QN SPRING 21

QUARTERLY

N EWS

SPRING 2021

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS

WWW.GAVA.ORG.UK

Gerald Coulson VPGAvA

Marking the passing of a legend

CONTENTS INCLUDE...

From The Chair - Andrew Latham 3

Gerald Coulson - Obituary 4-7

Guernsey PO Stamps - Neil Foggo 8

Roy Garner RIP 9

Faith, Hope & Charity - Chris French 10-11

What I did in Lockdown - continued 12-15

Denis Pannett - Summer Art Courses 16-17

Keith Woodcock - Aviation Art 18-21

Jack Berry - Book Review 22

Shirley and Graham’s Spitfires 23

HQ News and information 24-27

Caption Competition 26

MAVAS & Aviation Magazines 26

The Back Page - Robert McCall 28

GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SPRING 2021

DIARY 2021

DATES &VENUES

FROM THE CHAIR

Andrew Latham GAvA

QN EDITORS

Robert Calow GAvA

David Calow GAvA

Welcome to the Spring 2021 QN

We hope that this edition finds all well. With

the majority of the population down to

have their jabs by the summer (your Eds

have their second ones in May) we are all

hoping for some return to normality as the

roadmap opens up.

The ongoing situation has meant that the

Guild will be looking at both an online

AGM and Annual exhibition this year. This

QN includes all of the AGM information so

please do take part and send your votes in.

The success of the virtual online exhibition

before Christmas pointed the way for the

2021 Annual and so the forms have gone

out to everyone for a submission period

ending on Sunday 18th April, with the

Exhibition opening on Monday 19th July.

Our front cover marks the recent passing of

one of the Guild’s founder members and also

the country’s most popular artists - Gerald

Coulson VPGAvA. We thank President

Michael Turner for his fulsome obituary.

Articles in this issue include ‘Expanding the

Knowledge’ by Keith Woodcock FGAvA

ASAA, looking at the importance of

backgrounds in paintings and a commission

portraying Faith, Hope & Charity by Chris

French FGAvA, the three Gloster Gladiators

that so valiantly defended Malta at the

beginning of the Second World War.

The traditional Christmas appearance of

Ice Station Zebra in the TV schedules has

lead us to feature the film’s poster artist,

and founder member of the American

Society of Aviation Artists (ASAA), Robert

McCall on the Back Page and we also

review a book by Jack Berry, a very special

young man with a passion for aviation art.

Just before the QN was going to press, we

also received the very sad news of the

death of Roy Garner. Roy gave so much

to the Guild and especially the Midland

Region over many years and all our

thoughts are with wife Jane and the family.

We wish everyone a successful exhibition if

you are submitting work.

Happy Painting!

Robert and David

Region Meetings

With the recent new Lockdown, Region Meetings have again been put on

hold. Regional organisers will advise when meetings may start again.

Midland Region - Saturday 22nd May RAF Museum Cosford TBC

East Anglian Region - Saturday 19th June Little Gransden TBC

GAvA Committee Provisional Meeting Dates

Committee Meetings will take place via zoom on-line group sessions

Mon 28th June Mon 13th September Mon 22nd November

Cartoon Corner

As we are having a very different sort of ‘Submission

Day’ for the 3D Virtual Exhibition in July, here are a

few of Clyde’s contributions on the traditional way

we did it...

As we are also seeing the Football Euro Finals

being held (hopefully!) across the summer

perhaps another octopus may be coming

up with predictions of the scores...

Well sort of...!

by

...and Clyde is on the ball with the Russian Bears

still entering our airspace. Who needs a Typhoon?

Thanks again from the Eds to Clyde Anderson AGAvA for all his contributions!

As I write this, we are just emerging from

the latest Lockdown restrictions, the sun

is shining, and I am very much looking

forward to going places and meeting up

again in whatever way is permissible.

AGM

Restrictions inevitably led to the AGM once

again being conducted by email and post,

although a virtual get-together is planned

for 10th May on Zoom. Please participate

by returning voting slips if you are eligible,

particularly in electing Shirley Batten-Smith

and Richard Thorne, our candidates for

Treasurer and Secretary, two key positions

and Officers of the Guild. Tony Nicholls has

attended his last Zoom committee meeting

as Secretary, and I would like to thank him

again for all his help and good counsel

during his time in office.

Gerald Coulson VPGAVA RIP

I would like to pay my own personal tribute to

Gerry Coulson, who passed away recently. He

was an inspiration to many aviation artists.

A founder Full Member and Vice President,

we will always remember his support of the

Annual exhibition and participation in those

parties in the Mall Galleries. We send our

sincere condolences to Christine.

Submission Day changes

The January Lockdown and uncertainties

experienced, where restrictions were

imposed with very short notice, brought

into focus the risks inherent in organising

Submission Day in May and our usual annual

exhibition in central London. We felt these

risks were too high for several reasons:

our reliance on volunteers to organise

and undertake activities in close proximity,

willingness to travel to central London,

financial, reduced numbers of works, and

potentially lower visitor numbers.

Virtual 3D Exhibition

In December, we trialled a virtual 3D

Exhibition. This gave us experience of

submission by email and selection by a panel

of Full Members working independently. We

displayed the selected works in a virtual 3D

gallery (www.artsteps.com) that was free to

design and use. It was a revelation to many,

although it seemed to require a certain

standard of computer hardware to work. A

virtual walk round tour was created to aid

the viewing experience. In all nine works

were sold.

It all took a matter of weeks to organise

and gave us invaluable insights into the

process. From this trial we have made some

adjustments, notably around image quality

and display. So, for instance, there will be

a minimum requirement for the images

submitted, the exhibition will be online on

the website, with higher resolution versions

to view, as well as a virtual gallery. We

are organising much more publicity, both

conventional and in social media.

For this there are costs that we need to

recover, and while we are not charging for

entry, there will be something to pay once

selection is made by the panel of five Full

Members. It is intended that trophies are

awarded (although cash prizes are unlikely)

and entries are eligible for consideration for

promotion. Our thanks go to Paul Couper

for use of his poster painting originally

produced for the 2020 Annual.

It is not the same as a real live exhibition,

however, it is the best we can offer at this

time and I would encourage all our artists

to join in. We are also intending to include

artist’s profile on the website.

Social Media and Marketing

The project to enhance our presence in

social media continues apace through a sixmonth

project with Chatting Creative, a multidisciplinary

independent creative agency.

So far, with the absence of live events,

reliance has been on historic content such

as the virtual exhibition and extracts from

past QN reports. However, as we begin to

wind up real meetings, these will feature

more. The aim is to increase membership,

interest, participation, and sales through

social media platforms such as Facebook,

Instagram, LinkedIn, and our own website.

We hope you are willing for pictures of you at

work on sketch days to be included. Please

let organisers know if you are not.

Roy Garner RIP

Before going to press I have just learned the

sad news that Roy Garner has passed away.

