#i call this style pencil whos that? its just me and paint roller

[thebirdarts]

Assorted Estinian's drawn from screenshots of the dragoon level 40-50 quests. [please click for better quality]

[w1tchy13itch-blog]

Got Tags?

1. Coffee or tea? Tea. Tea comes in flavours, coffee kind of only comes in strengths, so I gotta go with my tea.

2. Black and white or color? Black and White with one or two vibrant color accents like yellow and green.

3. Drawings or paintings? Drawings

4. Dresses or skirts? Dresses 

5. Books or movies? As a writer i should say books but Hello Depression Called and wants me to Only Watch Things due to less Effort

6. Pepsi or Coke? both of them when flat or frozen.

7. Chinese or Italian? Chinese if you mean food.

8. Early bird or night owl? I’m the unholy combo of both. 

9. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla. Chocolate lost my respect for it when it made me vomit.

10. Introvert or extrovert? Introvert with dependency issues and unrivalled levels of affections with almost no one to give it to. 

11. Hugs or kisses? Hugs are purer but kisses are nice if you mean the smoochy kind and not the Hello Mouth Sex kind

12. Hunting or fishing? Neither? 

13. Winter or summer? fuck them both, Spring and Autumn is where its at?

14. Spring or fall? Both?

15. Rural or urban? Urban for the sake of utilities and shopping but rural because I like to breath and sleep in peace.

16. PC or Mac? PC but i’m doomed with an outdated Mac currently. 

17. Tan or pale? Like, i’m naturally tan - what is this pale stuff of which you speak?

18. Cake or pie? Pie. Meat pie.

19. Ice cream or yogurt? Frozen Yogurt

20. Ketchup or mustard? Mustard

21. Sweet pickles or dill pickles? Sweet

22. Comedy or mystery? Mystery because comedy is lacking in quality these days

23. Boots or sandals? Boots

24. Silver or gold? Silver 

25. Pop or Rock? Both

26. Dancing or singing? Singing

27. Checkers or chess? Chinese Checkers to be specific

28. Board games or video games? Both

29. Wine or beer? Beer

30. Freckles or dimples? Freckles

31. Honey mustard or BBQ sauce? Honey mustard

32. Body weight exercises or lifting weights? 

33. Baseball or basketball? Since i hate both i’m gonna rank this by ‘which anime have i seen of it and cared? And so, the answer my friends, is basketball.

34. Crossword puzzles or sudokus? Crosswords are okay, but Word Searches are amazing

35. Facial hair or clean shaven? Clean shaven because i don’t like ripping my lips on yours? is that so much to ask?

36. Crushed ice or cubed ice? Crushed.

37. Skiing or snowboarding? I’m the person who sits in a halfassed and half built igloo and just glares at people from it’s icy comfort

38. Smile or game face? I look like this typically:

39. Bracelet or necklace? Necklaces but... rings are where it’s at

40. Fruit or vegetables? Fruit

41. Sausage or bacon? All those both do is give me gas, but i don’t mind crunchy bacon for garnish.

42. Scrambled or fried? scrambled. i put sugar and cinnamon in mine sometimes.

43. Dark chocolate or white chocolate? If i MUST pick a chocolate it’s gotta be dark and filled with mint OR it has to be milk chocolate and filled with fruit or nuts or both.

44. Tattoos or piercings? Piercings

45. Antique or brand new? Both

46. Dress up or dress down? Fucked if I know baby, i just spin a wheel and toss a dart to decide.

47. Cowboys or aliens? Space cowboys

48. Cats or dogs? Both don’t Make Me choose

49. Pancakes or waffles? Lately, waffles.

50. Bond or Bourne? Who? What? I don’t know.

51. Sci-Fi or fantasy? Both with a tendency towards fantasy

52. Numbers or letters? Letters

53. Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings? ... The Hobbit.

54. Fair or theme park? Both are excuses for me to make people hang out with me and not sleep all day.

55. Money or fame? Money because fuck fame, damn like, i want friends and affection not a 24/7 security team protecting me from stalkers and papparazi 

56. Washing dishes or doing laundry? I mean I love both but lately laundry since i hate being forced to do other people’s dishes.

