Last week saw my first trip away from home since the beginning of the first lockdown in March of last year. I spent the week at Heathrow involved in a safety audit of BA. This provoked a lot of introspection on my part. Not only have I become used to the idea of never leaving home except to head off to the local shops, the idea of actually driving from home to LHR evoked a sense of adventure that certainly didn’t apply to that journey when I was gallivanting around the planet auditing and teaching safety courses and shuttling between Petersfield and Heathrow two or three times a month. As a result of Covid-19, my view of airports and standing in queues has mutated, like the virus, I guess. I suspect I’m not the only one who has seen his/her values change over the the last year. For one thing, it’s the first time in about 50 years that I’m not jet-lagged and actually on one time zone for more than a week. It’s made me re-evaluate my attitude towards the way I’ve been living. One of the major benefits, at least to me, has been the ability to concentrate on art for more than a couple of days at a time. The freedom to spend time each day at the easel has proven to be a tonic for the soul, so to speak. Although I always had a sketchbook and selection of pencils with me on my trips, the time to use them to advantage was at a premium. After a 15 hour flight from JFK to Seoul, it was often hard to work up enthusiasm for drawing during the 24 hour layover in an airport hotel. I’m not complaining, by any means. I was unbelievably lucky to be able to fly for a living, and don’t regret a single minute of it. Having the time to devote to my second passion now is absolutely fantastic, but the whole covid situation has really made me start to think twice about going back out on the road as much when things get back to some sort of normality. Time will tell, but at the moment, I savour the time I have in the studio and am looking forward to pushing the boundaries by doing much more plain air work when Spring finally arrives.
Our informal GAvA challenge to create a work based on a favourite aviation movie met with much enthusiasm and produced a wide selection of responses. Such was the success that it. has now been suggested that we do something related to a favourite aviation book. I’m up for that, though I must admit, the choice of aeronautically inspired novels and books is much larger than I originally imagined, so narrowing it down will take a bit of time and effort. I’m also working up a painting for the Tangmere Aviation History Museum for our summer event.
Composition study for “Night Drop”. Gouache on toned watercolour paper, A4
I’m still getting familiar with the characteristics of Gouache by playing with a scene from the Vietnam war focussing on the C-7A Caribou, provisionally titled “Night Drop” illustrating the relief of the Dak Seang Special Forces camp in 1970. Although This action occurred after I had left the squadron, the programme of night drops was developed and led by a former roommate. I’m also doing a painting in oils of the daylight drops during the same action. 3 Caribous were lost during the daylight relief action, which is why the night drops were instituted.
Work in Progress: “Relief of Dak Seang, 1970. oil on board 35cm x 45 cm.
As is my usual habit, here are a few art related links:
The National Gallery has some new events, talks and such here : https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/events
Stella Grace Lyons has lectures and talks on various subjects that are quite interesting: https://www.facebook.com/stellagracelyonsarthistory
The Smithsonian has some online events and exhibits too: https://www.si.edu/exhibitions
I don’t know how many of you are following Grayson Perry’s Art Club on Channel 4. It’s quite interesting and offers quite a different take on things, but if you want to follow it, you can go to the web site here: https://www.graysonsartclub.com/
And some links to Aviation artists:
Kenny Reeves: https://kenny-reeves.pixels.com/
Jonathon Westwood: https://www.westyart.co.uk/
Elaine Jones: https://1-elaine-jones.pixels.com/collections/aviation