Q & A With Featured Airbrush Artist

Marge did such a great job with her how to article in issue #14 we thought you our readers would like to know more about her.

My name is Marjorie Cameron, but everyone calls me “Marge”. I’m married and have been living in Salem, Ohio, since the fall of 2003, to be near my husband’s family and raise our baby daughter. My own family is a bit scattered, but most of them are still in Wisconsin, my home state. And yes, I love cheese!

When did you become interested in art and when did it become a passion with you?

I guess I’ve been interested in art since day one. My first word was “free-ee”, which meant “pretty”. I loved to draw on the walls and furniture. It wasn’t a consuming kind of thing until my high school years, though. I would hole myself up in my room and draw pictures of big cats and dragons and never know an entire day or night went by.

What sparked your interested in the arts? (art show, books, movie, friend, family, teacher?) At what age? There were a lot of people influencing my interest. When I was about 10, my uncle was in a play about Harvey the Rabbit. They needed a portrait of a stately gentleman rabbit in a vest, and they asked me if I would do them the honor of painting it. I was beside myself with rapture when I thought of all the people who might see my painting up on stage. I pretty much knew by then that I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. My parents also played a big role. I think I was in junior high when my dad started taking the family to Wausau once a year to see the Birds In Art show at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. Walking through the sculpture garden into the galler- ies was like a holy man walking through the Vatican, I suppose. I was in awe of the artwork. I still try to go when I can, but it’s a lot harder these days.

Is the rest of your family artistic?

There’s a lot of artistic talent in my family, both visual and musi- cal. My father is a photographer, and my mother can sew the most beautiful things. Many of my relatives are or were accom- plished musicians. Drawing, music and writing all run deeply on both sides of the family.

When you started out it looks as though it might have been more in the fine art than airbrushing, correct? Did you go to art

The following are some questions we put to Marge and her an- swers.

school or where you self-taught?

A little of both; I had won a partial scholarship to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, but couldn’t cough up enough dough to go. So I went to my local college at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art. That was pretty much a love/hate relationship. I had to take semesters off all the time to work and save up more tuition money. This didn’t go over too well with some of my instructors. I finally got so frustrated, I quit for good my senior year. My fa- vorite professor, Anders Shafer, taught me more than anyone else, and was the only one who fully supported and understood me. It was his belief in my abilities that kept me from completely giving up a career in art. Unfortunately, no college classes ever taught me all I had to learn the hard way about actually make a living with art in the real world. Experience has been the best (and toughest) teacher.

What did you start your career as an artist painting, subject matter?

Well, I had hoped it would be wildlife paintings in galleries and scientific illustrations in books. That’s all I did, plus fantasy stuff, when I painted for myself. I sold a few drawings of mythical crit- ters at summer art fairs, but I never made a career of it. My first “art career” money was after I started shooting t-shirts. I realized I could get $50 to $200 to paint wildlife and pet por- traits on sweatshirts and people’s jackets. Getting a hundred dollar bill was like hitting the lottery back then.

What inspired you pick up the airbrush?

Same things that drive most college kids... sex and money! Seri- ously though, there was this guy, Mark Nelson, in my advanced oil painting class that I always thought was kind of cute. He heard me arguing with my instructor about having to work instead of spending time in the studio, so one day he asked me if I wanted to learn how to airbrush during Christmas break. He and this other guy were going to apply for jobs painting shirts down near Chicago over the summer. He said it was good money, enough to cover several semesters at once, and thought that maybe I’d like to try out with them. I jumped at it. I didn’t even know what an airbrush looked like, but at least I was going to get to hang out with the cute guy! Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32