57. Snakes or sharks? Snakes

58. Orange juice or apple juice? Orange juice 

59. Sunrise or sunset? Sunrise

60. Slacker or over-achiever? Both. I hate life.

61. Pen or pencil? Pencil because I’m a mess.

62. Peanut butter or jelly? Peanut butter

63. Grammys or Oscars? I stop watching both when the red carpet segment is over.

64. Detailed or abstract? Detailed 

65. Multiple choice questions or essay questions? Multiple choice.

66. Adventurous or cautious? Cautious but ambitious. 

67. Saver or spender? I have no choice in this matter as a broke person.

68. Glasses or contacts? Glasses

69. Laptop or desktop? Laptop may be convenient but a whole Desktop and monitor is kind of hard for a little bitch to steal from me in the middle of the night with all the millions of cords and accessories.

70. Classic or modern? classic or modern what? probably ‘both’ for the answer.

71. Personal chef or personal fitness trainer? Chef. but only to be taught how to cook alongside them so i can end up cooking things for them too.

72. Internet or cell phone? Internet

73. Call or text? Text

74. Curly hair or straight hair? curly would at least mean i don’t have to fucking brush it or style it, this fuck ass mop on my damn head

75. Shower in the morning or shower in the evening? Oh god, whenever i can muster the energy tbh.

76. Spicy or mild? Spicy 

77. Marvel or DC? both but also i’m kind of neutral?

78. Paying a mortgage or paying rent? Ugh UGH ugh UUUUGH UuuuUuUUuUuUGH

79. Sky dive or bungee jump? See previous answer ^

80. Oreos or Chips Ahoy? Chips Ahoy since they don’t sell that brand in my country and i miss them

81. Jello or pudding? Both.

82. Truth or dare? Truth

83. Roller coaster or Ferris wheel? Ferris wheel

84. Leather or denim? Denim

85. Stripes or solids? ...fandom merchandise and prints.

86. Bagels or muffins? bagels

87. Whole wheat or white? multigrain. i’m a bird bitch.

88. Beads or pearls? Gemstones

89. Hardwood or carpet? Hardwood because fuck???? vacuuming????

90. Bright colors or neutral tones? this fluctuates with my gender presentation.

91. Be older than you are or younger than you are? younger

92. Raisins or nuts? Both, preferably in small doses with a thin layer of milk chocolate.

93. Picnic or nice restaurant? Both are nice but a restaurant has more options

94. Black leather or brown leather? Black

95. Long hair or short hair? this also fluctuates with my gender presentation.

96. “Ready, aim, fire” or “Ready, fire, aim”? Okay so like, why the hell would you fire before you aim, like for real people? (in other words: “Ready, aim, fire”)

97. Fiction or non-fiction? If it’s written well and well founded then i’ll read anything

98. Smoking or non-smoking? Non-smoking

99. Think before you talk or talk before you think? Both? it depends on the situation

100. Asking questions or answering questions? Answering because i have a million things to share but no almost one to talk to 

I was tagged by @crystxlrxses i think. I’m tagging:

@cecil-the-hooligan 

[vintagepaintbynumbe-blog]

My Paint by Numbers

What a superb method to catch the genuine love of your dearest pet. This custom canine representation, feline picture, horse representation or picture of some other pet will be an inestimable present for yourself or somebody exceptional in your life. Prepared to begin your portraitOne spectacular pastime from the 1950's has made an arrival as a vintage stylistic theme thing just as a collectible in its very own right—the paint by number artworks. This superb side interest has turned into an  extraordinary method to balance genuine artistic creations on your divider vintage paint by numbers without paying high costs for it. These pieces are commonly entirely moderate, and a lot to an authority's joy very numerous individuals are prepared to dispose of them. So looking in upper rooms, insect markets, yard deals and dumpster plunging are the most ideal approaches to gain these fun society pieces and there are a great deal of them to be found.So once you've obtained some paint by number artistic creations, you're prepared to hang them. Enriching with paint by number works of art is a touch of an artistic expression in itself—however have no dread—anybody can do it. The paint by number works of art will be most engaging when shown together in a gathering. So every one of them integrate them, have a go at adhering to a bringing together topic, for example, feathered creatures, hounds, steeds, view or blossoms. Hang these on an extensive open region on your divider and the outcome will be a genuine friendly exchange just as putting forth a major expression. 

