Overspray: Riding High with the Kings of California Airbrush Art [Hardcover]

Norman Hathaway (Author), Mike Salisbury (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2008

Overspray is the conclusive account of the rise of airbrush art, and of the equally bright and glossy Los Angeles culture alongside which it came to prominence in the 1970s. Inspired by surf graphics, psychadelia and the slick shine of Hollywood, a generation of young artists began to make every lip and palm tree glisten, and every record cover shine. Fueled by a combination of intense demand, sleepless nights and brutal competition, the four men at the center of L.A.'s airbrush art market--Charles E. White III, Peter Palombi, Dave Willardson and Peter Lloyd--embarked on careers encompassing work for Playboy, Levi's, the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart and major studio films including American Graffiti and Tron. Together, their work came to define the look of illustrative graphics for a generation of viewers. This book tells the story of these four artists for the first time through hundreds of images of the artists' best and best-known work, unseen production roughs, documentary photographs and other ephemera. Viewed now, their surreal, funny and utterly slick imagery seems all the more fantastic--combining technical precision with wild flights of imagination that bring to mind the work of some of today's top artists, from Takashi Murakami to Matthew Barney. Essay by Mike Salisbury, acclaimed designer of everything from Disney logos to Jurassic Park ad campaigns to Sassy magazine.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book contains many of the most memorable examples from four prolific air-brushers. Technique abounds here, with each artist trying to outdo the next in shimmering highlights or syrupy goo." -- Steven Heller --The New York Times Book Review, December 7, 2008

"This year's prize for curatorial revival of a willfully forgotten (and, for many, still difficult) niche of L.A. art history goes to author Norman Hathaway's book Overspray (Picturebox), which chronicles the rise and fall of the glistening, coke-fueled airbrush-illustration movement that emerged here and briefly dominated the popular visual landscape with oozing Chris' Big Cherry candies and gargantuan Rod Stewarts. Pop at its most unironic pinnacle." -- LA Weekly --LA Weekly, December 18, 2008

About the Author

From Michael Jackson to Rolling Stone to Levi's 501 Jeans, Mike Salisbury has been responsible for the success of many of the most successful pop icons of our time. He has designed corporate logos for Hasbro, Disney, and Polygram, advertising campaigns for Jurassic Park, Aliens, VW and Levi's packages for Mattel Toys and Kirin Beer, and products for Suziki and Honda. Salisbury has either designed from scratch or redesigned such publications as Rolling Stone, Playboy, West, Westways, Surfer, Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Sassy, the San Francisco Examiner and the Los Angeles Times. Mike has won virtually every award for design on the planet including a Grammy and his work is in the Smithsonian and Library of Congress. His photographs have been published in Rolling Stone, Time, Newsweek, Vogue, Men's Journal, and Forbes, and are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 226 pages
• Publisher: PictureBox (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979415306
• ISBN-13: 978-0979415302
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 9.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,261,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Norman Hathaway is an art director and design historian whose primary focus is underappreciated design personalities and techniques. He has led creative efforts for The Design Museum, The Royal Academy of Arts and Paul McCartney. He has lectured widely on the history of design and typography for The London College of Printing, The Royal College of Art and Goldsmiths College. He currently lives in Brooklyn with his daughter Wilma.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One word: WOW!, December 2, 2008

By 

B. Murray (FL, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Overspray: Riding High with the Kings of California Airbrush Art (Hardcover)

Never knew airbrush art could be so beautiful! Actually, never knew much about airbrush art at all! This book really opened my eyes, and the accompanying blog ([...]) that shows how some of the work was restored is amazing... The Hall & Oates album cover really blew my mind! If you have any interest in art, design or record covers, this book is definitely worth checking out!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overspray 2?, December 2, 2008

By 

Monkeyfu (Oxford, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Overspray: Riding High with the Kings of California Airbrush Art (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book.
A timely visual celebration of airbrush mastery from a bygone era.
So nice to see all the greatest hits in 1 place.

I love the alternate covers, especially the Palombi 'This is why you're overweight' version. And let's not forget about the delicate blending of the caption art titles.
Crazy, sexy, cool.

Only thing that seems to be missing is Overspray 2

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very awesome indeed, December 2, 2008

By 

Jason Eng (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Overspray: Riding High with the Kings of California Airbrush Art (Hardcover)

I didn't realize how complicated, intriguing and amazing air brush art could be!

I just thought it would all be like those airbrushed t-shirts you get at Six Flags or something; crazy neon sunsets with black silhouette palm trees.

This book shows that air brush art is infinitely more interesting than that! It's a real art form!

Great artist bios and content, too. I approve!