The end of day two saw us have a barbeque as another way to mingle and get to know each other. Cory has over 30 years’ experience behind him as an airbrush artist so not only attending but sitting beside him was unbelievable. The process he uses was very interesting, I had seen a number of his video tutorials but seeing it in the flesh was a different ball game altogether. Day twoĪgain with Cory Saint Clair, and we got down to painting almost immediately and using the stencil work from the day before. I have to say I was really impressed with the place, a bit old fashioned but very clean and extremely comfortable and being a vegetarian they were very accommodating. When I arrived, I was greeted by Jennifer, the woman that ran the B&B, who she showed me to my room for the next couple of days. The Howe B&B was a 5-minute drive away in an area called Broughshane in Ballymena. Swapping stories, hints and tips and getting a gauge of the level I was at.īy the end of the first day I was shattered and heading off to find my B&B was a welcome departure. Only getting to chat on line to like-minded artists, so meeting and chatting in person was a real buzz. It was really cool chatting to these people, I had lived in a bubble in relation to my airbrushing. Levels of skill varied as well as interests, because there were 3 workshops mine was photo realism, Tim Gore’s workshop was special effects prop painting and Craig Frasier’s class was custom graphics. I met people there from the UK, Ireland and Crete. The break for lunch provided an opportunity to get to know other artists attending and the tutors. It’s a time consuming process so we didn’t get any painting done on the first day. Not really the way I paint normally but I was there to learn. Part of Cory Saint Clair’s airbrushing technique is the use of a stencil of the image to be painted. When I found where I was supposed to be I introduced myself and found an empty seat and waited for the class to begin.Īs it turns out I ended up sitting beside Cory Saint Clair which was super exiting and yet intimidating at the same time, as I have admired his work for such a long time.Ī few days earlier, I was sent a copy of the image that we would be working on during the workshop, a comic book icon of the highest order “Wonder Woman” by DC Comics. Pulling up to SM Designs was a little unnerving, mainly because I was late and the last to arrive, I hate being late! The place was really cool, an old farmhouse just outside the town. Passing by lough Neagh was something else, I had never been up that part off the country so it was a weekend of many firsts. The trip after that went smooth enough though.

I managed to get lost while passing through Cavan, I was trying a short cut that didn’t quite work.

I hadn’t driven that distance in quite a while so even the road trip was a bit of an adventure. SM Designs is quite a long drive from Longford, three hours on the road. The idea of meeting and learning from these esteemed artists was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but also hanging out with other likeminded people was hugely exciting for me and this would be my first workshop related to airbrushing. I made the decision to book my place immediately. The workshop was being run in conjunction with Cory Saint Clair, Tim Gore and Craig Fraser as part of SM Designs birthday celebrations. He had just announced a new 3-day workshop he wanted to run and asked me if I was interested in taking part. Recently, while researching this, I was contacted by Mr Simon Murray from SM Designs in Ballymena. I had the privilege of meeting him recently when I participated in a workshop he was giving on photorealistic portrait painting.īeing a self-taught artist, myself, I am constantly trying to find new ways to improves my skills and techniques in my artistry. One of the artists I most admire and take inspiration from is an American airbrush artist, Mr Cory Saint Clair, who specialises in hyper realism.

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