These depictions are genuine society craftsmanship made an age or two back by individuals simply like you and me.Painting by numbers was once so unfathomably well known (Nelson Rockefeller, J. Edgar Hoover and Andy Warhol all painted them) that the Smithsonian included a display from April 2001 to January 2002 praising their intrigue. You can see incredible instances of paint by number works of art and read progressively about them as a social symbol just as a fine art here.The directions said to coordinate the paint shading number with the bed zone number and apply the coat equitably without intersection lines. Throughout the following half a month, I watched Dad fastidiously change both white canvas sheets into lovely gems. He was glad for his creation as was I, as confirm by my showing them on my room divider for quite a long while.

 Culmination of a unit was not a pointless medium-term undertaking; it took a long time to complete one, particularly in the event that you wanted to edge and balance it on a divider or use it as a blessing. In reality, its actual esteem was estimated by the individual who painted it. Not at all like watercolors that we wound up familiar with as youngsters, PBN units used oil-based paint requiring the client to practice alert so as not to get paint on everything. Brushes must be kept in mineral spirits when not being used to keep them from getting to be dry.

 One trap was to picked a shading and paint every one of the areas on the canvas that contained that number. Legitimately done, the wonderfully dried painting was a declaration to the painter's patient endeavors. My initial two depictions as I review were "Blue Boy" and "Pinky," famous subjects of that time. Neither of them at any point graced anybody's dividers.

 PBN packs did not enchant everybody. A few pundits saw them as a type of thoughtless consistence of the majority by making a halfhearted effort of repetition and blank work that completely expelled the painter's innovativeness from the condition. Be that as it may, others found the ventures as interesting acquaintances with painting for individuals not comfortable with utilizing oil-based paint.

 As a general rule, the units offered a sliding scale trade off between complete imagination of painting freehand and having the security of a layout. Numerous individuals intentionally adjusted the guidelines and deliberately painted over lines, expelled explicit items from scenes and even changed shading plans, in this manner infusing a touch of creative energy into the task.

 The relationship with numbered sketches stretched out to the Eisenhower White House when then secretary Thomas Stephens gathered PBN compositions from staff individuals and companions and showed them in a West Wing passageway.

 The Paint By Number marvel began in 1950 when a Palmer Paint Company worker, Dan Robbins, conceived a shrewd method to enable his business to move more paint. It came at a helpful time on the grounds that after war America was encountering a sweet taste of the great life – extra time, expanded wages and a hunger for diversion.

 After a rough starting laden with various issues, the item encountered a transient move in prominence, moving in excess of 12 million packs somewhere in the range of 1951 and 1954. It was evaluated that amid this time American homes contained more PBN pictures than unique centerpieces.

 In the mid 1990s, following quite a while of decrease, the item turned up at ground zero and hinted at fame indeed. Today, the do-it-without anyone's help units can be found in the specialty segment of a few stores. Vintage artworks as often as possible are shown in old fashioned stores, scrounge deals, bug markets and sell-offs along these lines exhibiting their life span.

 During the 1950s, numerous Americans experienced passionate feelings for paint units called "paint by numbers" or "number painting." The packs accompanied a numbered easel that gave the craftsman directions on where to paint hues to make a picture. Would-be craftsmen would then drape their fine art in their homes and show them gladly to guests. A long time later, old paint by number works of art were concealed in carports or upper rooms to be found by who and what is to come. In the event that you have as of late rediscovered an old paint by number picture, clean it and hang it up.Lay the work of art on a level surface like a table. Work under great lighting. Outside lighting functions admirably for this venture.

 Lay a drop material on the ground around and under the table to gather the bread pieces.

 Fellowship into equal parts. Haul out the inward piece of the bread, the milder the better.Rub the artistic creation with a little bit of bread, beginning at the upper-left corner utilizing light weight. The soil will gather on the batter. Keep on utilizing bits of the batter, not the covering, to clean the depiction tenderly.

 Brush the whole painting with a delicate, unused paintbrush to expel crumbs.Behind a cascade dresser in my office, I have a little however developing gathering of paint-by-number workmanship. Why? Since sometime in the not so distant future, when our storm cellar remodel is finished, I plan on showing them, display style.

 I saw the thought in a home stylistic theme magazine a couple of years prior, and it made me grin. Paint-by-number workmanship has that impact on me. Its somewhat shortsighted version of lovely scenes and simple to-perceive style has a fun loving method for saying, "Truly, I am workmanship anybody can paint — even you!" However, for my situation, it would not be me. I'm aesthetic with unmistakable mediums, similar to texture. In any case, put a paintbrush or pencil in my grasp, and the completed item isn't fit to hang in a third-grade classroom.

