Apr 19, 2021 General Meeting Presentation: Dru Blair

Our online presenter for the Apr 19, 2021 meeting was Dru Blair, internationally renowned South Carolina airbrush artist and instructor. If you have not seen his work, you are in for a real treat. Dru discussed his airbrush process and techniques as well as his international training program.

Dru was born in Newbern, NC., September 7. Growing up in Columbia, SC, his ambitions originally were directed toward a career in medicine. However, during his undergraduate studies at Furman University in Greenville, SC, he discovered an artistic ability. He switched majors his senior year and graduated with a BA. degree in art. He later found employment in Myrtle Beach, SC as an airbrush artist painting shirts. He continued his education at the University of South Carolina in Columbia earning a Masters Degree. He worked in Atlanta from transitioning to commercial illustration. In 1988 he won the National Airbrush Excellence Award, which ushered in a wave of commercial opportunities. The following year he produced his first aviation painting, "Power" which became the first of three Air Force Magazine covers and remains the number one selling aviation print in the world . Other aviation paintings followed the advent of his own publishing company, Blair Art Studios Inc., and more recently, the Blair School of Art in Blair, SC. Plans now are to found a college of photorealism in Winnsboro, SC to open in either 2014 or 2015.

Dru Blair is an Air Force Association Life Member, Honorary Member of the United States Air Force, Army Aviation Association of America Life Member , member of the North Carolina Association of Designers and Illustrators, member of the Air Force Art Program, member of the Graphic Artists Guild, Artist Fellow member of the American Society of Aviation Artists, and board member of the International Airbrush Association. He has been featured in television interviews and on dozens of magazine covers. His paintings can be found in hundreds of magazine and book publications. Commercial projects have included popular themes such as the Budweiser Bullfrogs . He has produced a half dozen instructional videos on airbrush techniques and is a featured lecturer at the World Airbrush Exposition. In march he was the Guest of Honor at the International Airbrush Forum held in Germany which drew over 10,000 artists from around the world. He was the official artist for Star Trek: Voyager book covers, as well as several of the other Star Trek licensees. Dru currently resides in Blair, South Carolina.

Partial client list: Budweiser, Continental Airlines, United Airlines, Proctor & Gamble, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Nabisco, Neutrogena, Rolling Rock Beer, Rockwell International, McDonnell Douglas, McDonalds, Mattel, USA Today, Turner Broadcasting System, Automobile Magazine, American Legion Magazine Airforce Magazine, American Helicopter Pilots Association Magazine, Texaco, Paramount Theme Park, Featured Cover Artist and contributing editor for Airbrush Magazine.

Equipment recommendations referenced during video:
• Airbrush by Iwata, Eclipse model with side cup
• Air Compressor by Silentaire

You can learn more about Dru on his websites (below) or shoot him an email at [email protected].

https://www.drublair.com/ (personal website) https://www.schoolofrealism.com/pages... (Blair Airbrush Studio) and https://www.creativeartsofmp.com/ (Charleston Art School)

Also, he is @Dru_Blair on Instagram.

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#ccal
#dru_blair