airbrush

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airbrush. An instrument for spraying paint or varnish by means of compressed air. It looks rather like an outsize fountain pen and is held in a similar fashion, the pressure of the forefinger on a lever regulating the air supply. Various types of nozzle can be fitted and the instrument can be controlled so as to give large areas of flat colour, delicate gradations, or a fine mist. The paint is typically held in a small container attached to the airbrush, and the air compressor is connected by a flexible tube. Originally the compressors were cumbersome, noisy, and expensive, but modern versions are quiet and portable; small cans of compressed air can also be used, but these are not suitable for prolonged use. The airbrush was invented by Charles Burdick, an American watercolour painter, who patented it in England in 1893 and in the same year set up a manufacturing firm called the Fountain Brush Company. In 1900 he founded the Aerograph Company, and the tradename Aerograph was for many years used as a general term for airbrushes (like Biro for ballpoints); Man Ray called paintings he did with an airbrush ‘aerographs’. In the early 20th century airbrushes were used mainly for photographic retouching, and their principal use is now in commercial art. Artists who have made distinctive use of them in this field include the British designer Abram Games (1914–96), who created many memorable posters for the War Office during the Second World War, and the Peruvian-born Alberto Vargas (1895–1982), whose pictures of pin-up girls appeared in almost every issue of Playboy magazine from 1960 to 1978. Airbrushes are also often used by painters such as Hard-Edge abstractionists and Superrealists who require a very smooth, impersonal finish.

airbrush. An instrument for spraying paint or varnish by means of compressed air. It looks rather like an outsize fountain pen and is held in a similar fashion, the pressure of the forefinger on a lever regulating the air supply. It can be controlled so as to give large areas of flat colour, delicate gradations, or a fine mist. Originally the air compressors used to power the brushes were cumbersome, noisy, and expensive, but modern versions are quiet and portable; small cans of compressed air can also be used, but these are not suitable for prolonged use. The airbrush was invented by Charles Burdick, an American watercolour painter, who patented it in England in 1893 and in the same year set up a manufacturing firm called The Fountain Brush Company. In 1900 he founded the Aerograph Company, and the tradename Aerograph was for many years used as a general term for airbrushes (like Biro for ballpoints); Man Ray called paintings he did with an airbrush ‘aerographs’. In the early 20th century airbrushes were used mainly for photographic retouching, and their principal use is now in commercial art. Artists who have made distinctive use of them in this field include the British designer Abram Games (1914–96), who created many memorable posters for the War Office during the Second World War, and the Peruvian-born Alberto Vargas (1896–1982), whose pictures of pin-up girls appeared regularly in Playboy magazine from 1960 to 1978. Airbrushes are also used by painters such as Hard-Edge abstractionists and Superrealists who require a very smooth, impersonal finish.

airbrush. An instrument for spraying paint or varnish by means of compressed air. It looks rather like an outsize fountain pen and is operated in a similar fashion, the pressure of the forefinger on a lever regulating the air supply. It can be controlled so as to give large areas of flat colour, delicate gradations of tone, or a fine mist. The device was invented by Charles Burdick, an American watercolour painter, who patented it in England in 1893. He adopted the tradename Aerograph, which for many years was used as a general term for airbrushes (like Biro for ballpoints); Man Ray called paintings he did with an airbrush ‘aerographs’. In the early 20th century airbrushes were mainly used for photographic retouching, and their principal use is now in commercial art. However, they are also used by painters such as Hard-Edge Abstractionists and Superrealists, who require a very smooth, impersonal finish.

air·brush / ˈe(ə)rˌbrəsh/ • n. an artist's device for spraying paint by means of compressed air. • v. [tr.] paint with an airbrush. ∎  alter or conceal (a photograph or a detail in one) using an airbrush: a picture of a man with wings airbrushed onto his shoulders. ∎  [usu. as adj.] (airbrushed) fig. represent or describe (someone or something) as better or more beautiful than they in fact are: an airbrushed vision of the decade.

airbrush

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