 The moving article highlighted an originator's home. He had filled a divider behind the lair sofa with paint-by-number bits everything being equal and topic. It was comfortable in a very kitsch way.

 My gathering started with a little secured extension painting I found at a neighborhood thrift shop, and it's becoming gradually — supported by an ongoing Hidd.

The authorized Paint Liner Kit is the easy to use paint system that gives you capable looking results and extras you up to 70% off of your paint time. Achieve amazingly sharp corners and edges with the Paint Liner Kit. The liner is free, re-usable and mobile to make capable looking results the width required so your corners are continually accurate and clean without using veiling tape. The Paint Liner Kit roller featuring a secured edger empowers you to perfectly connect with the liner. Fill the roller with paint and make the perfect edgeNo painting aptitudes are required to start painting without DIY painting packs. Our Kit contains all that you need to start whirling the brush around. Lets disclose to you the most ideal approach to get started.Order a unit. Normal size for most painting units is 40X50 Cm or 16X20 In. You will get paints, brushes, canvas, screws, catches and guide card. It is recommended to mastermind a packaging with canvas.tretch the canvas. Set up your instruments. Have a bowl of water close by for washing brushes. Match the number from the canvas with the paint and start painting. Starting from the most elevated purpose of canvas is recommended.Step by step and number by number when you have completed it, you will be stunned by its perfection. Packaging it, hang it, see it and smile :) charitable better trust it, make sure to send us a photo review.What is Painting by Numbers?

  Painting on a canvas by numbers is essential and extraordinarily ground-breaking activity. The pioneer of this activity is the outstanding Leonardo Da Vinci. He asked for that his understudies organize the paints with numbers and complete crafted by workmanship. This exhibits practicing a workmanship is progressively valuable in learning it when appeared differently in relation to getting some answers concerning it.Put your gave canvas on a table. Take out the gave paint, brushes and present yourself with some coffeeTake your time and paint inside the numbered fields on the canvas. Loosen up and see your creation come to lifeDecorate your receiving area with your canvas or gift it to a sidekick. Incredible work!Canvas DIY Paint by Numbers Kit is the perfect preamble to painting to anyone paying little admiration to the age and experience. Paint your own one of a kind divider craftsmanship and edge them to be a stunning accent to your home or officeOur pets are such a fortune to us! I am pet expert and I warmly hand paint awesome custom pet pictures from a photo, paying little mind to whether it

[itsworn]

68 Years Later Russ Aves Still Tinkers With 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe

Surrounded by the tools, spare parts, motors draped with canvas, and memorabilia that have taken a lifetime to collect sits the youngest member of the Clockers hot rod club from Culver City, California. At least in his mind he is. In reality, Russ Aves is 83 years old. But you’d never know it when he puts his foot on the gas of the three-window Deuce he has owned for 68 years. When he does, you can still see the spark in his eyes that signals mischief.

At age 15, when his mom was conveniently out of town, Aves bought a “nondescript” green ’32 Ford, stock “except for 15-inch wheels,” from Blessing’s Auto Sales on Wilshire Boulevard for $75. He says, “I was $35 short, so my neighbor not only loaned me the money, she signed a waiver for an underage kid to buy a car. I had to get my friend Bob Claypool to drive it home for me. I didn’t have my license yet.”

Russ Aves’ three-window coupe has gone through several incarnations since he bought it in 1950. The present-day version harkens back to the days when he bought it as a teenager, with a few contemporary upgrades.

His mother “didn’t like the car idea too much.” Fortunately for Aves, he says that “a few months later, when I got my license, she started giving me a dollar a week for gas to drive my brother to school. So I guess that worked out.”

It was the beginning of a story that defines the man. His Deuce has been with him longer than anything in his life. It’s his best friend, his partner in crime, and the car that has thrilled anyone who has been lucky enough to take a ride in it or just see it rolling down the road.

Russ and his coupe in 1955, after he installed the small-block Chevy V8. “It was cool to run no hubcaps in the back,” he says. “It meant you were ready to put on your slicks and go racing.”

The coupe has been through several incarnations in the last 68 years. It has been drag raced, was featured in HOT ROD magazine in 1960, and has won multiple awards at auto shows.

“There isn’t anything on that car I didn’t do myself,” Aves says. This includes the motor, channeling, the interior, chrome plating, and the paint—everything right down to pinstriping.

Aves drag racing the coupe in San Luis Obispo in 1958.

