How did it get to be the weekend again so quickly? I expect the rain had something to do with it as it kept me indoors instead of out doing something healthy. The inclemency of the weather has, however, given me time to concentrate on finishing up the painting I'm doing for the Tangmere museum. I don't suppose I'm ever going to be perfectly happy with it as I tend to be my own worst critic. I also still have far more to learn about painting than I already know. The advantage we have now is that we can find expert advice on almost any subject on the old interweb. I've been taking advantage of various YouTube tutorials on Gouache, oils and acrylics. Quite a few of the most renowned and competent professional aviation artists have "how to" videos and clips that are immensely useful in figuring out how to do things. Though I have mixed emotions about the internet and social media, I must admit that it enables much more communication and trading of ideas than was available back in my youth.
I've been going through a pile of old paintings that I have stored in the loft and have noticed that in several cases, I'm tempted to go back and change a few things here and there. I imagine that one's perception of what constitutes a "finished" painting can change over the course of time. Looking at some of the work I did years and years ago, I now see the error of my ways, whether it be composition, tonal value or accuracy of line. How many of us suffer from this same 'affliction'? Of course once a painting leaves my possession, then it's out of my hands, but as long as I own it, I don't see any ethical problem with going back and tweaking it here and there. There are a couple that I have my eye on that might benefit from a re-visit. As I have always used the same palette (Double Primary) colour matching shouldn't be too onerous. I'm not planning any major re-working, just small corrections (as I used to tell my flying students). We'll see how it works out.
I'm just about done with the Meteor painting for Tangmere. The boss is happy with it, so after a few more minor tweaks and varnishing, I'll hand it over.
Almost there.
My next project on the easel has been sitting forlornly by itself while I've concentrated on the Meteor. It's a commemoration of the Siege of Dak Seang, which took place in 1970. From 1 April 1970 until the 9th of May, The Special Forces camp in the Central Highlands was besieged by forces of the PAVN (Peoples Army of Vietnam, commonly referred to as the NVA). Several C-7A squadrons were tasked with relief of the camp, which due to heavy weapons fire, was only possible with air drops. In the first few days, drops were planned in daylight, resulting in the loss of several aircraft. The resupply of Dak Seang continued on the 5th when seven Caribous successfully made airdrops, although very few of the loads could be recovered. On the 6th the last of three Caribous to be lost during the siege of Dak Seang was shot down by ground fire as it was pulling up from its dropping run. The aircraft burst into flames and crashed close to the camp killing the crew. The Painting depicts this action on the 6th of April. Six Caribou sorties were flown on the 6th but, again, most of the loads could not recovered. The next night three successful drops were made by Caribous in conjunction with an AC-119 gunship that provided spotlight illumination during the final moments of the run in. This technique was used successfully for 68 drops over the next five nights, which enabled the defenders to hold on until the situation improved enough for daylight drops and then landings to be made at the camp. The night drops were in large part due to one of my former roommates. After our tour in Caribous ended in 1969, he went on to join the A-26 operation out of Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, flying night strikes on the Ho Chi Min Trail. When the A-26 was phased out, he finished his tour back at Cam Ranh Bay in our old Squadron, where his night experience proved invaluable in setting up the relief effort for Dak Seang. I am planning another painting of the night drops to be done later on. This was probably the most dramatic operation the Caribou participated in. My own tour in the C-7A was considerably less eventful, though there were a few rather sporting flights, but that's another story.
C-7A of the 457th TAS during the siege of Dak Seang, 6 April 1970.
The year moves on and I'm looking forward to a few of the events coming up in the next couple of months. There are several Sketching days scheduled in July for members (and indeed, non members) of the Guild of Aviation Artists. I plan to get to as many as possible. I've missed one already due to the day job, but will try to get to as many of the upcoming ones as possible. The first (not a sketching day, but there will be a GAvA presence) is the Wings and Wheels celebration at the Museum of Army Flying, Middle Wallop. Although the day tickets are sold out, they have some late passes available that allow site access after 16:30. You can check it out here: https://armyflying.com/what-s-on/events/wallop-wheels-and-wings-2021/
Other sketching days are planned for the Jet Age Museum at Gloucester Airport on 17 July and at The Shuttleworth collection at Old Warden on the 31st of July. Grab some pencils, brushes or whatever and come along.
July 19th sees the opening of the Guild's annual exhibition. This is the first Annual to be held online and should be quite interesting. You can get an idea of what to expect here: https://www.gava.org.uk/annual-summer-exhibition?fbclid=IwAR0xbPsrAcE5xyw1RD_-zfY7HmvboHWo9E0CnwRKR3HtvQMqnCKiF4ha4DY
Hopefully, summer will see fit to join us again soon. Take care and keep doing artistic things.