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( 2.9 / 692 )I've realised why aircrew are so rarely depicted - the leather of their flying kit is very difficult to paint properly.
However, I'll finish it soon.
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( 3 / 638 )Just returned from a week in Cornwall. Had a good time with all the family but when you are half way through a painting it can be a bit frustrating.
I am working on a WOP/AG of 1940. It is based on the father of a close friend who flew in Fairey Battles during the fall of France. Obsolete planes manned by crews on a hiding to nothing. Ron, the father, was comparatively lucky, he spent 5 years as a POW after his plane was shot down. A lot of men were killed in those slow and ill-armed sitting targets. It all happened in the weeks before Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain and their part in the War has been sorely neglected.
And how often do you see paintings of aircrew - plenty of pics of planes. But they just provided the seats for the fliers.
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( 3 / 612 )I’ve just completed a large scale commission (for me - six figures and a landscape and larger than A3 in size). It depicts the 20th (XXth) Regiment on the eve of the Battle of Minden in 1759. The addition of the wild roses they picked on the way was interesting and allowed for some decorative elements in the painting. Although it was painted in gouache, which was a requirement of the client, I would do a similar piece in oils in the future. It would give a different quality and allow me to work in a livelier way. Which would be good.
I have started on a series of Napoleonic figures for a long standing client who delights in setting me problems. Which I enjoy to varying degrees. The interesting parts are challenging poses and, sometimes, less common uniforms combined with a willingness to indulge me in uniform depredation. I do need to explore some more dramatic poses but I don’t want to lose the day to day view of the soldier’s life. War being 90% boredom and only 10% action (fear).
I am planning a painting of an R.A.F. ground crew figure. It is based on the late father of a friend who’s diary relates his central involvement in the supply of Spitfires from HMS Eagle to Malta in 1942. There is a general tendency to concentrate on military figures and I think that we should give more credit to the other services. Has anyone got any information on the R.A.F. overalls/work wear worn in the Mediterranean theatre?
Skirmish has produced prints of several of my figures, most of which have appeared in the magazine. They are larger than the originals but have come up well and the details have held.
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( 2.8 / 498 )I must admit that the artwork has taken a back seat recently. I've got 600 setts (cobbles) to lay in the garden and it is proving time consuming. Not that I'm not thinking about the Napoleonic figures, some time away from it is allowing them to firm up in my mind and for me to consider alternatives. So, a change is as good as a rest. Back to it soon.
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