Within hours of owning the coupe, Aves stripped the fenders off and started working. While still in high school, he channeled the car 2 1/2 inches. He then installed a Lee Stewart Dago axle, still on the car to this day, which he bought from a junkyard for $10. It provides an additional 3 1/2 inches of drop to the front end and gives the car its unique stance. “It was bent when I bought it, so I took it to shop class. With a little heat and a protractor, it was good as new.”

Aves says, “Those polished wishbones you see on the car all started with a piece of paper and pencil in high school. I finally made them at Santa Monica Junior College, where I learned to weld.”

The coupe was featured in the March 1960 HOT ROD. Aves’ goals for the car were “efficiency plus good looks,” said the article, words that remain true nearly 60 years later.

He remembers painting the firewall white by masking it off and using a sprayer he built from a glass jar and a mister powered by his mother’s Electrolux. Eventually he painted the entire car white with the help of his friends from the Clockers (named after the Clock drive-in in Culver City where they used to hang out) with the same spray gun. Years later the car was painted a deep purple color he had custom blended.

When Russ wanted to pinstripe the car, he couldn’t afford to have Von Dutch do the job. “I bought him a hot dog, and we climbed under the car. He showed me his craft as he pinstriped the rearend for me. I figured out the rest from there.”

The 1980s revamp of the coupe took Aves a few years. This 1994 photo shows him stripping the custom purple paint before he sprayed on a custom green inspired by a color he saw on a Rolls Royce.

Aves learned how to do interior work while working at a local Chevy dealership doing dealer prep and small repairs. “When it was time to do my interior, I bought a Singer sewing machine from the L.A. city school system for $28 and made my own. The only detail in the interior I couldn’t do was the stitching on the door panels. I had those done by a local shop. It’s best to know your limitations.”

When Aves bought the car it had the 21-stud flathead in it with an aluminum pan. Since then the car has had several different powerplants, everything from a Studebaker with a Caddy crank to the Ford Z-block flathead it has today. The drivetrain is ’39 Ford with stock ’39 linkage, a Schaffer clutch, and a shortened driveshaft made in Aves’ garage.

By 1996 the coupe’s makeover was finished.

While he was working at the Chevy dealer in 1954, Chevrolet announced the new 265 V8 for 1955. “I couldn’t buy the motor complete, so I bought it in pieces and assembled it myself. Once built, I dropped it in the Deuce. It may very well be the first small-block Chevy ever dropped into a Deuce coupe. I still have the motor stamped with the number 1 in the block.”

Of course, stock wouldn’t do for Aves. He installed an Edelbrock triple manifold to accommodate the three Rochester carb setup he wanted. “I then asked Ed Iskenderian to build a camshaft for the car. Since the motor had not been released from Chevrolet yet, Ed had to custom build it. I gave him the heads off the motor so he could work out the proper valve ratios. That little exercise may well have been the start of the famous E2 roller cam.”

Aves has run a number of engines in his coupe over the years. When he revamped the car in the 1980s he returned it to flathead power, building the motor using a Z block.

In 1986, Aves felt it was time to go through the car again and make some updates. “I changed a few things in the process. I fell in love with a color I saw on a Rolls Royce. It was a rich deep green. I reproduced the color by mixing cobalt blue and orange together. It still boggles my mind that there is no green in the paint itself.”

He reupholstered the interior in dark brown leather. “While rummaging through a local junkyard, I spotted a Mazda Miata that had a really cool steering wheel and column. It was a banjo-style wheel that really worked with the vintage car. I topped it off with a Gilmore Oil emblem I affixed in the middle of the horn button. That little piece really finished it off. It sounds like a crazy setup, but everything fits like a glove and offers the perfect combination of old and new without looking out of place. I also changed the windows to power and used Lincoln window switches that are very discrete and integrated into the door panels.”

Topping the flat motor is a Navarro intake with four Rochester carburetors. “I went with the Rochesters because those are the carbs I learned to work on back at the Chevy dealer when I was a kid. It’s really easy for me to work on them and get them leaned out just right.”

Aves created an electric emergency brake using a GM power-window-gear setup.

It was also time for a motor change. “I really loved the thought of putting a flathead back in the car to bring it back to the way it was when I found it, but with a new twist. The car now has a Ford Z block in it. The Z block is a Canadian truck motor flathead with lots of torque. It has a Navarro intake with four Rochester carbs. The distributor is stock Ford, but those headers are all custom.”

