal Koncepts/Air Syndicate, Craig also runs Craig
Fraser Studios out of Bakersfield, CA. He has been the author of over 350 fea-
ture articles, 3 books and over 25 educational DVD/Videos. Craig is currently a
licensed artist for Disney and balances his time at Kal Koncepts with his work
at various studios. He is also a technical consultant for Createx and continues
to teach around the world for both Createx, Iwata and Artool. You can follow
him on social media by going to www.CraigFraserStudios.com

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74 | AIRBRUSH ACTION | WINTER/SPRING 2018
S
ay!  I get a lot of emails requesting work from
around the United States. In fact, most of my custom
work requests come in the mail, and they are shipped
out when the project is finished. Every now and again I get an
email from a potential customer that sticks out. Here is one such example,
and this is the painting process, of part of that job, from start to finish... Enjoy!

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 STEP 2
One of the things I try to do is to present myself as professionally
as possible to my customer, so they have the best experience start
to finish with regard to the project in question. I like to provide a
fairly detailed concept rendering of how the project should present
when completed. I usually stitch together a dozen or so images in
Photoshop, to form an image that will serve as the foundation for
my freehand work. This is the basis of the idea, as I allow the final
product to serve as the final artwork. I’m always careful to credit
an artist or inspiration and ask for permission when necessary with
regard to imagery. If time presents itself and the budget is sufficient,
I will go about things in a more traditional fashion with regard to the
rendering process, however this is usually not the case. 2

STEP 3
Once I have an established image I need to make sure that I can
fit that image into the space provided. This photo shows the front
portion of a road glide fairing, and in essence this will be my canvas.

STEP 4
Once I square up my fairing, I tape off a makeshift ruler to
serve as a guide for scaling my image in Adobe Photoshop
at a one to one ratio. This will serve me later for a more ac-
curate transfer of my imagery and get the painting process
started in an efficient manner.

STEP 5
As I mentioned above, once I have my image in the computer,
I rescale at a one to one ratio in Adobe Photoshop for proper
image placement.

76 | AIRBRUSH ACTION | WINTER/SPRING 2018

STEP 6
Once I have my measurements plugged into Photoshop, I take the
image from my original rendering and I scale it to size. I will be us-
ing this to plot a mask for the perimeter of my image. I use this as a
starting point of reference for transferring my image.

STEP 7
This image that I scaled will also serve as the printout for my image
transfer. I use an older method to transfer my imagery by backing the
paper with graphite. I carefully cut out the perimeter of this image
so that it can be placed within the confines of the negative portion
7 of the mask that I will be cutting on my plotter.

STEP 8
Here I am isolating the outline of the image so that I can plot coor-
dinates and turn this into a vector image for planning purposes in
Adobe Illustrator.

STEP 9
After making a vector mask in Adobe Illustrator, I use the plotter to
cut out the negative portion of my image. This serves to sheild away
the background and leave me with a guide for which to transfer
my cutout paper image. I also mark the center with a “C” for proper
substrate placing. I will also use the lip of the masking material to
help me with registration and justification of my printout as far as
placement.
9

STEP 10
The artwork and colors used in this image are both House of Kolor
basecoat black (BC25) and basecoat white (BC 26) as well as a Cre-
atex Candy 2o Brandywine. With the House of Kolor I start with a
2 to 1 reduction and will be spraying at a higher psi then what is
considered normal by traditional airbrushing standards. With the
Createx candy, I use the 4020 automotive reducer with a couple
drops of 4030 balancing clear (per color cup). I tend to over reduce
in the beginning and dial in my proper tinting strength within the
first few passes. This depends on how subtle my approach will be
regarding the subject matter. This tends to change from job to job
with me, as I never marry myself to a specific equation. My airbrush
start to finish for this project regarding the detail work is an Iwata
CM – SB. For My broader base coat gray/ sprayout, I used a regular
10
gravity fed Iwata Eclipse.

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 STEP 11
Here with my mask in place, and the rest of the faring shielded from
overspray, I lay in my neutral gray starting point. Generally my start-
ing point will be in the range of a neutral gray four through six. This
is discussed in more detail in the later plates.

11

STEP 12
After my neutral base is dry I begin the transfer process of my image
to substrate. I have taken to using both ballpoint pen as well as pencil
due to the different pressure sensitivity’s each drawing tool has. I
have found that I can actually transfer different values much like a
traditional drawing and less like generic line work representation.
Again, with custom paint work and commissioned work, time is of
the essence. Any advantage I can give myself to further the process
along at a quicker pace means more money in my pocket.
12

STEP 13
Here is the basic line and value transfer demonstrated from
the prior step.

13

STEP 14
All of my work I build up based on the traditional Munsell neutral gray
value scale. I use the Munsell system because it is a universal color
recognition system. Much like the metric system is to measurement,
this system serves the same for color. It therefore leaves no confu-
sion when it comes to conversation regarding color and it’s many
nuances. I also number them according to Munsell. I have taken to
mixing my own grayscale based on this idea, as my approach tends
to favor a more opaque layering of paint versus the traditional trans-
parent building up on a lighter substrate. I do not rely on the white
of a substrate to dictate the brightness and brilliance of my image. I
prefer to mimic a more traditional oil painting approach and I tend
to work from a more neutral gray outward to my extreme darks and
lights. I try my best to mimic a paintbrush, in a traditional sense, with
my airbrush in regard to the way I lay my paint down. This is why I
14
favor a higher pressure (35-55psi) and more opaque paint.