Roy was a stalwart of the Midland Region

over many years and a great supporter of the

annual exhibition. I remember meeting Roy

many times and sharing some interesting

conversations, always a genuine smile and

active engagement even when his mobility

began to let him down.

Your committee is working very hard to

sustain the Guild through testing times

with sights firmly set on full resumption of

all activities later in the year and AGM and

Annual exhibition in 2022.

Good luck to all those entering for the

Online Exhibition.

Andrew Latham GAvA

Chairman

2 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SPRING 2021

GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SPRING 2021 3

Gerald Coulson VPGAvA Obituary

a

An outstanding career by President Michael Turner P&FGAvA

Gerald Coulson, “Gerry” to his many

friends, was already an established

aviation artist and a member of the

Society of Aviation Artists in 1956,

when I started to submit work for

their Annual exhibition at London’s

prestigious Guildhall. An indication

of his instant status amongst the

impressive list of fellow members

is that, only a year later, he was

on the selection panel, where he

presumably voted in favour of my

entries for that year’s Annual!

I became a member in 1958, and it has

been my pleasure to have known Gerry

as a fellow artist for over sixty years, plus

the shared comradeship of qualified

pilots, although Gerry had achieved this

with the Cambridge Flying Group in one

of his favourite Tiger Moths some twenty

five years earlier than I did.

Gerry was born in Kenilworth and grew up

amongst the Malvern Hills, but he spent

most of his life in Cambridgeshire. It is

perhaps surprising that on leaving school

he started adulthood by taking an aircraft

engineering apprenticeship, followed by

eight years in the RAF as an engineer.

When he left the RAF, he moved on to work

for British European Airways at Heathrow,

and whilst there he spotted an advert

for a design draughtsman at Marshall’s

of Cambridge. Underlying his passion for

aviation and aircraft was his enthusiasm

for painting, so having secured this

new employment, he was involved in

illustrating Instructional Manuals for both

Civil and Military aircraft, a step which

finally allowed him to develop his natural

talent for painting. This unfolding and

entirely self-taught ability as an artist soon

took over to the point when he decided

to leave his job and become a full-time

painter of the subjects so close to his

heart.

When the SAvA, later renamed the

Industrial Painters Group, was wound up,

Gerry and I joined the Kronfeld Aviation

Art Society in Pimlico, which in turn led

to the formation of the Guild of Aviation

Artists in 1971, we being two of the ten

original founder members.

He was already exclusively contracted to

print publishers Solomon and Whitehead

who promoted his aviation paintings in

print form for many years from an early

stage in his career, and which introduced

his work to a worldwide audience.

Among the extensive range of Gerry’s

aviation subjects, I particularly admired his

wonderful head-on view of a Lancaster

set in a striking amber skyscape. (see QN

cover)

The Fine Art Trade Guild voted him

amongst the top ten best selling artists

an impressive fifteen times, with three

times at number one. Needless to say,

he was highly regarded within the Guild,

and his wonderful paintings regularly

graced the walls of the Annual Exhibition,

his easily recognised style capturing

an appropriate mood often using an

evocative blend of colour in a beautiful

sky, the emotion no doubt contributed

to by his experience and love of flying in

such a three-dimensional element.

He won the Guild’s prestigious Flight

Tankard for the painting voted best of the

year three times, and was elected a Vice-

President of the Guild in 2001. cont...



Gerald Coulson VPGAvA Obituary

a

An outstanding career by President Michael Turner P&FGAvA

Gerry was a larger than life character,

his enthusiasm and friendly disposition

making him a charismatic presence at

any gathering of kindred spirits, where

his positive attitude could encourage

motivation.

When he married Christine, her constant

encouragement and support were the

basis of an invaluable partnership which

was a treasured blessing. Gerry had his

studio at the bottom of their garden, and

he could happily settle down to painting

knowing that Chris would take care of the

inevitable business distractions, and allow

the indulgence of a lunchtime stroll to the

village pub for a pint.

He last exhibited at the annual in 2015,

but health issues intervened, and whilst

he and Christine still visited the Annual

with customary enthusiasm, he sadly died

in February 2021, after an outstanding

career during which he produced such

a wealth of paintings, primarily inspired

by his love of aircraft and aviation, but

also embracing landscapes, motorsport,

portraits and other wide ranging interests.

His presence will be greatly missed by his

many friends and admirers, but his legacy

of paintings will live on as testament to his

contribution to aviation art. Our sincere

sympathy goes to his devoted wife

Christine, son Lawrence and family.

Michael Turner P&FGAvA

Gerald showed he could tackle any subject alongside his excellent aviation

work. The Coulson automotive and motoracing paintings are still very highly

regarded and much sort after.

Gerald’s signature also graced many fine landscape paintings which have

become favourites with national and international collectors.



Stamp production for Guernsey Post Office

Neil Foggo GAvA

A change from aeroplanes...

Neil Foggo GAvA

The comparatively recent 80th anniversary of RAF 201 Squadron’s affiliation with Guernsey, prompted

Neil Foggo GAvA (a member of 201 Squadron himself) to recall the series of aviation themed stamps he

was commissioned to produce for the Guernsey Post Office back in 1989. Neil takes up the story.

As a member of 201 (Guernsey’s Own)

Squadron, I was able to take part in a

number of the island’s Battle of Britain

celebrations. During a Civic welcome

dinner, I was introduced to the island’s

Postmaster who was also a keen

aviation enthusiast and was regaled

with wonderful stories of the air mail

service and its importance to the island.

It did not take long to discover that

the following year (1989) would be

Guernsey Airport’s 50th anniversary and

the Squadron’s 50th anniversary of our

affiliation with the island. Buoyed by a

generous supply of decent red wine and

encouraged by my peers, a plan was

devised to mark the event with some

appropriate artwork to be presented to

the island’s Bailiwick in around 6 months.

Before I knew it, I had agreed to create

the images for a set of six commemorative

stamps; three depicting the airport and

three of squadron aircraft that had visited

the island. Before returning to Scotland I

met with members of the Postal Service

who briefed me on the production

processes involved and the timescales

that were going to be very tight.

The images had to be a set size of

82mm wide and 48mm high to meet

the litho printing requirements of the

stamp producers BDT. This meant

that the paintings would be detailed

miniatures rather than my normal man

sized canvases! The Squadron subjects

were easy to select. However a lengthy

dialogue and research was needed

to agree the airport images that were

connected to the Postal Service over

the 50 years of operation.

A supply of approved smooth dense

white board arrived and acrylics chosen

as the best medium for me to use.

Gouache would have been better but at

that time I had no experience in its use.

The result was panic with both myself

and Guernsey rescheduling to give me

time to create a new image.

The stamps however were well received

on the island and the RAF Philately Bureau

invited me to produce the artwork for a

First Day Cover that involved a Nimrod

flight to validate the event.

The release of the stamps was

accompanied with my selection as an

honorary member of the Guernsey Post

Office and a magnificent tie to prove it!!

