Airbrush Step by Step (english) Magazine

21 December 2017

Which is the airbrush of your choice? Two brand names are catching the eye on the cover of this issue: Iwata and Harder & Steenbeck. Those two have been ruling the airbrush industry in Europe at least for the last 20 years. If you flip the pages of our magazine and browse the material lists of the how to’s and the readers’ gallery, you will mainly find either Iwata or Harder & Steenbeck airbrushes being used to create the artworks. To put it bluntly: We as editors don’t have or take any influence on which materials the featured artists are using. So our magazine is in some way just a mirror of the artists’ studios all over the world. Sometimes, artists even make their device the main topic of their artwork, such as Spanish artist Rafa Garcia Cano. He created the cover artwork showing his working space and materials and he also painted on an Anest Iwata spraygun. Also, three more artists from this issue trusted an Iwata airbrush for creating their artworks: Erik Smeets rendered a ram skull with the characteristics of a candle holder. Rob Foster from the US painted a photorealistic woman portrait featuring lots of hair and fabric textures. German artist Vera Sistig experimented to create a monkey portrait on a heater. Looking at the article about Tatjana Bösl’s custom painted car featuring wolves and snowy landscapes, you’ll find that she used the Colani airbrush by Harder & Steenbeck. This extraordinary device combining the features of a spraygun with those of an airbrush was designed by Harder & Steenbeck owner Jens Matthiessen. The stunning message: A few months ago, he has sold his company to the Anest Iwata group! What the hell --- you might think. This is exactly why the ASBS team approached Jens as well as the new general manager Will Naemura for an interview about the reasons and the aims of this historical acquisition. Whatever airbrush device is your favorite – just keep on creating amazing artworks! We wish you a wonderful holiday season and all the best for the new year. The Airbrush Step by Step team