commissions

Plane banner image background.

Send A Request

Name(Required)
I welcome the opportunity to create unique and meaningful art for individuals or organizations. These can range from portraits of a single airplane, combinations of the airplane and the pilot, or a collage of several airplanes to illustrate the history of a unit or the experience of a pilot. My paintings have been done for retirement or anniversary celebrations. 

Commission rates are among the most competitive in the unique and challenging field of aviation art. The standard rate is $3 per square inch of surface. The most common size of painting is 24” x 18”, which equates to $1296.  Other common sizes are 20” x 15” ($900), 24″ X 30″ ($2,160)  and 36” x 24” ($2,592). The process of creating your commission includes a compositional pencil sketch before painting. When the pencil sketch is approved by the client, a payment equal to one-half of the full commission is due. When the painting is finished, the client is allowed to suggest minor changes before I ship the painting. The balance of the payment is due prior to shipping. Large paintings or paintings which involve more complicated subject matter are subject to higher rates. 

My reference library is extensive, and there are probably very few airplanes for which I cannot find relevant references. My commissions have included aircraft from every era of aviation, and from all aspects of aviation from civil to the most complex military subjects. 

My primary medium is Acrylic paint on a ground of illustration board (paper), canvas, or Gesso Board (masonite). I have used Acrylics for over 30 years and I can certify to their light-fastness and ability to withstand heat, cold, and moisture. Many of the illustrations in our Galleries were done in the mid to late 1960s. They have not faded, warped, or cracked.

The painting shows the F/A-18C flown by his father, Major W.C. Guilfoyle, USMC, during Desert Storm.
Commissioned by Conair Group, Inc of Abbotsford, B.C. Shows one of their Dash 8 fire-fighting tankers dropping retardant on a hot fire in Canada.
Recently completed commission for John Arnold, celebrating 38 years of Arnold Aviation, showing airplanes they have owned and flown.
Commissioned by the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin AFB, Florida. This large painting hangs in their headquarters.
Mirage IIIC of Giora Epstein, the highest scoring ace in the Israeli Air Force.
A-1 Skyraider of Jim Harding.
A Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne in combat with Soviet armor in the 1980s.
One of a pair of paintings commissioned for the retirment of the U-2 squadron at Beale AFB.
Pilot holding up an airplane.
Ralph Kapitzky, the U-615 was sunk in the Caribbean Sea on 7 August 1943, after the largest aircraft hunt ever mounted for a single U-boat.
Desert Sunset.
F-15 Eagles of the 18th TFW and JASDF.
B-24s of the 451st Bomb Group over Vienna, Austria in 1944.
F-111A of the 474th TFW taxies out for a Linebacker II mission.
H-53 Sea Stallion of HMM-462 commissioned for Mike Philbin, 2003.
Retirement presentation painting for General Don Kutyna, showing aircraft he flew in his USAF career.
The Lima Lima Flight Team.
A-4E approaching USS Intrepid (CV-11) off the coast of North Vietnam, 1968.
L-29C and L-29R owned by Greg Phelps.
F-4U Corsair of MAG-11 in the Philippines, 1944.
The Lima Lima Flight Team in a six-ship loop over the Chicago lakefront during the Chicago Air & Water Show.
A-4E model diorama commissioned by John Wilcox.
One of a series of three paintings done for the 111th Fighter Squadron, 147th Fighter Wing, Texas Air National Guard.
Commissioned by the Lima Lima Flight Team for the 2007 ICAS silent auction, the painting shows the T-34 of Lt. Col. Skip Aldous, USAF (ret) and the F-16 he flew while commander of the 159th FIS of the Florida Air National Guard.
Commission done for Mike Anacki, depicting his service as an F-101B crew chief at Griffiss AFB, New York in 1966-67.
The action depicts an attack on a surfaced Japanese submarine in May, 1942.
Commissioned for the farewell ceremony of Col. Tom Lawhead, CO of the 52nd Operations Group, Spangdahlem AB, Germany.
Bi-Plane with yellow wings.
Commissioned for Mike Anacki to commemorate his service as an F-4 Phantom crew chief.
Yellow Bi-Plane flying in the sky.
Thunderbirds Thunderchief diamond. Commissioned for Wit Raymond 2009.
B-29s of the 330th Bomb Group over Osaka, Japan.
Rippinger Family Flying Club.
Silver plane flying over the land.
Green plane flying over a map with a man standing in the back.
This is the F-105F that, when first seen by Wit, made him a Thud fan for life.
Commissioned for Sawit Raymond. Another colorful Thud from Nellis AFB in the 1960s.
Mig-killing F-4E Phantom on a rain-swept ramp in Thailand, 1972
B-1B cruises high above the undercast.
WV-2 Warning Star over NAS Patuxent River circa 1963.
VF-142 F-4J over USS Enterprise (CVN-65) during a 1971 Tonkin Gulf cruise.
Green and brown plane flying over the land.
On a Misty FAC mission in March, 1968, Captains Ed Risinger and Howie Williams spotted an SA-2 being uncovered by an NVA soldier.
Recent commission for a husband/wife team of warriors assigned to Naval Air Weapons Development Center at Fallon, Nevada 24
Canadian F-104G 12
Illustration done for high time F-4 Pilot.

Happy Customer

Hi. My name is Frank Oliver. I was a structural mechanic and plane captain on Lockheed T-33B Shooting Stars, Douglas A-4L Skyhawks, and Grumman A-6E/KA6D Intruders. I purchased your book A-4 Skyhawk Illustrated last year. I just wanted to let you know how much I loved it. I liked how you gave enough history on it without being too drawn out. It had a lot of great pictures and great artwork.

But most of all I really loved the stories of the people who flew them. I liked it so much I purchased the A-6 Intruder Illustrated, and also the A-7 corsair  Illustrated. I loved them all. I can see more of your books in my future!  I found a lot of information on the A-4 that I didn’t know. First of all I did not realize that some of the early A-4Es had the star and bar on the forward fuselage.

The commission at right was done for the family of the Naval Aviator who flew the Warning Star version of the venerable Constellation for the Navy. He was based at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, so I used the aeronautical chart of that area as the primary background. The painting was completed shortly after he flew west, so the painting became a poignant tribute to a husband and father.