Whilst on a visit to London a number

of years later, a glance in the Stanley

Gibbons shop window brought a smile.

There front and centre, was the latest

Stamp Catalogue with one of my airport

stamps on the front cover. That made it

all worthwhile!

Neil Foggo GAvA

Stamps reproduced by kind permission

of Guernsey Post Ltd.

Painting water to look ‘fluid’ has always

been a challenge whether it’s a river or

the ocean. The reflections that gather

and fade as soon as they occur can

make for a rapid technique. However

this studio painting required a more

methodical approach.

A surfeit of wartime films on television

recently such as The Cruel Sea, gave

me the opportunity to try and capture

some of the atmosphere of the North

Roy Garner RIP

As the QN was going to print

we heard the very sad news

of the death of Roy Garner.

Roy passed away peacefully

at home on 15th April and all

our thoughts are with wife Jane

and the family.

Atlantic Convoys and Naval Escorts. The

Flower Class Corvette depicted needed

some research initially, but the sea state

was an ever moving feast.

I blocked in the initial waves and started

from the horizon down and found I was

constantly having to adjust both the

colour and alignment of the waves to

be believable. As the sea progressed,

I tended to overdo the liveliness of the

water, getting carried away with the

effects I could create. Taking a regular

breather and stepping back became

the rule and not being afraid to change

the look and balance of the sea was

easier as time went by.

If you haven’t tried painting a seascape

give it a go. It refreshes your techniques

that other vistas don’t.

Neil Foggo GAvA

The work was completed with two

weeks to spare and dispatched to

Guernsey for approval. The final image

was of an AIR UK BAE 146 that was about

to be introduced to the island as part of

the airport celebrations. I had been in

touch with the airline for livery details

and used the images supplied.

Much to my dismay, the airline changed

their mind and decided on a new livery

for the aircraft that would be applied

before the stamps were due for release.

An obituary covering Roy’s long

years of support and service to

the Guild and in particular the

Midland Region will be in the

Summer QN.

Roy was the chosen artist to

paint the poster image for the

2011 Annual in the 40th anniversary year of the Guild, producing

a superb montage of the Red Arrows in action.

Robert Calow GAvA



Faith, Hope and Charity Chris French FGAvA Malta Aviation Museum Foundation commission

Last year, I was commissioned to do a painting for the Malta Aviation Museum Foundation, depicting

three Gloster Sea Gladiators (colloquially known as Faith, Hope and Charity) in 1940. Instrumental in

defending the island during the early stages of the conflict, these biplanes were leftovers from HMS

Glorious and were discovered unassembled in their crates at Kalafrana seaplane base. A Station

Fighter Flight was set up at RAF Hal Far aerodrome and the Gladiators hastily pressed into service.

In the painting, N5519 is having the

Watts two bladed propeller replaced

with a Fairey Reed three-blade type

in a desperate attempt to improve its

climb performance thus making it more

effective at intercepting the enemy. The

Museum also wanted a naval officer in

the scene to emphasise the RAF/Royal

Navy connection.

When planning the scene, I knew that

the ‘story’ surrounding the prop change

would be a central point of interest

and the human figures would have

to be convincing. As it was extremely

unlikely I would find suitable reference

photographs of ground crew doing

exactly what I had envisaged, I had to

resort to plan B.

Basically, I decided to ‘model’ for the

figures I wanted; replicating the poses

of the four main figures while my wife

Claire took photos. The camera was

mounted on a tripod to ensure the same

viewpoint and scale for each photo

and I proceeded to pose for each shot.

I had donned a pair of shorts, a shirt and

pair of walking boots to approximate

tropical ‘kit’ and took a stepladder out

into the garden.

Claire had my preliminary sketch for

reference and as well as camera

operator, she assumed the role of

Director to ensure I was posing as close

as possible to the figures in the sketch.

I held a plank of wood as a prop for

the ‘prop’(if you see what I mean) and

assumed the poses for each figure in

turn. I had also ensured that the light

was coming from the same direction as

the sunlight would be in the painting.

I was certainly glad when the photo

shoot was over as November in the UK

isn’t quite as conducive to shorts and

shirtsleeves as Malta in the Spring!

It was then just a case of minor

adjustments to the poses and updating

the clothing and faces in the painting

whilst preserving the all important

anatomy and proportion of the human

figure. The body language implying

interaction between the characters

was also a very important factor. A slight

reduction in the figures’ midriff area was

also called for!

The goatherd and his animals are there

to indicate the undisturbed peace of

the island and the clouds are symbolic

of the trouble brewing which would

shatter that peace. Hence the title

‘Storm Clouds Gathering’.

Print sales of the painting are raising

funds to help towards the restoration

of Sea Gladiator N5519 “Charity” to

airworthy condition, a project underway

on the island.

Chris French FGAvA

Does Chris need

an Equity card

to do this?

Chris’s original pencil

sketches show the starting

points and ideas which are

so important when tackling

a professional commission

on this level.

10 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SPRING 2021 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SPRING 2021 11

What I did in Lockdown ... continued What I did in Lockdown ...

Windsor Quay

In early 2020, I received an enquiry

about the possibility of painting a patrol

boat. After I was presented with a few

black & white photos and one in colour,

I was able to draft a technical drawing

outlining what the client hoped to see.

The client was delighted with the

sketch. I was therefore commissioned

to undertake an oil painting of an ex-

Great War Royal Naval patrol boat,

that being an important memory in

the family history. It was at this point we

entered the first Lockdown and so the

challenge began!

The location of the scene to be painted

was to be by the Windsor Bridge. The

background was the royal castle, quay

and buildings as they would have been

in 1948 to the early 1950’s. Before the

project began, I was asked to include

two Salter’s Steamers Thames passenger

vessels, also relevant to the family, with

one to be in motion. The view had to

be set at eye level with the quay. The

patrol boat was 86ft in length, with a

mast of 45ft, and the Salters boats 85ft

and 84.7ft in length respectively – so a

rather long canvas!

Over a few exchanges by email with

the client we eventually identified the

patrol boat as an ELCO (Canadian)

built sea-going motor launch, one of

several hundred built for the war effort

in 1915/16. Many years later, this very

same boat would take part in the flotilla

of little boats in Operation Dynamo,

(Dunkirk, May 26th – June 4th 1940).

This project turned out to be a very

detailed yet thoroughly enjoyable

piece of work. A considerable amount

of research and time was required to

ensure that every detail was captured

accurately – after all, this was an

opportunity for positive thought and

focus, away from Lockdown gloom.

As can be seen from the painting,

vehicles and street furniture of the

period were included, with the wash

giving movement of another steamer

having gone under the bridge. The

paintwork included the side walls

of the canvas too, so requiring no

framing (as no framers were open!). By

Lockdown 2.0, this brought with it a small

amendment to the painting, followed

by the varnishing stage and ensuring

this was ready in time for Christmas.

