Prints
Marshall McLuhan held controversial views on the effect of the communication media, claiming that it is the media, not the information and ideas which they disseminate, that influence society. His most famous quote, and the title of his book; “THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE” said it all.
The “medium” in my works is not the paint. It is not the atmospherics. It is the airplane and/or the aviator. Though I have been careful to portray airplanes in realistic spatial relationships where appropriate, my primary focus is the airplane itself. Those wonderful machines that have transported us, both literally and figuratively. The foregoing notwithstanding, to get the “medium” into the two-dimensional world of art requires the use of other media.
I long ago sold most of my film cameras and only shoot digital pictures now. I bought my first computer and began writing digitally in 1982. I had to give up an almost-new IBM Selectric typewriter, the king of hard print machines in the 1960s, in order to learn the concept and quirks of the Apple II computer. It was an evolutionary experience.
Though I am a dedicated fan of the digital world, I have resisted the urge to learn to paint using a computer. Not that I don’t admire digital aviation art. My Dutch friend, Peter Van Stigt, is one of the most talented and prolific aviation artists in the world. He is a new age Dutch Master, and his works are accurate and detailed. Don Greer, my fellow Squadron/Signal artist, long ago mostly gave up brushing and painting in favor of his mouse. His fine art is testament to the possibilities of digital art, but I just can’t get the mouse or digital pen to give me the tactile feedback that I get from a fine Sable brush. And, If you hang the print-out of a digital painting on the wall, how original is it?
I am an artist in love with flight. The romance of flight….the fascination and reverence for all things aeronautical…. These are the most important elements of my works. You will see several “vignettes” which contain no background, or minimal hints at background, because I wanted to concentrate on the airplane or the aviator, and not the environment.
With a few exceptions (the prints displayed in Gallery One and on the Prints page) the images displayed on these pages are original works, many of them produced for books and published over the course of the past 35 years. As you look at them, you may notice some anomalies on the borders of some. These occurred because the art department at the publishing house saw fit to cut and paste in their layout process. Though these irregular borders do not detract from the illustrations, they will present a challenge to a framing shop.
If you are interested in acquiring one of these illustrations, please contact us via phone or e-mail. I accept payment via certified checks, money orders, or credit cards via PayPal . Prices quoted on the following pages do not include shipping.
My Prints
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VA-176
$800.00 -
WP-3D of NOAA
$500.00
