[Rourke]

Brilliant work as always Jef.

[Guest]

Great work Jef!

[Jef Aerosol]

thanks...

here are some of the stencils :

[Oliver Winconek]

Amazing work Jef, great to see some of the original stencils and the work that has gone into creating them. I love the boots, really feel it is one of your strongest pieces

Oliver

[GVD]

Looks cool Jeff, cool to see the actual stencil. But why do you keep changing the name of the thread, its like the fourth time i clicked this thinking, hey whats this!? haha ;D

Btw dont you find paper annoying to stencil with, i find that most papers are annoying to cut and start to curl after stencilling with it?

[jonpud]

Jef,

You know how much I admire your work! Your talent is something special, I personally rate you as the best stencil portrait painter out there and your recent work only supports my opinion,

The self portraits with arrows are stunning and I love the statue with the robin on it's shoulder! WOW!

Keep up the good work my friend! Keep posting the pics, never bored of seeing them!

Best wishes, Pud

[shaunyboy]

Superb Jef.

How the heck do those stencils hold together?

[gironawatch]

TOP work Jef.

[Jef Aerosol]

thanks mates... To answer some of your questions :

- yep, paper stencils are quite fragile and can't be used forever ! All my "street stencils" are made with thick 1,5mm card whereas the ones I only mean to use on canvas and in limited numbers can be made with thinner card.

- I like card and paper and I don't like using acetate or laminated paper, probably because I'be got used to card and paper (been using them for 25 years !)

- If I really like a stencil and it doesn't last long, I just re-cut a new one. For instance, my little robin bird is almost dead, after having been used only a dozen times or so, but I like it, so i guess I'll re-cut it. My large self portrait (the "blurtin out the truth" one) is now dead and I used it 6 times only, but I think i won't re-cut it, at least not in this 100x100cm size (maybe bigger and in thicker cardboard)

cheers
J

( ps : some new pics posted on my flickr in a minute or so !)

[low3]

May 28, 2008 12:00:31 GMT 1 Jef Aerosol said:

thanks...

here are some of the stencils :



Jeeeeeeesus Jef, i can't even begin to imagine how long it took to cut that out, you must have the patience of a saint!!!

[spirit]

That's some amazingly fine and delicate work Jef! I don't understand how you can apply the pressure to cut things that finely without the whole thing ripping apart in your hands - I guess that's where 25 years of practice comes in! - along with regular changing of scalpel blades...

[Jef Aerosol]

well, the regular change of scalpel blade is very important (or the cutting of the blade for long blade ordinary/cheap cutters, I use them a lot)...
With a good blade, no "pressure" is necessary and there's no risk of "ripping apart"...
As far as time is concerned, I usually start a stencil, then do something else, then get back to it for a few minutes, etc... And the whole thing is soon done... Works better for me this way than starting in the morning and working till it's finished without stopping a minute !
Only time when I can keep cutting for hours is at night, I love the silence of the wee hours...

[Jef Aerosol]

a scalpel / precision knife on ebay - never heard of that brand but looks quite interesting and cheap : cgi.ebay.co.uk/CRAFT-SCALPEL-CUTTING-KNIFE-WITH-BLADES_W0QQitemZ180253520964QQcmdZViewItem?IMSfp=TL0806131247a8584

I use the Leroy-Merlin scalpel which is very good : very cheap and very cheap blades too, much cheaper than X-acto which is very expensive.
here it is :
www.leroymerlin.fr/mpng2-front/pre?zone=zonecatalogue&renderall=on&idLSPub=1049087675&idEIPub=1050077594

[mj]

Amazing work as always Jef.
How can I get the Ian Curtis or Johnny Rotten on cardbord.

[Heavyconsumer]

What! Seeing the stencil for the boots really adds to my respect and appreciation for the pieces/end products, which I already liked a lot. I can't imagine how the paper doesn't rip and tear while you're working on the finer details. My guess is that you have to cut sections in a fairly specific order to avoid destroying the stencil and starting again.

[Jef Aerosol]

well... not really ! No specific order... it's only cutting what has to be cut, just need to be patient and precise and a bit of experience, but nothing really complicated... Have a try some day and you'll see it quite simple, really ! (oops, I guess I shouldn't say such things ! lol !)