Ultimately the client was delighted with

the painting!

David Rowlands AGAvA

The Adventures of

Barney McGee

Another challenge for me during

Lockdown - and one which has all

happened since Christmas!

Basically an old teaching colleague of

mine Della Wild (who used to sing in my

choirs then moved to Germany about

10 years ago) is now a children’s author

embarking on a new series of books;

The Adventures of Barney McGee.

Della asked me if I’d like to illustrate

them! As you will see it’s a whole new

style for me, but it’s turning out well.

So far...

Since the New Year I’ve illustrated

one whole book (17 paintings) plus

two further covers and some more

illustrations for ‘Grumpy elf’. All I can say

is that it makes a change from ‘rivetcounting’!

Four cover paintings are shown as an

example, and the ‘promo’ alongside.

Della and I would appreciate any

interest so please do look at the website.

I can thoroughly recommend the stories

(which hopefully will take the boys

airborne or maybe into space before

too long!!).

www.dellawild.com

John Hunter GAvA

Sophie at the Gallops

Turning to the challenge of other

paintings in the New Year (other than

aviation subjects) during Lockdown, I

have just completed a painting (50 cms

X 60cms) of my grand-daughter.

Sophie is a qualified jockey and I chose

to paint a view of her exercising one

of the racehorses at her Newmarket

stables.

David Smith AGAvA

42 Torpedo Bomber Squadron

Malcolm Gray was inspired by his flight in a Nimrod to

produce this painting. Malcolm takes up the story.

One of the best flying experiences I ever had was to fly in

a Hawker Siddley Nimrod.

The primary role of the Nimrod was search and early warning

surveillance and it only operated by one Squadron; 42 (TB)

Squadron. The task was to find and track Russian submarines

coming from their base in Murmansk and passing through

the Channel.

Our sortie from Valley took over 9 hours and was deployed

to detect subs and photograph and record every Russian

fishing trawler seen in British waters. The slightly amusing sight

of ‘fishing boat’ crews diving below deck to avoid being

photographed on our low passes was quite surprising. Also

we didn’t detect any submarines that day either!

Malcolm Gray AGAvA


What I did in Lockdown ... what have your Eds have been up to?

Barn House

A long-time friend and musical

colleague of your Eds Mary Moore, lives

in Houghton on the Hill on the A47 to the

east of Leicester. This lovely village has

many cottages and houses in different

architectural styles including her

‘Barn House’ on the Main Street. Mary

already has some D Calow artwork and

so Christmas seemed a fitting time to

paint a watercolour of Barn House as a

present from Santa -aka R Calow!

Lockdown modellers

Time at home during the lockdowns has not just

resulted in non-aviation artwork – for some it has

rekindled the art of construction kit making!

Andrew Latham – Balsa wood SE5 biplane kit

A Christmas present from Andrew’s wife Janet saw our

Chairman tackling a rubber band-powered balsa wood

SE5 biplane with of course the tissue paper stretched

over the frame. Pilot ‘Chris’ just fits in the cockpit!

Eric Humphrey – 1.48 plastic model kits

The ‘Birkenshaw Model 1.48 Scale Aero Museum’, as

Eric Humphrey calls it has 5 members, the latest two

being a Vought F4U Corsair and Sea Harrier. Eric says he

has really enjoyed making kits again.

Poppy

During Lockdown, Poppy the young Labrador has been sending out photos and movies of

what she has been getting up to. A Christmas commission by ‘parent’ Richard asked for a

painting of Poppy to be a present from Santa for ‘parent’ Diane.

Robert Calow GAvA

John Hunter – 007 ‘Little Nellie’ & Angel Interceptor

Those who know John Hunter will not be surprised that

his kit making subjects are from the worlds of Gerry

Anderson and James Bond. Both are Airfix reissues - the

sleek white Angel interceptor from Captain Scarlet and

007’s heavily armed autogyro ‘Little Nellie’ from You

Only Live Twice. John also unearthed the paint box

made by his father - and amazingly the Humbrol paints

inside could still be used!

Mary’s Mazda MX5

Our friend Mary also has pictures of each of her past ‘classic cars’ on the wall

of Barn House by ‘the twins’ so when she acquired the new one - a gorgeous

Mazda MX5 Niseko I knew what the next Lockdown project would be!

Remembering Barry

Late last year the Leicester, Leicestershire

and especially Rutland Classical music

world was saddened by the sudden

passing of Barry Collett, the founder

conductor of the Rutland Sinfonia and

world renowned expert on the music

and life of Sir Edward Elgar.

Robert and I knew Barry very well and

had taken part in many concerts under

his baton, performing most of Elgar’s

orchestral works with the Sinfonia.

This crayon view of the Malverns (Sir

Edwards favourite) was for the special

card I sent with my condolences to

Barry’s widow Pauline.

David Calow GAvA

Robert Calow –

1.144 kits, ‘Silhouette’ Car & LNER B17 ‘Footballer’

Going back to childhood saw one of your Eds making

the AMT 1.25 Silhouette car kit – his favourite Hotwheels

car from 1968 - together with two miniature Luftwaffe

1.144 kits – a He219 ‘Night Owl’ and Me262. The LNER

B17 ‘Footballer’ was a conversion from a second-hand

00 Hornby ‘Norwich City’ to No.6865 ‘Leicester City’.

David Calow – MENG KIDS kits; tanks and planes

MENG produce a great range of so-called “Kids”

models of aircraft, ships and tanks. They’ve taken them

seriously and are very accurate but “squashed”! All

clip together and build really well, have good stick on

decals and can be made to look very professional. My

favourite is the black Chinese J-20 stealth jet. Definitely

different, fun to make and very cute models.



Denis Pannett & Mum Juliet’s Art Courses

In the Winter QN, Chairman Andrew prefaced his ‘Primarily for Fun’

article with anecdotes of the Summer Art Courses run by Denis Pannett’s

mother Juliet which were attended by many Guild luminaries.

Your Eds were intrigued and so contacted Denis who has put together

the background story of some halcyon summer days.

My mother was a professional portrait

painter all her life so I was surrounded

by art in my early life but never had

any intention to follow her. After

National Service in the army, I joined the

diamond company De Beers working

both in London and overseas. In 1970 I

was about to go on holiday in Majorca

with my wife when my mother said

“You must do some painting while you

are there with all that lovely scenery”

and she then proceeded to give us

a short watercolour demonstration

and equipped us with the necessary

materials.

Half way through the holiday I suddenly

remembered that we had not touched

the art materials so decided to give

up a day of sailing to try painting a

picturesque old farmhouse and windmill

and as I was finishing, the owner came

out to see it, liked it and bought the

painting for £3. I was amazed and now

hooked on watercolour we spent the

money on a bottle of iced sparkling

wine which we drank sitting on the wall

of the harbour at Palma to celebrate

my first sale!

