Haikus and Art

Currently entered in the Exeter Townhall Gallery for the next three weeks. It's a combination of poetry and art. A poem written for each piece of art or a painting made for a poem.

I write Haikus (Americanized version, three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables) for some of my paintings. Haikus are short and unpretentious (like me). Occasionally I write the Haiku and then paint a subject evoked by my Haiku.

This painting was done a number of years ago when I was in a darker place.

"Adrift"

"Adrift on a dark,

Dark sea I dream of what never

Was and never will be."

This painting has won four awards in Juried shows ranging from Honorable Mentions, to a first place in Pastels. I've shown this for many years now but have never been able to sell it.

Another autobiographical Haiku and painting: "Into the Sunset", as an old (really old) retired Air Force Pilot, I feel this is quite appropriate.

"Into the Sunset"

"The sunset beckons.

I fly the valley of clouds

Tracking the beacon home."

This one also won awards but one judge criticized the repetitious cloud shapes in the lower half of the painting. I guess she couldn't see the hand of God reaching out to receive me. This painting sold the first time I put it up for sale. The patrons are the judges who really count.

B58, Hustler

I'm a retired Air Force Pilot, and an online friend who is a pen, ink and colored pencil artist, who also admired the B 58 Hustler (Trenton Hill) created this version of the B 58. He has created a good number art works featuring vintage aircraft and machinery. He will be sending me print of his creation. In exchange, I sending him a print of one of my works. I am getting the better of the deal. Trenton's web site is http://www.wingartproductions.com/ Take a look you'll enjoy his site.

I've had to delay hanging my show at the Exeter Library due to the heavy snow today. We received a good ten inches and there is more coming this afternoon. I hope to get it hung tomorrow.

p51, Mustangs

This is an acrylic painting of a flight p51, Mustangs. The painting has been sold but there are some giclee prints still available.

The Mustang was arguably the best fighter of world two. This image is grainy because I imported a very low relolution photo into this posting. My other images are too large to import.

This painting was sold at a venue in which I never knew who bought it, but I heard that it was a corporate sale.

Turning Final

This painting depicts a vintage aircraft turning final to a grass airstrip. The scene is out of my imagination. However there is a grass airport about 15 miles from where I live.
The pilots among you can see that he is high and the turn will be wide but there wasn't space in the painting to depict a good approach.
The original was a 12 by 16 inch pastel on sanded paper. The original has been sold. However, I do have some giclee prints available.
I never flew a biplane but I think it would have been a ball.

A10, Warthog

An old friend and fellow Air Force Veteran whose son was in Afghanistan, flying the Warthog, mentioned that he would like a painting for his son.

This was the result. (no I didn't charge him)

B58, Hustler

I have to show you my favorite aircraft. At the time it was the fastest aircraft in the world. If it were made of titanium, it would still be one of the fastest aircraft in the world. At over twice the speed of sound and a skin temperature over 300 degrees, I would have to throttle back to cool the skin. I loved that aircraft.

On one of my flights, as I was approaching a KC135, jet tanker, for refueling, a kindly boom operator took this photo and mailed a copy to me. Many thanks to him.

After the Hustler was retired, some of our pilots went into the F4 fighter. I was told the F4 had to dive to break mach. The F4 pilots couldn't believe the ease at which the B58 went supersonic. We accelerated to 600 knots and started to climb and just slipped through the sound barrier as we climbed. As an aircraft gains altitude the thin air meant we were going much faster than what our airspeed indicators displayed. By the time we climbed to about 50,000 feet we were going about 1400 miles per hour. Alas we were entering age of the transistor and all the Hustler electronics were tube and very vunerable to the heat we generated.

My Aviation Art

I consider this painting "Into the Sunset" to be the signature piece in my aviation art endeavors.

It is actually somewhat biographical. I spent much a great deal of time in Japan and love Japanese Gardens and the Haiku.

The Haiku is a brief expression of a moment keenly perceived. The Americanized version is three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables.

My Haiku for this painting is:

"The sunset Bekons

I fly the valley of clouds

Tracking the beacon home."

I'm 70 years old, tracking the beacon home.

This painting has been sold and it is so personal to me I now wish I hadn't sold it.

I'm an old guy trying my first attempt at blogging so forgive any lack of skill or sophistication in this attempt.

I'm more interested in portraying my feeling of the romance of flying than the seriously accurate depiction of a specific aircraft that would be acceptable to the Association of Aviation Artists. I have nothing against the rivet counters (used in jest) and admire their art immensely, it's just not what I wish to paint.