From Looney Tunes t-shirts at the fair to a portrait of the Virgin Mary on the hood of a lowrider, the wonderful world of airbrushed art has always been one of my favorite things ever. Sadly, long gone are the days when you could get your man’s name easily airbrushed on a pillowcase at the Glendale Galleria. I was about to give up hope in finding my own magical airbrushing wizard until I stumbled across Diane Burrier’s website. Once I saw the portrait she did of Lady Gaga, I knew she was The One! Needless to say, I placed an order immediately! She was also nice enough to answer some questions about her work.

+ How did you get your start in airbrushing?

In 1983 I was doing caricatures and portraits while people posed. I saw someone airbrushing at a show and decided to give it a try. It was difficult at first, but I made a go of it.

+ What is the most fun part of your work?

Painting in public for tourists, shoppers and onlookers. Unfortunately this rarely occurs anymore since I now work in graphic design during the week and airbrush in my basement on weekends as a mail order business from my website.

+  What is the most challenging?

Finding time to update the web site since so much weekend time is spent airbrushing.

+ What are your thoughts on being a female artist in a male-dominated scene?

I worked in Virginia Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and Daytona Beach. Those places had lots of airbrushers, all male. Although some had large egos, I’m fairly certain I earned respect from of all of them as an artist. I’ve lost touch with most of them, but occasionally get e-mails or calls from long-lost airbrush friends. I’ve known some of the original masters of airbrushing and a few who’ve passed away. I’ve met a few newer and younger artists too. The biggest problem is actually with public perception. I once wrote an article for Airbrush Action Magazine called “Where’s The Airbrush Guy?” It was a long time ago, but this commentary still stands true. If I don’t have that brush in my hand painting, the nearest male standing around is who people assume the artist to be. I’m a “one-hander” which could be a woman thing since I’ve never seen anyone else paint that way. I don’t try to talk people into ordering a shirt like the guys do. I try to let my work do the talking.  I’m the same way in my cyber airbrush business. I always try not to discredit anyone else’s work to a customer, even if I personally think their work sucks. Art is always in the eye of the beholder, who am I to say?

+ What was the weirdest thing you have been asked to airbrush?

There have been many so weird things. I guess I have to say the one bike week I worked in Daytona Beach in the 80’s. I’m a lady and won’t describe, but it was embarrassing. I’ll never paint those things again and won’t own up to them if any still exist.

+ Favorite airbrushing you have done?

Live airbrush portraits and I still love doing those loose quick beach scenes.

+ Who are some artists that you admire?

Classical artists of the Renaissance and French Impressionists. I love Maxfield Parrish’s work. The man was a genius on so many levels.

+ The celebrity signed shirts from your collection are quite impressive! Andy Warhol to Madonna! What are some of the stories behind those?

The first signed shirt I got was at a Cars concert in Norfolk, VA. I wore a giant portrait of Rik Ocasek, he saw it from the stage and sent someone to bring my friend and I backstage. I was surprised and nervous but he was very nice and the next time they played there, I made another shirt with the whole band and they all signed it.

My most cherished celebrity moment was meeting Andy Warhol in his NYC studio. I made him a gift shirt with his portrait and he loved it. I wore a shirt with a portrait of him on front and another on the back. He was fluffing and straightening it, turning me around and asked why I didn’t paint one on the back of his gift shirt. He signed mine and invited my friends and I back, but I wasn’t in NYC again before he died 2 years later.

I was airbrushing in Virginia Beach making good money so I rarely took off to go to a concert. I knew concert producers and they would place the shirts in the stars’ dressing rooms and ask them to sign one for me. I heard Madonna put hers on during a sound check but no one had a camera. We thought Rod Stewart or someone on his staff took both his shirts and kept them, but the next day his signed shirt came Fed Ex from Chicago.

Two guys from Warrant came into a mall where I was airbrushing in Hampton VA across from a venue where they were opening for Motley Crue. They wanted 2 leather jackets airbrushed and told me I could come backstage for the concert but I had to be there within 2 hours. I knew I couldn’t paint their album covers on those jackets that fast.  At least I got a photo of the one guitarist (oops forgot his name but love the photo) posing in it when he picked them up.

