Seeing spots part 2.5 - more dapple advice

I've just been asked a question about dappling via email that I'd like to share the answer to here. The artist asked for help in achieving the fine line needed to make the flowers. Like myself, she is using an Iwata Eclipse airbrush (As far as I'm concerned, there is no other brand. If you are using one of those clunkers that starts with the letter, B, P, or A, you have my sympathies.) and the following advice is geared to that brand:

Is your Iwata one of the gravity fed models? Gravity fed makes everything easier in my opinion. Assuming it is, step one with any airbrush issue is always to give the airbrush a thorough cleaning. Disassemble it and soak all of the parts in a mix of hot water and brush soap (I like Mona Lisa's Pink Soap which you can find at Michael's) for anywhere from a couple of hours to overnight. Then get in there with a paint brush or a pipe cleaner or an old needle or whatever it takes and get every bit of old paint out. Also, I will occasionally send mine back to the Iwata factory for a tune up which isn't terribly expensive.

Once the airbrush is pristine, it's time to start blaming the paint. What brand of paint are you using? I use a bunch of different brands, but they all need to be diluted except for the Golden Airbrush Paints. Your paint may be too thick (or too thin). Adjust the paint accordingly and try again.

If you can't blame the airbrush or the paint, it's finally time to look closer to home. The trick to getting a really fine line is balance. You need to find the sweet spot between pressing down for air pressure and back for paint release. I tend to go a little strong on the air and light on the paint. Sometimes it helps to blast a bunch of paint through in a broad spray to get things flowing and then back off until you get to a thinner line.

You can save yourself a lot of stress by practicing on paper instead of horses. I always start my line on the newspapers until I get it to the right size and then move over to the horse without taking my finger out of position. I never start drawing directly on the horse. That way lies madness. Please don't picture me just blissfully painting away with a tiny thin line the whole time. I lose it and have to go back to the paper about a hundred times in the course of a traditional paint job. Also, don't beat yourself up about keeping the line even, nothing in nature is really even. If you take a close look at my Scarlett, you'll see that there are plenty of splotchy areas among the flowers.

Your mantras here are clean, clean, clean, and practice, practice, practice!

Good luck and let me know if you are still having trouble!

Cara