[ricobenfico]

For someone that is fairly new to all this, I think it's absolutely wicked seeing the stencil and tools used to create the final pieces.. Jeff, as others have said, you are a very talented man! And you say it's quite simple really....for you maybe!!! Keep up the great work, hopefully someday in the not too distant future I'll have an Aerosol on my wall! (Next to the other aerosol's that are family and friends)

[GVD]

Jun 16, 2008 20:42:00 GMT 1 Jef Aerosol said:

Have a try some day and you'll see it quite simple, really ! (oops, I guess I shouldn't say such things ! lol !)

hahah shhhhh . Thats a secret of the trade ;D .

[tatboy]

just wanted to reiterate several points .. first of all ... brilliant and impressive work .. and mad moreso by you displaying your 'tools of the trade' ... well done mate ... one hell of an artist!

[Moron]

Hey Jef, How do you stecil such detail in the above print? I have seen a few prnts with (frankly) amazing detail. I have alwys wondered how this is achieved. Is it based off three stecils?

[bmjt]

Laser cutting? Must be used by some artists, i've used one for models, cut to 0.1 of a mill.

[Jef Aerosol]

I only recently heard of "laser cutting" here on this forum ! Sounds crazy ! I've stuck to my good old cutters and card since 82 and don't think I'll change... And the cutting is a step I enjoy a lot, so I won't let a "laser" steal that pleasure from me !

Moron, to answer your question : you're talking about the doc Marten painting, aren't you ?
The first layer is the whole silhouette (black), then I paint the second layer (dark grey), then the third layer (light grey), then the fourth layer (white), then I had a fifth layer for just a few details in black.
(in the two photos above, you can see the dark grey and the light grey stencils)

[Jef Aerosol]

About intricate cutting and multi layered stencils : I've often stated it here but am repeating that for me the technical side, skill and intricacy should never be priorities. Cutting a complex stencil for the sake of its complexity is pointless. I sometimes cut very simple one or two layer stencils (especially for my life size street stencils) and the only target is the effect they produce, the feelings they express, the emotions they convey... Some very simple stencils are extremely strong and powerful and impressive while some incredibly intricate ones just don't "work" ... When I cut more complex stencils, it's always because I want to achieve some specific effect, not to show some "ability"... An image should impress with its contents, not with the way it was realized.
And, once again, I'd also like to stress the fact that for me emotion is more important than message...

[Jef Aerosol]

A reminder, as there doesn't seem to have any publicity about it on here from Opus :
www.opusunderground.com/artists/JefAerosol/1909

The edition or originals of that pic (Doc Martens & Bird) did come out (in august 2007) and they are still available thru Opus.
Maybe the midst of the summer wasn't the right period and neither Opus or myself publicized that on the forums...
So here's the info :
It's an edition of 11 originals on brown paper, signed, dated and numbered. All hand sprayed. All different backgrounds stains and drips and various red arrow locations.



Some of you seemed to be awaiting for that print, from what I could read in the thread and from some pms I got, so I thought this reminder could be useful !

peace out
J

[Jef Aerosol]

May 26, 2008 15:05:23 GMT 1 snakes said:

May 26, 2008 10:38:44 GMT 1 Jef Aerosol said:

which one, Snakes ? The boots ?
I intend to paint an edition of originals of the boots on paper (probably edition of 15, maybe 20, size about 60 x 50 cm) that will be available thru Opus Underground this summer.
I'm not sure yet about the bird or not, and am also hesitating between plain white paper, brown wrapping paper, or hand-stained white paper...
suggestions ?

This is what I came up to on light brown hand stained paper, size 50x65cm :

This one I like very much ... One mans old boots can be another families new home!

This one will be exhibited and available at the 12daysofXmas show in Bristol, from tonight on...

[Jef Aerosol]

May 25, 2008 21:54:18 GMT 1 snakes said:

... this one from your link is lovely

this one on canvas (60x60cm) is available thru Stencil history X :

[e-mail]

[Jef Aerosol]

Here are the 11 pieces :



don't pm me if interested, please, but get in touch with Opus directly :
www.opusunderground.com/artists/JefAerosol

thanks

[Guy Denning]

Met up with Jef last week - top bloke! We did of course discuss the finer issues...