Color in motion: spray payin artwork made in minutes

November 10, 2011 1:33 PM

If you think that airbrushed sci-fi landscapes like like this have been rendered obsolete by time-saving computer graphics, let Brandon McConnell prove otherwise. You can watch him make similar art in five minutes with a few cans of spray paint, magazines and the lid for a pot. Don't have enough time for that? How about a one minute sci-fi landscape? OK, let's go faster: here's a 45 second painting, and faster yet: a 39 second painting. But it's not all pyramids and planets, there are also quickly created nature scenes, and tutorial clips, within the collection of 184 videos uploaded to YouTube.
posted by filthy light thief (26 comments total)

Razza-frazza... spray payin? That should be spray paint.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:34 PM on November 10, 2011

Razza Frazza? Isn't that one of the few prog bands that still puts out records with airbrushed sci-fi landscape album covers?
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 1:36 PM on November 10, 2011

If I ever get a van, I'm totally calling this guy.
posted by schmod at 1:37 PM on November 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

Hmph. He's still no Bob Ross.
posted by Madamina at 1:37 PM on November 10, 2011 [3 favorites]

I've seen this done as street theater, complete with some techniques that involved a lighter - hella impressive, and the guy was selling each painting for $15, and getting tips for the performance to boot. Mostly space-scapes and eerie alien worlds, but he did whales and unicorns as well that were way more detailed than someone with a few spray-cans, newpapers and various pots and pans should be able to accomplish on the sidewalk.
posted by Slap*Happy at 1:39 PM on November 10, 2011 [2 favorites]

I'm gonna need to see some tiny figures staring at a spaceship that looks like it's made out of the collision of a freight-train and a tower block or it's all just background.
posted by Artw at 1:42 PM on November 10, 2011

I wanted to hire someone to airbrush my beige box PC when I assembled it a few years back. I never did, though. Eventually that box became a beige end-table (that still booted) until I left it on the street for someone to take.
posted by clvrmnky at 1:46 PM on November 10, 2011

Sometimes backdrop is enough - I can picture my own space-behemouths or dragon duels after a bit of contemplation. Or both... space behemouths belching out squadrons of dragons while hobbits in space-suits ascend the cliff-face pursued by orc-bots while Jethro Tull trills softly through strange atmospheres.
posted by Slap*Happy at 1:50 PM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Slap*Happy: I've seen this done as street theater, complete with some techniques that involved a lighter

Brandon does some of that lighter stuff, but I'm not sure what that does (besides looking dangerous/exciting). And apparently, he was inspired to start spray painting after seeing a similar street artist in Tijuana, and Brandon was selling artwork in local markets about a year later.


schmod: If I ever get a van, I'm totally calling this guy.

Why wait for a van? You can get your car airbrushed, and I think those examples are fairly recent.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:55 PM on November 10, 2011

All I'm thinking while watching the five minute painting is that the guy is pretty confident to be wearing a white shirt.
posted by mysterpigg at 2:02 PM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

I've seen this done as street theater, complete with some techniques that involved a lighter

Yeah, there was a while there when it seemed like every third busker was either an andean pan flute player, a guy painted silver pretending to be a statue, or a guy painting spacescapes with spray cans and pot lids.

It's been ages since I saw an andean pan flute player. I almost miss them.
posted by ook at 2:04 PM on November 10, 2011

Be honest. Who read that as "lid of pot?"
posted by Senor Cardgage at 2:20 PM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Hairspray, a lighter and felt pens can produce some interesting results - also fire damaged artwork, no eyebrows.
posted by Artw at 2:22 PM on November 10, 2011

Man, just watching this guy I can smell my brain cells dying by the millions.
posted by seanmpuckett at 2:54 PM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Those are some nice underpaintings. Dude should think about investing in some brushes and working them further once they've dried.
posted by egypturnash at 3:16 PM on November 10, 2011

Huh. I've been spending the last couple of weeks learning about airbrushing in preparation for a long Wisconsin winter spent inside with a new hobby.

As I watch these videos, I'm honestly not sure if I'm feeling inspired or deeply overwhelmed.
posted by quin at 3:20 PM on November 10, 2011

Yeah, there was a while there when it seemed like every third busker was either an andean pan flute player, a guy painted silver pretending to be a statue, or a guy painting spacescapes with spray cans and pot lids.

Just another Saturday afternoon in Harvard Square.
posted by briank at 3:37 PM on November 10, 2011

If this guy showed up at cons he'd make an absolute mint. Like, $20 for every ten minutes he was at the booth.
posted by valkyryn at 3:44 PM on November 10, 2011

Man, you do not want to hear me on comics art and crappy photoshop coloring tricks...
posted by Artw at 3:48 PM on November 10, 2011

Reminds me of this great answer regarding Shusei Nagaoka.
posted by exogenous at 4:19 PM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Thanks exogenous. I almost posted that myself :)
posted by Senor Cardgage at 6:51 PM on November 10, 2011

That's pretty fast, but Tony Hart from Vision On was the fastest.
posted by ovvl at 7:43 PM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

I dunno, man, I reckon Rolf could take him.
posted by Artw at 10:29 PM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

What is he sprinkling on to look like a spray of stars? Seems too fine to be paint.
posted by codswallop at 1:26 AM on November 11, 2011

I was prepared to dismiss this as tacky, but once I saw the close-up of the final result, I had to grudgingly admit it's pretty boss.

Especially if you are really fond of pyramids.
posted by BrashTech at 9:03 AM on November 11, 2011

codswallop: What is he sprinkling on to look like a spray of stars? Seems too fine to be paint.

Spray paint is really fine, considering that it is sprayed out of a tiny nozzle. I think he sprayed paint onto a toothbrush, and flicked paint out.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:03 AM on November 11, 2011