Two years later, following a most

enjoyable and instructive watercolour

course by the late Edward Wesson in

which five members of the family took

part, my mother thought she would

also like to run courses with Phoebe, her

sister who was an art teacher and rather

fierce maiden lady, and perhaps myself

helping. She had been approached

by numerous friends and neighbours

with requests for help with their painting

so in about 1975 we had our first five

day course of around twenty students,

mainly middle aged ladies, in the Sussex

village of Angmering where my mother

lived.

Somehow word of this got out to

Yvonne Bonham, who was then our

illustrious Secretary of the Guild, and she

and Charles Miller then came on our

next course shortly to be followed by

many more Guild members including

our chairman, Andrew Latham (see

right) with his parents, Graham and

Michael Joseph, John Hellings, Simon

Milan, Penelope Douglas, Miles O’Reilly,

Ray Tootall, Charles Thompson, Stuart

Hine and many more who all became

regular course members.

We would meet at a different local

site each morning which included

nearby farms, villages, Littlehampton

Harbour etc and we even ran two

courses from an hotel in Cornwall. The

day would start off with my mother

doing a demonstration painting of the

scene which was always well attended,

though some artists preferred to get on

with their own painting from the start.

The demonstrations were particularly

helpful for the less experienced painter

who was not sure where to start and

needed something to copy.

The students ranged from fully

experienced Guild artists to beginners

who had never painted before and

they tended to be the people I looked

after most.

Three of Andrew’s very accomplished

watercolours done on the courses.

Denis’ mother Juliet Pannett (1911-2005) was

a renowned painter and portrait artist. Juliet’s

work included portraits of Prime Ministers, artists,

musicians and even Her Majesty the Queen.

Photo: Alamy

As the courses grew in number, we were

lucky enough to get help from a very

efficient ex head mistress called Pat

Shine who dealt with all the organisation

and bookings for us. This took the

organisational stress off my mother so

all we had to do was turn up on the

day and help those who needed it with

subject selection and composition and

then go from person to person offering

help, though more often we had a

queue waiting for us to help them.

Composition comes naturally to some

people but others needed a lot of help

and explanation but perhaps tone

values was where we were able to help

most. With watercolour, most amateur

artists are very timid of using strong tones

and tend to paint everything in pale to

mid tone not daring to put in the strong

darks that give the drama to a painting.

In her demonstrations of buildings, my

mother always painted the shadows in

first with a STRONG mixture of French

Ultramarine and Light Red, painting the

local colour over afterwards. This had

the advantage of getting the darkest

tones in early and fixing the shadows

to that exact time of day - so many

beginners get muddled by the shadows

changing as the sun moves round during

the day. This was one of the areas we

found we could help with most though

the theme we got most asked about

was “ what colour should I use for this

and how do I mix it”?

On the afternoon of the last day we

always had an exhibition in my mother’s

garden of all the work done on the

course with a criticism by aunt Phoebe

of one painting from each artist and

this was followed by tea on the lawn.

Strangely, it always seemed to be fine

sunny weather on that day and I do

not ever remember us having to do the

criticism indoors. We ceased running

the courses in the 1990’s due to Phoebe

dying in 1995 and Juliet, my mother died

in 2005, aged 94 .

We all really enjoyed running those

courses and we felt very honoured to

have so many Guild members joining us.

Many of them excellent painters in their

own right, they enjoyed tackling new

subjects, the company of other artists

and watching my mother demonstrate

her watercolour technique.

Denis Pannett FGAvA

Exhibitions in Juliet’s garden with

a “crit” by aunt Phoebe were the

highlights at the end of the courses.

Happy Days indeed!


Aviation Art - Expanding the knowledge

Keith Woodcock FGAvA ASAA

As artists and aviation enthusiasts, we have a natural tendency to focus

all our effort on the aircraft which we have selected to paint, ensuring

that it is shown accurately in order to authenticate the scene, which is

our ultimate goal.

This is, of course, as it should be, but

there is a danger that we get sucked into

researching its service history, colour

schemes, markings and construction

details to the detriment of creating a

valid and interesting background to the

composition.

The background is an integral part of

any painting and a vitally important

feature which should be acceptable

and interesting in its own right even

without a visible aircraft. Its composition

is therefore of huge significance to the

success of the overall painting.

The possibilities are of course endless,

so I hope this article will provide some

inspiration for members to think of

ways to enhance their paintings

and acknowledge the value of a

well considered background. All the

examples shown are provided with my

own thoughts on composition, colour,

etc so are merely suggested guidelines

and not intended to be rules which must

be followed.

Obviously this whole subject of

backgrounds is immense so this taster

article merely covers air to ground

scenarios. It makes sense to start here

as perhaps most of our chosen subjects

will be in flying mode. For any members

who travel by air, can I please suggest

that they take as many photographs

from the aircraft as possible for future

reference. For those who don’t have

this facility try and find photographs in

magazines or books which show aerial

views. Study these well and analyse

the effects of colour, cloudscapes and

perspective which might prove useful

for your future paintings.

Having already said that my writings

do not contain rules, there is perhaps

one which should be obeyed! The

golden rule when producing aerial

views is to reduce the colour strength

of the background as it disappears into

the distance and to also reduce the

contrast in comparison to the chosen

aircraft subject. Distance also makes

colours cooler – notice the amount of

blue in distant hills. For example, if a

green aircraft is being painted against

a forest background this effect will

be significant, the background trees

needing less intensity of colour and

noticeably cooler tones.

I intend using examples to illustrate the

different aspects of this wide-ranging

topic so the Vickers Viking (1) shows a

ground view with no horizon. It is a pure

aircraft portrait due to it being used for a

magazine article describing the aircraft.

However, although the background

scene is purely imaginative I decided

to introduce an additional element,

the river, to give the background some

importance and to provide a “pointer”

to the Viking. The ground is a patchwork

of green fields but in a variety of

hues to introduce some interest and

variation. The reduced colour intensity

and distant coolness divorces the

aircraft from its background and make

it really hang in the air. Small added

details such as the bridge, trees, farm

and suggested animals in the field all

provide something extra for the viewer

to peruse. Airliners tend to be shown in

a fairly level flying attitude as befits their

usage so the whole composition was

basically horizontal suggesting serenity

and calmness.

On the other hand, diagonals in a

painting suggest movement so the next

image of the Gloster Gauntlet painting

(2) has an angled horizon creating

action and energy, providing a more

dynamic effect in keeping with the

aircraft’s purpose. The composition

has been deliberately set below the

clouds so that the cloud bases, almost

always horizontal, further enhance

this principle. The Gauntlet’s attitude

provides yet more angles to stress this

energetic approach. The rural pastures

below follow the principles given in the

earlier description, fading and cooling

towards the horizon. As before, they do

not represent any particular area of the

country and are purely imaginative.

