Behind the Backscene

Queen of airbrushing, Lisa Munro, reveals her artistic motivations and love of saxophones…

1 What is your earliest railway memory?

Hotham Park Miniature Railway. My mum used to take me there a lot as a child and I loved riding on this around the beautiful park. Even to this day I take my daughter there and we ride the train together.

2 What is your most memorable train journey?

The night train to Aberdeen with my family. Sleeping on the train for the first time was an amazing experience as a young child. The seats converted into beds and all five of us were squeezed into one little room. I didn’t sleep much with all the excitement!

3 Do you have a favourite railway station?

Not really a favourite, but Bognor Regis railway station is a terminal and is much grander than you would imagine for a seaside town. It has a real sense of Victorian times.

4 How did you get into the hobby industry?

I have always loved art and knew from a young age that I wanted a career that was somehow involved with the art industry. Working for The Airbrush Company seemed like a natural choice and its links to the hobby industry have been entertaining me for about 15 years.

5 What did you do beforehand?

I managed a picture framing shop in Goring-by-sea for just over three years.

6 What hobbies do you have?

I love drawing, crafting and making things, airbrushing and painting pretty much anything I can get my hands on. I also love music; I play the saxophone and have recently taken up the guitar and bass guitar.

7 Have you ever built a model railway?

Sadly, I haven’t built my own railway from scratch, but I have spent quite a bit of time with a really cool model railway that Amber’s granddad has built in the loft. When I was a child, my brother had a model railway, and whenever he went out I used to sneak into his room to play with it!

8 What would your dream model be?

A 1950s VW camper van, complete with realistic weathering and a bit of rust here and there. I’m currently learning a bit more about airbrushing radio-controlled cars and I’ve also been challenged to paint Small World Sophie, a chibi style mini from Reaper Miniatures.

9 Who is your hero?

‘Hero’ is a bit of a loaded word, but I would say a person who has been a great inspiration for me in an artistic sense would be Claude Monet. His use of colours and perspective changed the way we see the world and still influence art and design today.

10 What model or craft projects are you most proud of?

Making artistic looking cakes and sugarcraft models which I then airbrushed designs onto with edible food colouring. I did several tutorials for cake magazines. One I was most proud of was a Koi carp cake (left).

11 Where do you find your inspiration?

So many artists and people I speak to during my day job inspire me. Plus, my five-year-old daughter always inspires me; my latest project is airbrushing a unicorn!

12 What motivates you most in your job?

Getting involved in scale modelling was not what I had in mind when I left college. But I learn something new each day and I feel so lucky to have such variety in my job role.

13 What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced?

Teaching. When I was first asked to start teaching airbrushing onto cakes at The Airbrush Company, I was so nervous. But, after a few classes, I soon overcame that and really enjoyed sharing my knowledge and skills.

14 What has been the best decision you’ve ever made?

Apart from marrying my husband and having our beautiful daughter, I think that keeping art as a focus in my life and choosing it as a career would rank as one of the best decisions. It has enabled me at the very least to enjoy my job and develop my own skills along the road.

15 If you could change anything about the hobby, what would it be?

Modelling is generally male-focused, with its tanks, planes and guns. There are a few exceptions, I know, but it is mainly for boys. The market for electronic gaming is almost 50/50 split across the sexes, so I reckon if there were some more ‘feminine’ models available, it would expand our modelling community and get more women involved in building and painting awesome models.

My brother had a model railway. I used to sneak into his room to play with it!

16 What was your big ambition as a child?

I wanted to be a vet at one point, but my ongoing ambition and motivation has always been art.

17 If you had a time machine, where would you go?

My first thought was to go back in time to see some important moment in history, but ‘olden times’ were smelly and dangerous. I would rather spend time with my dad and go back to our last jam together.

18 What’s your hidden talent?

My dad played guitar, so during my rebellious years I decided to take up something different – the saxophone. However, during lockdown I picked the guitar up again and it just felt natural. I now play it every day for at least an hour and enjoy making my own tunes.

19 Do you have any strange quirks that you’re prepared to share?

I am bad at opening cereal packets, and I squeeze paint tubes in the ‘wrong place’, which frustrates my husband.

20 How would you like to be remembered?

As a strong mother and a good friend who makes people laugh. And, in the long term, as a prolific artist and possibly a super-nan, who knows?