I have a bit of a problem with the airbrush artist....

I once had a dream of being an illustrator and the airbrush was my medium of choice. In order to tell the story i have to give away my age. 

Not quite but lets just say that when i studied graphic design and illustration the computer graphic artist didn't exist. 

At that time you could walk around town and see at least a dozen pimped up rodsters with some sort of art work detailing the body. It looked real cool and it was part of the trip to just sit in front of the pool hall and wait for low rider to come howling by.

Then once in a while you'd get to go to a car show and see some real gems. My favorite custom airbrush jobs where always the one's with snakes. I like skulls but they don't have the dark flare of the serpent. 

The airbrush artist that i wanted to become never materialized. I had a few compressors and at one time four airbrushes. I even had a Paasche double action gravity fed airbrush at one time which was really up to date for the period.

The closest i ever came to turning my hobby into a profession was when i moved to the big city of Toronto and worked for a big printing company. What can i say....so i watched Olaf get to do the big 20 X 60 foot billboards while i touched up here and there.

So i got away from being the airbrush artist.

....when i watch a really talented airbrush artist mixing enamels or oils or lacquers and feeding those colors through a tiny little nozzle.

The snake charmer couldn't do a better job with an amphibean reptile then some of these top airheads can.

Snakeskin seems to be a real big thing nowadays with people who can afford to pimp up their rod.

Since i sold my equipment many moons ago and slithered under a rock like a coward instead of pressing forward well i can only lead you to some videos that explain how a master airhead spins his magic.

Snakes often conjure up images of dragons and fire. 

There seems to be more demand for the mythological fire breathing lizard than for the more earthbound snake. 

A good story teller could most likely demonize any situation by introducing a dragon into the plot.

The airbrush artist can run away with this theme just as well as the story teller.

Here's a few attempts at rendering the mythical serpent or lizard of the untime.

And flames are equally great to have on any mural if they are done just right.

Airbrush painting is about texture and knowing how to mix your colors.

However in todays technologically advanced world of computer animation many of the skills of the airbrush artist have gone the way of the DODO bird.