If we choose to paint an aircraft at a

higher altitude, clouds take on much

more importance in the composition as

shown in the Mustangs image (3) and

the depiction of these will depend on

the position of the sun and its effect on

the clouds. A sharp horizon line is quite a

rarity and becoming increasingly rare in

today’s polluted skies so note that there

is no fixed horizon, the ground and sky

merging seamlessly so that the greens

of the rural landscape eventually just

disappear. They are of course much

smaller but it is still important to vary

the colours, these being gradually less

intense and cooler towards the horizon.

The river is positioned to break up the

large area of green in addition to

providing a “lead in” to the aircraft in

the painting, whilst the sun’s reflection in

the water creates added interest.

Clouds can also be a way of breaking

up large boring areas as seen in this very

different view of an aircraft as seen in the

next image, but note that the edges of

clouds can be transparent, appearing

to blend with the ground below.

The Vickers Virginia (4) is seen over

Stonehenge in the 1920s when some

of the stones were placed differently

than today’s pattern, according to

my research. Using known locations

is a good way to make background

details more interesting and the web

can provide plenty of aerial images to

incorporate these into a composition.

An overhead view of the aircraft can

also provide a stimulating and unusual

composition.

Of course, looking directly down to the

ground it is not necessary to actually

identify the location. The next image of

a Hansa-Brandenberg and Letov (5) in

combat is a completely vertical view

of the ground but still retains contrast

with the aircraft. The nearest aircraft has

the most contrast, the other less so and

the ground the least contrast. Subdued

colours are used to show the vertical

distancing. It is a totally imaginative

scene and the river again introduces

more interest in the background. As an

aside, perhaps you can remember in the

past taking a photograph of a person

and only realising when you looked at

the print afterwards that the subject has

a lamp post sticking out of his/her head.

Well, the same thing applies here. Just

make sure that you don’t have a road

or river going directly to the aircraft’s

spinner or the pilot’s head. cont...

3

5

1

2

4

Vickers Viking (1)

Gloster Gauntlet (2)

P51 Mustangs (3)

Vickers Virginia (4)

Hansa-Brandenberg and Letov (5)

18 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SPRING 2021 GUILD GUILD OF OF AVIATION ARTISTS ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS NEWS WINTER SPRING 2020/21 2021 195

Aviation Art - Expanding the knowledge


If a low-level view is contemplated, it’s

important to select either an imaginary

or actual location and to decide how

much detail you are prepared to add.

The Catalina in an ice field (6) allows

an unlimited choice of backgrounds as

there is no specific location so the bergs

can be placed to complement the

aircraft. Reference to a few photographs

of icebergs can give ample scope for

creative imagination. The low angle of

the arctic sun allows dramatic lighting to

be used and the berg’s reflections help

to enhance the scene.

Another marine aircraft, this time a civil

one, is the Short Calcutta (7) used by

Imperial Airways on their Empire routes

which is shown over the Egyptian port

of Alexandria. Luckily I came across an

aerial photograph in a pre-war aviation

book, which, although not quite the

correct view I required, was easily rearranged

to suit my needs. As can

be seen, the buildings are not highly

detailed but just suggested, to give

the overall impression of the location

and be a recognisable version of the

city. Personally I always like to have

shorelines which cut into the aircraft’s

outline to link the two elements and

avoid the possibility of seeing it isolated

in the sea.

Still at low-level and also using a

specific place, the Messerschmitt

Me262 (8) is shown over the German

airfield at Lechfeld. Plans of the airfield

and ground views were found which

provided sufficient information to draw

out a composition. Commissioned as a

centrespread for a German magazine,

the finished painting had to depict the

moment of the aircraft’s surrender to

the US occupying forces and it was

therefore important to show some

US aircraft on the ground. The Me262

had been instructed to fly over with its

undercarriage down to demonstrate

that it was in a non-aggressive situation

before landing. Note the varying

tones of grass and concrete and the

difference in contrast/tonal values of

the US aircraft on the ground to that of

the Me262.

High level scenes present the artist with

completely new possibilities. There are

very few photographs taken at extreme

altitude so some artistic licence may be

necessary. Of more concern to the artist

are the effects of light as everything at

that height will be in direct sunlight and

it is therefore vital to decide where the

sun will be positioned in order to show

the aircraft to advantage.

In this painting of a Lockheed SR-71

(9) I decided to use a low angle of

light to give minimal illumination to the

overall aircraft and so induce a more

sinister profile, much in keeping with its

character. The background clouds are

bathed in the warm light of a low sun

and their shape and size dictated by

height and distance.

The Needles have long been a favourite

backdrop for aviation photographers so

there are ample reference images of

that iconic location. However, I wasn’t

able to find one which suited my needs

6

7

exactly for this particular painting of a

Boeing C-17 (10) but a combination of 3

amended black and white photos were

used plus some web-surfing to obtain

colour details.

I chose to show the aircraft following

the same visual path as the Needles

themselves but with a degree of bank

to add a dynamic quality and also

provide a link to the ground below.

The background might seem overly

detailed but that is because of the oil

painting’s large size – 48” x 36”.

9

Catalina in an ice field (6)

Short Calcutta (7)

Messerschmitt Me262 (8)

Lockheed SR-71 (9)

Boeing C-17 (10)

10

8

I hope that this short insight into

aerial views will encourage members

to increase their awareness of

backgrounds and realise how important

they are to any overall concept.

Meanwhile keep looking through

magazines for suitable backgrounds

as a basis for a future painting. Travel

brochures are also a good source

although often over-colourful. However,

do not religiously copy backgrounds

as has been seen in some unfortunate

paintings at previous Guild exhibitions.

If using a photograph, please ensure

that it is your own interpretation and

not a direct copy. Slavish copies

of photographs of either aircraft or

background are merely technical

exercises which lack creativity and fail

to display an artist’s own recognisable

style. Take that bold step and design

your own cloudscape or landscape to

suit the aircraft subject.

Even if you are forced to use a specific

background, don’t be afraid to tweak

a photographed view by, for example,

slightly moving the viewpoint to

enhance the composition – it will still be

recognisable. My painting of the Boeing

C-17 overflying the Needles is just such

an example.



Flying High in the Sunlit Silence

The aviation art of Jack Berry

Two Spitfires with family histories

Your Eds younger brother Richard is

autistic and so we were very interested

to learn of a new book by Jack Berry,

a 13 year old with autism who has a

wonderful passion for drawing and

painting aeroplanes.

Jack uses his creativity and artwork as a

form of communication and release.

Flying High in the Sunlit Silence – the

aviation art of Jack Berry, is a beautifully

produced square format paperback

book showing all manner of paintings and

drawings of aircraft both military and civil.

Jack has a fresh and colourful approach

to his artwork and likes to use watercolours

and crayons.

The title is based on a line from the famous

poem High Flight by Spitfire pilot John

Gillespie Magee.

Each image has accompanying text by

a relevant pilot or aviation luminary who

Jack has got to know, which all adds to

make for a fascinating book about a

young man’s love of aircraft.

