Chris Regner, along with his trusty airbrush at his aspect, is persistently pushing the boundaries of fantastic artwork.
We frequently marvel at how new expertise can revolutionize the sciences, however we hardly ever take into account what innovation can do for the humanities. Identical to the Outdated Masters, Chris Regner has made his mark on the world portray on canvas. What units him aside from Goya and Bosch is the instrument of his commerce—an airbrush. The method produces impossibly vibrant colours, which work marvelously inside Regner’s frenzied portraits. We spoke with the artist about how he discovered his fashion, the connection he has along with his airbrush and rather more.
Do you keep in mind the primary time you fell in love with artwork?
My earliest curiosity in artwork stems from the comedian books I learn as a child (Spider-Man and Sonic the Hedgehog). I used to be additionally uncovered to Robert Crumb and Ed Roth early on. My fantastic artwork influences got here later in my life with journeys to The Artwork Institute of Chicago.
When do you know you needed to grow to be an artist?
I at all times drew after I was a child and copied quite a lot of the artwork from the comedian books I’d learn. I actually admired one of many Sonic artists, Patrick Spaziante, and I hoped to sometime work at Archie Comics and draw Sonic. That was my large dream. As I acquired older I gravitated in direction of different pursuits, like skateboarding, guitar and gaming. After a collection of unhealthy occasions in my life I went again to artwork college and took some life drawing lessons that actually kick-started my enthusiasm for artwork once more. Ever since then I’ve been targeted on making this work as a profession.
What was the primary medium you labored in?
Pencil. I cherished drawing little particulars.
What first attracted you to airbrushing?
I needed to discover a method to paint that felt extra like drawing, as I don’t have a lot of a background in extremely conventional methods of portray. The airbrush was an ideal method to translate the way in which I draw right into a painted picture.
How do you describe your signature fashion of portraiture? Who have been/are a few of your largest influences?
I don’t know if I can put it right into a class, but it surely’s impressed by Surrealism, Cubist collage, German expressionism, pop artwork and Flemish Baroque portray. A few of my largest inspirations are Peter Saul, Otto Dix, Francisco Goya, Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso, Hieronymus Bosch, Dana Schutz, any historic Greek or Roman artist and Peter Paul Rubens. Aside from fantastic artists, I borrow quite a lot of imagery from video video games, movie and toys.
When many individuals take into consideration airbrushing they image these bizarre kiosks on the mall the place you might purchase the gaudiest shirts conceivable. Do you’re feeling like airbrushing is appeared down upon by the intense artwork world?
Is determined by who you ask, I suppose. In my expertise it appears that evidently oil painters are inclined to have the largest problem with it, however that’s simply anecdotal. I’d say that quite a lot of painters are typically slightly conservative of their tastes, however there’s room for all approaches. Such as you said, the airbrush has quite a lot of lowbrow connotations, however I discover that supply materials to be thrilling and recent. I’m not alone in that, as I’ve seen that youthful painters appear to be taking to the airbrush enthusiastically, which is implausible to see. There’s no motive, in my view, to attract a line within the sand between lowbrow and intellectual, and any arbitrary boundaries like that simply get in the way in which of innovation. I’ve truly began a brand new Instagram account with the hopes of sharing and compiling work executed primarily or supplementally with airbrush. It’s simply one other method of getting paint on a canvas so I’d prefer to see it normalized extra.
What are you able to accomplish portray with an airbrush that you’d be unable to do with a brush?
There’s methods to imitate an airbrush aesthetic with conventional brushes, however not with out nice problem. I take advantage of acrylic primarily and utilizing an airbrush permits me to color clean gradients, out-of-focus rendering and really, very delicate clear layers of shade. This might be very arduous to do with a brush because of acrylic’s fast drying time. Because of the skinny nature of the paint, you possibly can create very luminous pictures which might be paying homage to conventional glazing strategies. There’s additionally the thrilling prospect of having the ability to spray via primarily something and utilizing issues like display doorways and stencils to create unimaginable results.
We undoubtedly see some similarities between utilizing an airbrush and a tattoo machine.
To not sound tacky right here, however how essential is your relationship together with your instrument? I’m very delicate to small points with the instruments I’m utilizing and it could possibly actually intrude with working. I ensure to have the best high quality instruments that I can afford with a view to suppose much less concerning the tools and extra concerning the portray. Golden Acrylic Paints and Iwata Airbrushes are my two main preferences relating to portray tools. They’re dependable, top quality, and permit me to do my work with out many issues. I’ve a good friend that just lately began a tattoo apprenticeship and I’m starting to find out how essential it’s to have high-quality machines in that area. I like any artwork kind that requires dedication to studying the craft.
What are you able to inform us about your solo present, “That’s My Boy?”
This present got here to existence out of one other physique of labor that I used to be targeted on the prior 12 months. That 12 months I made a collection of work titled “Father Figures.” They have been ruminations on my upbringing, which was devoid of a robust male position mannequin. I considered what a boy would take a look at as examples of masculinity as dictated by societal expectations and norms. I made a decision to make a parallel collection to this titled “That’s My Boy,” which took an alternate viewpoint whereby I imagined what my absent father would have desired out of a son. It explored quite a lot of my perceived shortcomings as a person and my pathetic makes an attempt at being robust and self-reliant. Lots of the work on this present revolved round that concept. I additionally began to combine animalistic imagery, as I used to be pondering rather a lot concerning the thought of nature versus nurture and if an individual can overcome their genetic predispositions.
Your artwork has advanced over the course of your profession, is {that a} acutely aware strategy in your half to maintain issues important, or is it extra natural?
For a few years I preferred to work on one thought at a time and create a physique of labor from that. This was a acutely aware strategy, maybe detrimentally so, but it surely taught me rather a lot with every subsequent collection. These days I discover myself slowly watching my work evolve on their very own and letting go of a number of the management I exerted over them within the early years of my profession. I feel that the extra work you make the extra you be taught to belief the method and belief that issues will work out.