Aves reupholstered the seats in dark brown leather during the car’s freshening. As for that old-school-looking banjo steering wheel, it’s from a Mazda Miata. The Gilmore horn button adds to the vintage look.

Aves also installed an electric antenna and a CB radio, and “remote hood releases using gas door latches that I release with a small button under the dash. I never like knobs or switches that stand out and end up giving you a headache. I also installed Corvette license plate lights on the bottom of the doors that now act as courtesy lights activated by opening the doors.”

Russ Aves’ car represents a lifetime of work and constant enjoyment. It’s the culmination of everything he has learned and an expression of who he is. This Deuce continues to put a smile on the face of anyone who sees him coming or going. But if you see him on the road, don’t be surprised if you can’t catch him. Once you see that spark in his eye, you know he’s bound to put his foot in it.

The instrument panel came out of a ’71 Chevy Impala. It “worked perfect” in the coupe’s ’40 Ford dash and “gave it an updated look without looking out of place,” says Aves.

Aves integrated Corvette license plate lights into the bottoms of the doors to act as courtesy lights.

Aves sectioned the grille 3 1/2 inches. “After lowering the grille, I had to create a custom headlight bar, which also lowered the lights 3 1/2 inches to match the new grille height.” Aves says that during the 1980s revamp he “was also tired of the directionals, so I found a pair of GM marker lamps that I embedded into the radiator shell. They’re very discrete. I guess you could call that custom.”

The Lee Stewart 3 1/2-inch dropped axle helps give the Deuce its signature stance. Front springs are stock ’32 Ford, brakes are ’58 Buick. In back is a ’39 Ford rearend with a 3.78 gear ratio and ’48 Lincoln brakes.

Aves sketched out his wishbones in high school, then made them after he learned how to weld at Santa Monica City College.

The hot rod club Aves belonged to got its name from the Clock drive-in restaurant in Culver City where the guys used to hang out.

Aves still has the business end of the makeshift spray gun he used to paint his car. Instead of a compressor, he hooked it up to his mother’s vacuum cleaner.

After 68 years, Aves still drives his Deuce and still tinkers with it. “There’s always something new, to this day,” he says. He calls the buildup “ongoing.”

  Inside the Shop Russ Aves’ shop space, like his Ford coupe, is a symbol of his hard work. It reflects the rebel who built it all from scratch with his bare hands.

The post 68 Years Later Russ Aves Still Tinkers With 1932 Ford 3-Window Coupe appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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[jeremystrele]

The Tools I Use · Adnate, Artist

The Tools I Use · Adnate, Artist

Creative People

by Sally Tabart

Artist Matt Adnate painting the tallest mural in the Southern Hemisphere. Photo – Sam Wong.

With a background in street art, Adnate is self-taught in portraiture. Photo – Sam Wong.

The Collingwood Housing Estate featuring portraits of four of its residents. Photo – Sam Wong.

Laying down the base of Dulux Weathershield. Photo – Nicole Reed.

The massive mural on Wellington street. Pictured are residents Badria Abdo from Oromia, Ethiopia who lives with disability restrictions and came to Australia as a refugee in 2006, and Arden Warson-Cropley, a 6-year-old being raised by a single mother. Photo – Nicole Reed.

Starting out as a graffiti artist, Adnate painted letters for a decade before he moved into portraiture. ‘I tried to go to uni and finish art courses, but it didn’t really go very far’, he tells me over the phone as he warmed up bottles for his new baby (who was born right in the middle this project!), ‘I realised that the only way I would be a full time artist would be if I pushed myself without anyone else’s help’.

The self-taught artist’s unbelievably realistic portraiture can be seen in car parks, libraries, trucks, buildings and silos all over the world. But his latest project really takes things up a notch – or, up 20 storeys, to be precise.  In one of the largest community arts projects in Australia’s history, Adnate has teamed up with Minister for Planning, Richard Wynne MP, and Melbourne street-art collective Juddy Roller to bring to life this unique community-centred art project in Collingwood.

Living in Melbourne, street art in its many forms is part of our city’s distinct aesthetic. Tours through our graffiti-lined laneways are conducted for hundreds of tourists every day, we have entire organisations dedicated to finding opportunities for artists, and our government even commissions larger-than-life pieces.