A chance conversation during a recent Committee Zoom meeting saw Shirley Batten-Smith and

Graham Henderson GAvA comparing notes on two metal Spitfires that had special significance for

each family.

Your Eds asked them to tell their stories.

Shirley’s Spitfire

Does anybody have one of these little

model aircraft at home? I found it in a

box of old war comics that my husband

retrieved from the back of the garage

during a Lockdown spring clean. He

remembers playing with it as a kid and

thinks it was made with scrap metal by

his father who worked as a toolmaker

making armaments at Philco.

However, when I shared this with some

colleagues during a Zoom meeting of

the Guild of Aviation Artists somebody

there also had one - but this one was

fitted onto a stand - in that case the

model was made by his father as an

apprentice blacksmith in the Royal

Air Force. What struck us both was the

similarity of the two pieces.

Then watching an episode of Endeavour

over Christmas I was surprised to see

there was another model - exactly the

same - sitting on the desk of one of the

characters.

I shared this story on Facebook and a

friend in Australia said she remembers

seeing them as a child in New Zealand

and someone else said their father had

one on a stand. So, I have been doing

some searching on the internet and

there would appear to be lots of them

- all the same dimensions and some

made of wood.

Given the proliferation of these little

models of similar design and size it

would be good to know if this was

some sort of promotion during the war

– perhaps an apprentice piece or a test

for toolmakers or even a way to use up

scrap metal?

Shirley Batten-Smith

Graham’s Spitfire

The book is published by

Mention the War Publications

www.bombercommandbooks.com

£11.99 on Amazon

Sales from the book will benefit three

charities chosen by Jack;

SSAFA-the Armed Forces Charity

International Bomber Command Centre

Lincolnshire Lancaster Association

Robert Calow GAvA

During a recent zoom committee

meeting Shirley mentioned her

husband’s model Spitfire aircraft. She

got it and showed it on screen… I was

shocked to see my Grandfather’s

model! A metal aircraft on a dynamic

‘lightning’ stand with an ashtray below.

6” wingspan.

This is something I’ve known about all

my life and played with when younger.

Indeed, it was passed on to me after my

paternal grandparents passed on, as it

meant so much to me.

A little back story may be of interest…

My family comes from north

Northumberland. Just before World War

Two, due to family circumstances, my

grandfather and a brother went to live

with his aunty in the same village, North

Broomhill, acting as bread-winners. My

grandfather, George Henderson, went

to work in the village colliery, serving

his time as a blacksmith. After which he

worked for an insurance company in

the area. With the outbreak of War he

was ‘called up’ for the RAF and worked

with the barrage balloons over Tyneside

to the south.

From here he was posted to Glasgow

where the barrage balloons played

an important role in the defence of

the city. My grandmother and father

followed on.

While on the balloons he was seconded

to High Duty Alloys at Distington (later

as Alcan) near Workington, because

of his blacksmithing skills. HDA had a

foundry, forge and extrusion processes

producing parts for most types of

British aircraft and aero engines. My

grandfather was involved in castings

and poured metal etc.

At HDA he worked on a small project

of his own during available pare time.

This was his own Spitfire, from an alloy

of some type, using the same methods

as his work. On completion, George’s

supervisor came upon the model

and apparently came to give him a

reprimand – possibly dismissal… But

no – the Spitfire’s tail was too flat and

George should have done it properly!!

Since then, the Spitfire has stayed in

the family as a much-valued keepsake.

There are rumours that my grandfather

made a P-38 Lightning too, but that’s

another story.

Still, both Spitfires ARE rather similar!

Graham Henderson GAvA

22 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS AUTUMN 2020


GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS

HQ NEWS... HQ NEWS...

Guild Flightpath for 2021

LinkedIn

A roadmap is not quite appropriate for

aviation artists and I can’t do the blond

wig, however, I am able to share the

decisions the committee have taken

to try and steer us through 2021. While

there is optimism over the course of the

pandemic, we still need to exercise

caution to be able to cope with difficult

and unpredictable times.

AGM

This will again be virtual. As last year, voting

forms will be sent out by email and with the

QN in April. We will then conclude matters

with a Zoom meeting on Monday May

10th at 19.00 for those who wish. The main

items on the agenda are the election of

new Secretary and Treasurer for which

Richard Thorne AGAvA and Shirley

Batten-Smith have been proposed. The

other item is an addition to the Byelaws

to clarify the position of members acting

for the Guild: “Any member representing

or acting on behalf of the Guild shall do

so only with the full knowledge and prior

consent of the General Committee”.

I hope very much that you will participate

in the AGM as you did last year.

Annual Exhibition

This will be a virtual exhibition with a digital

selection process, rather as we trialled

before Christmas. We felt the risks of

organising a real exhibition in the summer

this year were too high for several reasons:

our reliance on volunteers, willingness

to travel to central London, financial,

reduced works, and lower visitor numbers.

The selection will happen in April with

entries by email between 4th and 18th

with a virtual exhibition running alongside

the website gallery from 19th July.

Marketing Campaign

With social media and online activities

growing ever important, we are enlisting

some skilled help to increase participation

in aviation art, our activities, exhibition,

and picture sales and hopefully our

membership.

We will need your help providing art works,

back stories on the creative process, artist

profiles and even short videos. So please

look out for the appeals when they come.

Normality

Clearly, we all want to get back to some

normality as soon as possible. It is still a

while before we can gather for sketch

days, but hopefully there will be a good

summer. In the meantime, I hope you

can see that we are busy trying to chart

a course for the Guild to come out the

other side with a soft landing.

Andrew Latham GAvA

Chairman

If the Lockdown has taught us anything – it

is the power of technology to keep us in

touch with each other.

Social media is a powerful tool for

connecting with others, and I like to use

platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp

to keep in touch with friends and family.

When I was running my own company, I

found LinkedIn was the best tool for me

to keep in touch with colleagues in similar

industries.

LinkedIn is promoted as a platform for

professional contacts so there are plenty

of people working in the aviation and

aerospace industries. We already have

a public LinkedIn Page for the Guild,

where all uploaded content is visible on

the internet. Alongside this, we now have

a private Group for Guild of Aviation Art

members so we can post conversations

on topics we want to share with each

other or learn about something which

we might not necessarily want to share

with the outside world. Whether it is a

new project that you are working on or

perhaps looking for some help or advice

on any aspect about creating aviation

art - this Group has been set up so that

posts can only be seen by the other

members and will not be visible on the

internet. We hope that having both

company Page and the Group will help

broaden awareness about GAvA and

provide additional opportunities for you

to share your aviation art activities with

people who have mutual interests.

To join the private Group, you will need to

register on LinkedIn and then search for

the ‘Guild of Aviation Artists Group’ in the

search box on the homepage. Send a

‘request to join’ and if you are a paid-up

member of GAvA you will be eligible to

join. Membership will not be for everyone,

but it will provide a very useful way to

share information and activities about

GAvA for those who are.