78 | AIRBRUSH ACTION | WINTER/SPRING 2018

STEP 15
My first pass of paint generally serves as a rough guide for my detail
work. I will start broad and fine-tune my image from start to finish.
Here I am using an (N4) and an (N7) Gray over an (N6) base.

15

STEP 16
Here I continue to develop my darker areas using (N7). Some of my
marks are more broadly descriptive of shaded areas while others are
more linear and descriptive of lines. I’ll allow the image to dictate my
approach instead of forcing my approach on the image.

16

STEP 17
Here I begin to develop some of the lighter values of my image as
well as fine-tune some of the darker areas that I began work on in the
prior step. The idea is not to just go step-by-step, but to revisit parts
of the process along the way as needed. Intuitively, this idea comes
with time and practice and allows one to make aesthetic decisions
based on practice and study instead of merely copying a photograph.

17

STEP 18
At this step I begin to further develop some of the higher value areas
as well as the background. Although the composition is a bit complex,
I’m allowing my foreground to dictate the background wave as far as
linear placement of shape, as well as the broader more abstract por-
tions of the cresting wave. I am making this up not so much from my
imagination, but the educated placement of abstract shapes based
on my knowledge of how line works as well as flow. It is based on
this understanding that I paint my best representation of a turbulent
sea behind my main image.
18

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 STEP 19
By this point my values have been pretty well established and I’m
starting to consider where the placement of my burgundy color
will go. Depending on how light or brilliant I want the color to be
depends on how light I leave my higher value gray(s). I also continue
to further develop the detail work in my recesses as well as some of
my highlight areas. During the course of my painting, and conducive
to my approach of using opaque paint, I have the liberty to sneak
things in such as the West Coast Choppers logo on the Viking, as well
as a couple of skulls around his waist line. I do this without fear or
repercussion regarding value or color, and I do this often. The ability
to redirect the painting, to me, is one of the most important aspects
of being an artist. As it stands, usually the original idea, with a little
bit of time, becomes better and more refined in both motive and
sophistication. The ability to change elements based on this principle
is important to me, and gives me the liberty to truly customize my
19
idea as the painting commences.

STEP 20
Here you can see the introduction of the burgundy as well as the
continued enhancement of both my shadow and my highlight ar-
eas. I am now truly pushing and pulling my values to maximize the
amount of depth in my image, therefore making the image more
dynamic in nature. I find this both fitting for the subject matter as
well as the clientele.
20

STEP 21
Toward the end of my painting I am truly hitting on just about every
value, fine-tuning certain things, adding some things and taking
away others. I allow my intuition and experience to dictate my fin-
ished art marks.

21

STEP 22
The completed image, under a coat of clear, allows the vibrancy of
the burgundy to be maximized, as well as the depths of my darks to
appear bottom less.

22

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BEHIND THE IDEA
Using an opaque paint also allows me to paint in a very small fashion
with very good results. It allows for a free flow approach that is nei-
ther time-consuming nor burdensome with the use of masking or
erasing techniques. The higher spraying pressure also allows me to
pull fairly tight lines with consistency that can be read uniformly all
over the painting as a collective piece. This again is just one of the
many benefits that I find in approaching painting with an airbrush
in the manner that I have found formidable as well as liberating as
compared to other traditional methods whose methods are indica-
tive of realism both stylized and photographic. This is with regard
to custom painting and trying to best maximize your time while
providing a superior product.

STEP 23 / FINAL
Here the completed fairing as flanked by the left
side of its accompanying tank, which was still in
production when this photo was taken. n

Steve Gibson is an american airbrush artist whose technical

abilities are inspired by traditional oil painting.  He specializes in
automotive murals and portraiture.  He has a BA in Fine Art from
Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL.  Steve’s fine art efforts have
been recognized by curators from both The Philadelphia Museum
of Art as well as The Whitney Museum of Art with selections into
group exhibitions in both Long Beach Island, NJ and New York
City. His list of achievements and accolades in the custom paint in-
dustry  include a House of Kolor Prestigious Painter Award in 2016.
Predominately known for his freehand airbrush technique
and approach, his experimental nature, combined with a colorful
and versatile work history make his pieces both highly original
at their core as well as masterful in both process and execu-
tion. Steve joined the line-up of world-class artists in 2016 as an
instructor at the long-running and renowned Airbrush Getaway
Workshops.  He has been a contributing writer for Airbrush Action
Magazine since November of 2014.

www.airbrushaction.com | 81
 More work by STEVE GIBSON

Panel for Iwata

display, SEMA, 2017.

Panel from House of Kolor

display, SEMA, 2017.

Kustom master, Art Himsl and

Steve Gibson, SEMA, 2017.

81 | AIRBRUSH ACTION | WINTER/SPRING 2018

Bowling pin with a painting
of pinstriping master Lokey
Calderone’s fore arm (with Lokey
holding it)—a personal fave.

Class project from the 2017 Airbrush

Getaway Workshop, Las Vegas.

(L to R): Jon Kosmoski,

Reed Decorsey, Steve Gibson

www.AirOilAndLead.com
www.facebook.com/AirOilAndLead
www.instagram.com/AirOilAndLead
Commissioned portrait - WWII Vet / Pilot, POW. Work in progress.

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