I met Robert Plant on a Honeydrippers tour. He signed a shirt at the concert and we were invited to a party with them afterward. I was completely star struck and he was sooo gorgeous in person. I could barely get any words out of my mouth. My girlfriend kicked me and told me to thank him for signing my shirt. The rest of the party I chatted with a band member from Spain and felt more comfortable.

I don’t have time to make celebrity gift shirts anymore, or even any shirts for myself these days.

+ Do you dabble in any other forms of art besides airbrushing?

Before airbrush it was pencil, pastel, charcoal, Sharpies and oils. Now it’s digital. I love the program Corel Painter. You can “paint” with a Wacom stylus pen like you’re actually using real media instead of pulling Bezier curves in Illustrator or tricking out in Photoshop. It’s the closest thing to real painting without the mess. I’m a graphics and multimedia software junkie. I work in dozens of programs and can hard code web sites. Digital or tangible, they’re all just tools for the art I do.

I have been a graphic, web and multimedia designer for the U.S. Army full time since 2000. That’s when airbrushing became part time. I was married with a young child and traveling around airbrushing long hours was a lifestyle that no longer fit. Although I had a bachelor’s degree in art, it was outdated without computer skills. I went to school at night while still airbrushing full time until I picked up what I needed to start a new career. I recently went to graduate school for Interactive Media Design. I’ve done some high profile design work for the Army. I don’t get personal credit for this kind of work and anything released is public domain. I’ve done exhibits, murals, posters, books, presentations, animations, official seals and web sites. I’ve gained tremendous appreciation for our military and feel privileged to do this work for them. But when I get home, there are always people waiting for their airbrush shirts to be painted and sent.

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Would you like to be immortalized in airbrush like yours truly? Perhaps you might even want to get an “In Memory of Michael Jackson” jacket or a pillowcase of Mariah Carey to add to your collection? Email Diane at airbrush@burrartdesign.com and see more of her work at Burrart Design!

See, don’t we look like an ICEE?

BFF Karaoke + Morning After Saved by the Bell + Cotton Candy Ice Creams =  best Bon Voyage Party before I go to fucking TOKYO!!!!!

YA READ DAT RIGHT SON!! I know mang, it’s bananas and pretty much a whirlwind wanderlust dosage and I’m still tripping that I’ll be in Hello Kitty’s homeland in about 2.2. Expect liveblogging from inside of a gawtdamn cartoon world ’cause that’s how I imagine it will be. At least the way I plan on doing it. I CAN’T DEAL. I barely have had any time for my brain to register the fact that I’m actually going, and unfortunately I have to postpone putting up the cake hats up for purchase. I’m sorry boos!

Hopefully A.C. “Absolutely Charming” Slater can make up for it??

Jesus playing the guitar??

Sorry if I killed any boners looking like the Filipino female Jack Black in that disguise.

Have any of you sexykins been to Tokyo? PLE DEW let me know if there is something specific I should see! (Donchu know Puroland is already at the top of that list MOMMA!)

The photos for the Anna Sui x Target line inspired by Gossip Girl came out today! You can see my favorites below…

These are two of the Blair-inspired pieces. Very cute, but there WILL be bow headbands right? It wouldn’t be Gossip Girl without them!

Another Blair outfit on the left and a  “Serena” one the right.

The “Jenny” dress on the left is very much an “Agent Lover” dress as well, especially once you add some cleavage up in there. (wish it were red and white though OMG) I’d pair it with the jacket on the right. Is it leather like Tracy Feith’s, I wonder?

Hellooooo…Blair can wear this when she confesses her sins then brings Chucky Bass to me as a sacrifice for the immortal gods of HORN. This dress looks straight out of Don’t Deliver Us From Evil! That’s because Anna Sui knows that Blair Waldorf graduated from Satan’s School for Girls, just like yours truly.

The line comes out September 13!

Pics via nymag

Related Posts:

+ Satan’s School for Girls
+ Tracy Feith for Target
+ BJ for Less

R.I.P.