With the public GAvA Page, for those

who wish for their work to be recognised

publicly online, it would be great to

receive your LinkedIn social handles, so

that any upcoming posts on this Page

which includes your work, can then be

tagged.

If you have a personal LinkedIn page, you

are also welcome to share any uploaded

content with the members of the GAvA

Group. Don’t forget to tag our Page and

Group when you do!

Shirley Batten-Smith

Social Media and Marketing

The project to enhance our presence

in social media continues apace

through a six-month project with

Chatting Creative, a multi-disciplinary

independent creative agency.

So far, with the absence of live events,

reliance has been on historic content

such as the virtual exhibition and

extracts from past QN reports.

However, as we begin to attend

real sketch day meetings, these will

feature more. The aim is to increase

membership, interest, participation, and

sales through social media platforms

such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn,

and our own website.

The new-look Guild public Facebook

page features new logos, an 2021

exhibition advert header and artist

photos/features which will change at

regular intervals.

We hope you are willing for pictures

of you at work on sketch days to be

included. Please let organisers know if

you are not.

Are you a member of The Royal Aeronautical Society ?

Many readers will be aware of The Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) as a professional body dedicated to the

entire aerospace community, with the aim of furthering the art, science and engineering of aeronautics. The

Society’s membership profile is drawn from a wide range of organisations and fields of expertise as well as from

professions that serve the aerospace, aviation and space industries.

In connection with the Society’s aim of furthering the ‘art’ of aeronautics and taking this literally, the Guild would

like to explore possibilities for developing closer ties with the RAeS. No definite plans for this exist at the moment

but as an initial step towards any possible ties, the Guild would like to find out how many of its members are also

members (at any Grade) of the RAeS. If you do belong to the RAeS, and are happy to have this on record with

the Guild, would you be kind enough to let the Chairman or Secretary know please? Thank you.

Watch this space for any further developments!

Richard Thorne AGAvA

Please keep our records of your contact details up to

date and notify us of any changes.

Guild Members are kept updated throughout the year via email and it is really

important that you inform the Membership Secretary if there are any changes to

your address and or email/telephone details.

Ken Farmer GAvA

Membership Secretary




HQ NEWS... HQ NEWS...

Aviation Artists Society Magazines

Other aviation artists’ societies

issue quarterly magazines.

Thanks to Peter Nield for the latest MAVAS

magazine No.108 and a cover which is a

little more traditional this time again!

The website details of AERO BRUSH, the journal

of the American Society of Aviation Artists,

AERIAL VIEWS, the Canadian Aerospace

Artists Association and CROSS & COCKADE

are also shown. It is always interesting to see

what our fellow aviation artist societies are

getting up to.

MAVAS 108 features part 2 of an

article by Keith Woodcock on the

importance of the background in

aviation paintings. Interesting articles

on various painting techniques, art

demonstrations and gallery works

appear in all the magazines.

www.mavas.co.uk

www.asaa-avart.org

www.aviationartists.ca

www.crossandcockade.com

CAPTION COMPETITION SPRING 2021


YOUR REGIONAL ORGANISERS

East Anglian Region

Phil Jackson AGAvA

07484 302051

philjacksonart@btinternet.com

Midland Region

Phil Hadley AGAvA

assisted by David Burchett AGAvA

01743 860096

07876 222485

midlandregion@gava.org.uk

Northern Region

Graham Henderson GAvA

01482 492433

grahamhe@hotmail.co.uk

South East Region

Richard Wheatland GAvA

01293 885430

Richardwheatland@aol.com

evenings - weekdays

(7.00 to 9.00pm) and weekends

West Region

Rob Hames AGAvA

07976 102955

rahames@hotmail.com


GENERAL COMMITTEE

Andrew Latham GAvA Chairman

07711 652152

chair@gava.org.uk

Chris French FGAvA Vice Chairman

01376 551869

Anthony Nicholls GAvA Secretary

01926 813633

Stephen Chard GAvA Annual Co-ordinator

07722 845412

Ken Farmer GAvA Membership

01825 722061

membership@gava.org.uk

Simon Mumford GAvA Website Co-ordinator

01372 844586

Martin Perman AGAvA Administrator,

Commissions and Sales

can be reached via Guild phone number:

0333 130 2223

and admin@gava.org.uk

Robert Calow GAvA

David Calow GAvA

Rob Hames AGAvA

Paul Warrener AGAvA

Anita Hole Bookkeeper

accounts@gava.org.uk.

NEXT QUARTERLY NEWS DATE FOR 2021

Anybody got a big toothbrush?

WINNER

from last

issue!

We have two offerings from John Hunter GAvA

Radio Interviewer; So, Mr McDonnell, how’s the

new holiday park looking…?

Mr McD; Well, we’re still making a final thrust

for full capacity, but the intake certainly looks

welcoming.

Mr Boeing; “If you ask me, we look after our

engine techies far too well.”

Issue SUMMER 2021

Copy to Editors June 2021

Est Dispatch July 2021

Opinions expressed in this newsletter are not

necessarily those of the editors, the Guild or its

officers or committee. No article may be copied

or reprinted in any form without the permission of

the editors.

Editors: Robert Calow/David Calow

75 Severn Road, Oadby,

Leicester, LE2 4FW

07825 537649 (Robert)

07825 537647 (David)

PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW EMAIL ADDRESSES!

robert@calowcreative.co.uk

david@calowcreative.co.uk

Please Note that the email

address used for all QN

correspondence is:

robert@calowcreative.co.uk

PLEASE NOTE THE NEW GUILD ADDRESS

Guild of Aviation Artists

Studio 100

161 High Street

Ruislip HA4 8JY

Tel: 03331 302 223

Email: admin@gava.org.uk



THE BACK PAGE

Robert McCall - movie poster and NASA artist.

The Christmas period carried the traditional film

repeats including one of your Eds favourites –

Ice Station Zebra. Seeing this film in the super

widescreen ‘Cinerama’ experience in 1968

clearly left a lasting impression with its soaring

main theme by Michel Legrand but also as it

starred Patrick McGoohan as the British spy

‘David Jones’- but was he really John Drake

aka Danger Man/The Prisoner?!

The poster artwork was by the great Robert

McCall and this gave your Eds the idea of

exploring the work of this highly honoured

artist, who in 1986 was a founder member of

the American Society of Aviation Artists (ASAA)

for The Back Page.

The 1960’s saw McCall illustrating for LIFE

magazine alongside film concept/poster work

for Tora,Tora,Tora!, 2001 a Space Odyssey

and Zebra. He is most well-known for his largescale

Space murals while working for NASA

which can be seen in the National Air & Space

Museum among other museums.

McCall was honoured in 2003 by the Space

Foundation as ‘The World’s Pre-eminent Space

Artist’. He passed away in 2010.

www.allposters.com

All images copyright Robert McCall websitewww.mccallstudios.com

Robert Calow GAvA


QN SPRING 21

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?