Despite its prevalence in Melbourne’s everyday life, I’ve never really given much thought to the impact of the large-scale murals that colour our city. When photographer Sam Wong and I went down to the Collingwood flats to photograph Adnate a couple of weeks ago for this story, I was struck by how engaged the community was with the project. People slowed down, hung around and yelled out of cars. Some tell me they’d come by every day to check what new progress had been made. ‘It’s bloody awesome, right?!’ a mother with a young son who lives in the building asked me rhetorically as together we watched Adnate, his assistant and our photographer Sam suspended high above the street.

Yep. It’s bloody awesome. Here’s how Adnate does it.

Photo – Sam Wong.

Photo – Sam Wong.

Incredible detail on the textured wall. Photo – Sam Wong.

Photo – Sam Wong.

The tools i use · ADNATE

1. Dulux Weathershield Paint

Spray paint is very thin –it’s not a self-priming paint – so you’ve got to put house paint on raw surfaces first. For me, Dulux Weathershield is number one in its priming coverage. The other thing is that it has really beautiful colours. To get those really rich, bright colours I get the original colours before they’re mixed. The other brands don’t actually do that – it’s pretty electric when you work with it.

Find it here. 

2. 3M Full Face Respirator

When you paint, you don’t just ingest it through your mouth and your nose, which is what a standard respirator covers, to protect your lungs, but you actually absorb a lot through your eyes as well. Working at that scale, when blasting paint up into the air all day, it just drops back on your face and gets into your eyes. If I’m doing that five or six days a week for a month, that’s a lot of paint going into my system. I’ve got to be really careful with that because paint is so toxic.

Find it here. 

3. Montana GOLD Spray Cans

Spray paint is the medium I’m most comfortable with. I used it for years before I ever started painted portraits – if you give me a brush or acrylics or oils it won’t have the same level of quality as what I can do with a spray can. In the last 8 years I’ve been working with Montana GOLD, which is the most premium spray paint in the world.

It comes from Germany and it’s got awesome valve pressure, so it comes out really smooth and clean, but the colour choices are probably my favourite thing. It’s got all the skin tones – they were designed by Maclaim Crew in the early 2000s, who were the first guys doing realistic portraiture coming out of Germany. The did a very good job of choosing all the right kinds of colours for this kind of work.

Find it here. 

4. Astro Fat Caps

They come in different strengths and sizes. Working at this scale the only caps that are really worth working with are the astro caps, which are the biggest caps you can get. When you’re at that scale, a massive fat cap just looks like a tiny thin pencil line. When I’m working on canvas I’ll use a whole different range from skinny to fat.

Find it here. 

Adnate suspended above the city. Photo – Sam Wong.

Photo – Sam Wong.

Portrait of Badria Abdo from Oromia, Ethiopia who lives with disability restrictions and came to Australia as a refugee in 2006. Photo – Sam Wong.

Adnate uses Montana GOLD for their paint quality and range of colours. Photo – Sam Wong.

View from the top. Photo – Sam Wong.

ADNATE’S TOP shops and Tips

Best place to shop for gear?

I get the spray paint directly from the distributor, Rossdale, but you can buy Montana GOLD at a good price from Officeworks. I get the respirators from BOC Gas stores, but you can buy them online too.

Inspiring references?

I look at a lot of photography, like Steve McCurry who took the famous ‘Afghan Girl‘ photo. His work has always been really inspirational to me. I also look at different painting techniques – people who create portraiture in abstract ways, not just hyperrealism. I like it when artists combine other techniques to create strong portraits. 

What do you listen to when you work?

I listen to music full-time. It’s my biggest energy drive and thing that gets me going the most. When I’m painting 8 or 10 hours a day, I need music. It’s my number one inspiration over any other sort of art. I chew through so much music – I find a sound I like in every single style – everything from electronic, jungle, drum and bass to hip hop, soul and funk. It’s very eclectic and can vary quite rapidly. I listen to a radio show every week that pinpoints where I’m at, run by a guy called Benji B on Radio 1.

What’s something you wish you’d known before you learnt it the hard way?

Self motivation is the biggest thing. You can’t learn that in school or anywhere else. That’s where I’ve taken the biggest leaps and bounds. I never learnt portraiture, I taught myself. It means I have my own practice and way of doing things – I don’t have to rely on a method anyone else taught me.

Catch Adnate on Instagram and check out his website for other work. You can see the impressive mural for yourself on at the Collingwood Housing Estate, on the corners of Wellington and Vere Streets.