Our newest confidante for Dear Menz is Ned Hepburn from Boner Party. As all of you may know, I am a huge fan of boners (literally and lingually) so when I first heard of this blog I stiffened up (BLOL) and pointed towards it like those hunting dogs in cartoons. Instead of sweatpants erections, all I found was a bunch of sexy ladies so I thought it was just another dirty old trick. Why I oughta. But I stayed awhile and laffed. Then I LOL’d, which segued into a LOLWTF a couple of times until I amen’d and praised the lo’ JEJUS. Because Ned Hepburn is one funny mutha. And in that ‘oh shit- what he says is pretty witty and hilar with a side of e-swagger’- kind of way. Cause’ there’s nothing that beats my favorite kind of humor: Clever AND Cochino. That shit don’t come a dime-a-dozen boo! On top of all that, Ned loves tacos! Let’s read what this gent has to tell us in all matters of love and boners.

What happens during a boner party exactly? Does everyone get to come?

There’s a George Carlin line, “I’ve never fucked a 10, but one night I fucked five 2’s”, which I always thought was hilarious. My stock answer is that a boner party is a celebration. It’s invite only. You don’t want randos showing up. Keep it real, keep it simple. Christ, that sounds like bumper sticker philosophy. “My other blog is a Wordpress”.

Give me that one Missed Connections Craigslist ad you wish you had posted.

“Dear Natalie Portman…”

Is it true that men love crazy bitches?

They’re just so much more entertaining than your average Sex And The City “nice girl”. That’s why I love reading Megan Fox interviews because she clearly doesn’t give a fuck what you think, and I think that, at its crux, is what GOOD crazy is all about. BAD crazy involves crying and eating at the same time and nobody wants to see that. Have you ever seen that? I saw a dude at Subway cry one time and he was making my sandwich. That was really awkward.

Are you a boobs or booty man?

Guys that are into cats are more boobs people from what I’ve found; Guys who are into butts are more dog people, and I’m a dog person.

Something that women do that is an automatic boner killer?

Women who inherently go out dancing all the time I find kind of scary. It’s like wanting to be a gazelle on the African plains - I can see WHY you’d want to go dancing but it’s all about ’show’ and people that are all about ’show’ nerve the living hell out of me. I don’t understand nightclubs, they scare the shit out of me. Which is weird, because I used to work in them on and off for like 4 whole years.

Is there a way one can resurrect The Boner?

Bruce Springsteen’s “Born To Run” or “Thunder Road”. That usually puts the party back on track.

What do you think of half-Filipino girls with bangs?

They’re rad! I have a friend in Chicago like that. We used to get tacos every week and talk about shit. She was really cool.

Please describe your perfect makeout session scenario.

Remember the scene in Risky Business where Rebecca DeMornay and Tom Cruise make out on the train? Something like that. Basically as long as it’s soundtracked by Phil Collins.

Who is in your dream threesome?

A wise man never tells such things.

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For more please visit Boner Party, Ned’s Tumblr and Twitter!

Related Posts:

+ Dear Menz With Special Guest Michael Ian Black
+ Dear Menz With Special Guest Jason Savvy
+ Dear Menz With Special Guest Donny Vomit
+ Dear Menz With Special Guest Chase Lisbon
+ Dear Menz With Special Guest Futurecop!

FINALLY I can share this big project I’ve been working on for awhile now with you… CAKE HATS!!! WHAT!?! Is that a little cake sitting on the top of Reyna’s cabeza?!?! DAS RIGHT!! I’m going to be selling my first batch later this week, but I wanted to give you the sneak peek…

The pink one pictured above is the Lenora cake. All of them are named after my girlfriends! More info coming soon. Hope you guys like them!!!

Why yes they are. These are what my nails look like right now. I am holding almost every corn-themed thing I own in these pictures btw. Has Rie Rie finally gone too far? NEVER!!! I always say painting your nails can lift your mood instantly…but to this extent? I’ll be in a goddamn great mood all year. THANK YOU.

Also I got a new ‘do. RASPBERRY DELIGHT!! What do you guys think?  My foray into the land of red hair initially did not include a ride on the Manic Panic express. I thought my years of Koolaid-stained pillows were over, but apparently not thanks to my bff slash hair magician Reyna. When I wasn’t looking, she spiked my Clairol with some bright red dye so she and I could look like an ICEE when we are together since she has blue hair. I see what you were trying to do, boo. I ain’t mad atchu.

Just kidding! Everything was consensual. FYI I will have to wash my hair with gloves on to preserve these niblet nails!

