Airbrush artist on the guest list at Kerikeri
When Brad Walters was studying at art school in 1988, his tutor suggested he try using an airbrush. He did. And he has hardly put it down since.
He has used it to paint motorhomes, motorbikes, murals, and his biggest claim to fame, a buzzy bee on the rudders of Team New Zealand’s 2013 America’s Cup challenge boat. He also painted the dove on the sail of Rainbow Warrior II.
His more recent work will be on display in Kerikeri over Labour Weekend, when he exhibits as one of the guest artists in the Kerikeri Open Art Studios Trail (KOAST).
Brad said five years spent as a screen printer had taught him a lot about colour, balance and proportion. When that job ended he began painting from home, mostly motorbikes, “and things grew from there. They took off after I had a stand at the Winter Show and Kay Adams approached me to paint her buses, so my work was seen all around town. I love to work big, so buses and trucks are perfect to paint on.” “I discovered that automotive paint was an excellent medium to use on glass splash-backs, and I’ve been commissioned to airbrush paint scenes on splash-backs for kitchens and bathrooms,” he said.
He works from home, near Parua Bay, and is inspired by the natural forest environment that surrounds him.
“Ninety per cent of my work is painting motorbikes, both for motorbike shops and commissions from individuals, so that’s my secure income, but in between I get to play with images on other surfaces, and at the moment I’m following a fresh direction,” he said.
“I’m exploring capturing that natural world with acrylics on canvas. This is a totally different medium for me, and I’m loving how quick and direct the process is. I’m figuring the technicalities out as I go and pulling on all my previous creative experience, but basically it’s an intuitive process.
“Dad used to draw awesome portraits of people on the street in England, but because his parents suggested he needed a ‘real job,’ he did engineering. And Mum made superb handbags and dresses, and incredible iced cakes, so creativity was all around me as a child.
“We have to follow our dreams and passions in life, and mine seem to be increasing and expanding . . . so in the future I want to also do some carving and 3D work in natural timber resins, so who knows where that might lead?”
Brad will be one of more than 60 artists in this year’s KOAST (October 20-22). Go to www.koast.org.nz for more.