A YARRA Valley airbrush artist is in demand, writes KATE ADAMSON
Nothing makes Lynette Orzlowski happier than people mistaking her paintings for photos.
The Yarra Valley airbrush artist strives to create works that look exactly like the real thing.
"I love having people look at a painting in awe - the excitement they get when they find out it's painted and it's not just a photo," Lynette says.
A signwriter by trade, Lynette discovered airbrush painting when it was being demonstrated at a hot-rod show 12 years ago.
"I thought, 'wow, these guys are getting photo-realism out of it', and that's exactly what I wanted to do with my art."
She's since discovered there's no limit to painting with an airbrush, a small pen-like tool with a paint pot on top, that is fuelled by an air compressor and creates fine lines on a canvas.
Lynette has painted on trucks, boats, Harley-Davidsons, jet skis and surfboards.
"In the automotive industry and surfboard industry it's really, really big," she says.
"A lot of people with $50,000-$100,000 cars want graphics on them. We actually paint art on their car."
Lynette has even lent her skills to the movie industry, with airbrushing becoming a popular way to apply special-effects make-up.
"Even the beauty industry is bringing in airbrush make-up," she says.
"Think of people like Bert Newton. They get their makeup airbrushed on for a more natural look."
Lynette grew up on a farm at Seville, in the Yarra Valley, and she loves horses, which feature in many of her paintings.
"When you look at a horse, you see muscles rippling. I just love their beauty," she says.
She also loves painting leopards, lions and other big cats.
"I've gone to the zoo many a time to take photos of them," she says.
"There's a nobility to them."
Shirking the struggling artist tag, Lynette is flat out combining her airbrushing and signwriting skills.
Wineries, beauty salons, restaurants and clothing stores in the Yarra Valley feature Lynette's work on their signs, menus or walls.
Her skills are being noticed - Lynette will head to Las Vegas later this year to represent Australia among an international gathering of airbrush painters.
She was recently selected as one of 15 of the nation's top airbrush artists to paint a surfboard in a charity "spray off".
Lynette will be exhibiting her work for the first time at Domaine Chandon in the Yarra Valley from October 11-26.
"I think people will be surprised by it and I think they'll enjoy it," she says.
For details of her exhibition, phone 0408 382 309.