Spywear deets:

• pink and white pin-striped blouse - can’t remember! Maybe Silhouette?
• purple skirt - H&M
• belt - Charlotte Russe..I THINK
• Steve Madden wedges
• vintage owl brooch
• pink sunglasses - Forever 21
• black and gold bamboo earrings, gold stax and big heart rings

Love my new gold heart ring I found for $6 at a local shop

It’s weird not to be repping the International Society of Black Hair, Bangs and Red Lipstick you guys! It’s just bananas to look in the mirror and see this when I’ve had that signature black hair forever. But variety is the spice of life my friends!

Circus tricks…everyone wants to learn them! When I was little I used to watch Circus of the Stars and dream of being on the trapeze like my childhood hero, Mr. Balki Bartokomous. Like many other things, you get older and change your mind. I’d still like to fly through the air like a spider monkey, but these days I’d rather learn how to throw some knives like my other hero, Mr. Jack Burton.

La fille sur le pont (The Girl on the Bridge) is a movie about a woman, played by Vanessa Paradis, who is about to end her life by jumping off a bridge. A man who is a knife thrower, convinces her not to and she becomes the target in his act. Sounds hot right? And it was, ONLY because of Vanessa Paradis, but it was a bore! It actually reminded us of a perfume commercial so we would whisper-shout “OBSESSION! by Calvin Klein” at every scene. Might make a good drinking game somehow. Screencaps are sexy though.

…OBSESSION!

…OBSESSION!

…OBSESSION!

How about you? Any circus tricks you’ve always wanted to learn? Or maybe you know some already! PS. If you’re a knife thrower and want to teach a feisty Filitaliana girl some tricks, please let me know.

HALLOOOOOOW!

I’m pretty casual here, yet still filled with SWAGGER esp because of these GIANT NERD GLASSES.

Note how I am wearing tights and boots and its halfway through June. That’s why I look so depressed. Summer is the biggest tease I know this year. HATECHU FOREVER.

• Converse denim jacket
• comfy “work lbd”
• hawt pink tights - Forever 21
• Torrid boots
• Run DMC style glasses from SanSARS
• black beret and big heart rings
• gold stax hidden

Why do I LOLVE this song??? Thanks a lot Shaun. Your intense Keri Hilson obsesh is rubbing off on me only slightly. Just a lil lil.

+ Keri Hilson - “Turn My Swag On remix”

Why is everything on the internet blue? Is there some sort of design handbook that states all websites of a certain nature must be a specific shade or variation of “Social Networking Site Blue” (SNSB)? Why not pink? Red? Green, even? Is it because blue is supposed to be “calming” and the internet makes us paranoid? the These mind-penetrating thoughts triggered an urge to ask myself…

(Dress from Fredflare)

Facebook is prim and proper at first glance, then when you get in (especially the first couple of times) it’s crazy and confusing and everything is put on blast. You eventually learn to ignore the 10 million “requests” but for a while you don’t know where to look because there’s just too much going on under there, like a pair of cheesy neon skulls Hot Topic panties. GAH!

Flickr uses SNSB but shakes things up with a ‘lil spot of pink. She is full of surprises and teaches you things about the world (and that there are fetishes for everything) by showing you who favorites your pics. Purple dishwashing glove fetish, anyone?

Myspace was the first real taste of SNSB since no one can remember what Friendster looked like. In the beginning everyone was welcomed with open arms. Then everything got flashy and loud like E! Wild on Ibiza. Visiting people’s profile pages was like entering a club (mute when lurking while you be werkin’.) Still, nothing beats a good ol’ Myspace GIF comment. Facebook gots nothing on that. Put on your LED scrolling belt and bud leaf necklace, take a shot of Patrón and walk on in…

(Dress from Forever 21)

WATCH OUT TWITTER. Twitter is the most popular girl in class right now. The whole world revolves around 140. Twitter even looks different on the SNSB front because of her sexy turquoise swagger, but at the same time keeps it cute with a lil’ bird mascot. She even moves fast…. I know who I want to take to prom.

Or..wait..does SNSB have something to do with the National Enquirer Lucky Blue Dot??? You were supposed to cut this out of the issue (prob Liz Taylor or Michael Landon on the cover) and rub it for good luck. When I was a kid I actually cut one of these out and put it in my plastic My Melody wallet.

Good ol’ SNSB…you are a TRUE MYSTERY.