These are portraits. They are individual planes from museums around the country. Some are still flying, some are in restoration, and some are in gracious retirement.
As an Artist Fellow of the American Society of Aviation Artists and member of the USAF and Coast Guard art programs, I have had the opportunity to meet, paint, climb on, fly in and enjoy all of these beautiful machines.
Click on the links! Visit the museums! Go to Air Shows! Support restoration efforts! Mostly, enjoy the spirit of flight, for the fun of it.
Tin Canary
The Naval Aircraft Factory N3N was an American tandem-seat, open cockpit, primary training biplane aircraft built by the Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 1930s and early 1940s.
Wildcat
Grumman F4 Wildcat
Acrylic on Linen, 45 x 33"
This big boy is a resident of the Palm Springs Air Museum, Palm Springs, CA.
Exhibits: The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force
The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet.[2] First used by the British in the North Atlantic, the Wildcat was the only effective fighter available to the United States Navy and Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater during the early part of the Second World War.
Boneyard Blue
Grumman Albatross
Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, 24 x 24"
This beauty is awaiting restoration at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA.
Exhibits: National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force
The Grumman is a large, twin–radial engined amphibious seaplane that was used by the United States Air Force (USAF), the U.S. Navy (USN), and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), primarily as a search and rescue (SAR) aircraft.
Fun note: Jimmy Buffett owns Hemisphere Dancer , a Grumman HU-16 Albatross that occasionally flew over my farm en route to the Vineyard and gave me a wing waggle - my barn was well know for the B17 I painted on the roof.
Bird
1931 Bird CK
Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, 30 x 48"
I met this stunning plane on a sunny weekend at the Golden Age Air Museum, Bethel, PA
Quote from the website:
Built in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York by the Bird Aircraft Corporation (formerly Brunner- Winkle). The CK series was the third generation Bird biplane. Previous models were powered with the 90 horsepower Curtiss OX-5 and the 100 horsepower Kinner K5 radial engine. This airplane was designed and built for the barnstorming or ride business. It has room for three passengers and the pilot. A small fold out jumpseat in the front cockpit provided room for the third passenger. The Bird was very unique in the fact that the upper wing was twice the area of the lower wing. It also was unique in comparison to its competitors that it carried the same or even a greater load on half of the available horsepower. This airplane has been part of the Golden Age Air Museum collection since 2001 and was used for sightseeing rides up until 2008. It is maintained in airworthy condition.
Eye of the Storm
Eye of the Storm
Acrylic on Handmade Paper, 14 x 18
Originally on exhibit at The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, this piece depicts the pilot of a Hawker Hurricane, somewhere in Britain, 1944.