QN SUMMER 22

QUARTERLY 

N EWS 

SUMMER 2022 

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS 

WWW.GAVA.ORG.UK 

contact 

Phantoms Phascination 

Chris Draper GAvA goes into detail about the classic Cold War Warrior 

CONTENTS INCLUDE... 

From The Chair - Andrew Latham 3 

Phantoms Phascination - Chris Draper 4-7 

A Waddington Day Out - Colin Ball 8 

John Rands Portrait - Peter Binks 8 

Who is Snoopy? - Robbie Robertson 9 

Sketches to RAF Cosford - Tony Nicholls 10 

A Cautionary Tale - Mike Daley 11 

Barry K Barnes - OAM Award 13 

Obituaries / RIP 14-15 

Region Meetings 16-35 

RAF Cosford Aviation Workshop 2 36 

Guild Merchandise 37 

MAVAS & Aviation Magazines 38 

Caption Competition 38 

HQ contact information 39 

The Back Page - David Uhl 40 

GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2022

DIARY 2022 

DATES &VENUES 

FROM THE CHAIR 

Andrew Latham GAvA 

QN EDITORS 

Robert Calow GAvA 

David Calow GAvA 

Welcome to the bumper Summer QN! 

A record breaking 40-page issue reports on 12 

Regional Meetings, a sure sign that we are all 

getting back to normality. Your Eds views are 

well known about the importance of these get 

togethers for the health of the Guild. Meeting 

fellow artists socially has to be a good thing 

and we should thank and support the hard 

work that our Region leaders are putting into 

organising them. 

What a summer we are all having! It’s either 

record breaking high temperatures or now 

as we get the QN ready for press, heavy 

rainstorms! 

As Chairman Andrew states in his ‘From the 

Chair’, this has also been a very busy period 

for the Committee who have been working 

hard to find a solution to holding the Annual 

Exhibition at a new venue. IWM Duxford will 

be our first new venture next summer and, 

in the meantime, there will be a Web-based 

virtual exhibition during November. Please see 

Andrew’s message to us all. 

Our cover painting shows two Phantoms in 

flight by Chris Draper GAvA. A lifelong passion 

by Chris resulted in the article in this issue and 

will make us look at this famous iconic aircraft 

in a new light. 

Another artist with a passion this time for 

Harley Davidson bikes, women and modes 

of transport is the subject of The Back Page. 

Phil Hadley AGAvA suggested that we should 

have a look at American artist David Uhl and 

we weren’t disappointed with the strong light 

and shadows making the paintings so striking 

and dynamic. 

Wide ranging articles include a metal model 

plane with strong family connections, a 

RAF Squadron reunion through art and 

a cautionary tale about accepting a 

commission. 

Sadly, we also report on the loss of Mike 

Gunnell, John Milsom, past Guild member 

John Bryce and Wilf Hardy’s widow Barbara, 

all good friends to many of us. As we were 

going to press, we also heard of the passing of 

Les’s widow, Else Irwin. 

Region Meetings 

Midland Region Meetings 

Sat 20th August 

Sat 24th September 

Weds 26th October 

Sat 26th November 

East Anglian Region Meeting 

Sat 13th August 

Northern Region Meeting 

Sat 1st October 

Newark Air Museum 

East Midlands Aeropark 

RAF Cosford Main Base 

RAF Museum, Cosford 

IWM Duxford 

East Fortune 

GAvA Committee Provisional Zoom Meeting Dates 

(Mondays) 12th Sept / 21st Nov 

Cartoon Corner 

Three of Clyde’s classic hot Summer cartoons. 

What were you doing when it was 40 degrees? 

by 

Petrol prices rise again..... 

I am writing this with a feeling of some 

relief that the heatwave is over (for now at 

least). It may not have been the same for 

all of you, however, when the temperature 

is over 30 degrees for such a long duration 

it does deter many routine activities 

without a careful amount of planning and 

early starts. 

The last few months have been exceptionally 

busy from a personal point of view and I 

am indebted to Chris French and others on 

the committee for trying to get the annual 

organised. We came very close to being 

able to hold one in mid September. 

The experience has given a good deal 

of confidence to proceed with an event 

that coincides with the summer Air Show 

weekend at Duxford in June next year. We 

are now waiting for them to confirm dates. 

We have also made a number of useful 

contacts in other places keen on having us, 

which gives more possibilities for the future. 

I was pleased to make the trip to IWM 

Duxford on Saturday 13th August where 

conditions were just bearable both inside 

some of the cooler hangars and outside in 

the shade with a usual airfield breeze. 

It was good to meet other Guild members 

and enjoy the interest of the public, 

particularly the youngsters present. Much 

good work was achieved, and as ever a 

variety of views, styles and media show the 

artistic possibilities of our craft. There was 

a good mix of flying taking place, from the 

aerobatic practice on arrival to the pleasure 

flights in Tiger Moth, Dragon Rapide and 

several Spitfires; the number of these 

seems to increase as if it were wartime! 

Thanks to Phil Jackson for organising. A 

record numbers of meetings are reported 

later in the QN. 

It is sad to report the passing of Else Irwin, 

who helped her late husband, Les with the 

Northern Region for many years. They were 

a great team and Else did a tremendous 

amount to foster the social side of meetings 

and sketching days. 

In the last QN I mentioned the need for 

more helpers. We will certainly need to 

strengthen the team for organising the 

Annual and regional events. If there’s any 

way you feel you could help, please get in 

touch with me, the Region Organisers or 

someone you know who is already involved. 

It does not need to be onerous and can suit 

your availability. 

Very Best Wishes, 

Andrew visited RAF Benson with the 

Midland Region in April and more 

recently IWM Duxford with the East 

Anglian Region and produced two 

very different sketches. 

A loose ‘trademark’ watercolour 

sketch of a Benson Puma contrasts 

with the very creative crayon on 

coloured paper rendition of the 

Duxford Fox Moth. Note the subtle 

use of contasting colours which 

are enhanced by the choice of 

the green background. (Your Eds 

think Andrew is really enjoying 

this different style and producing 

some excellent results!) 

Our thoughts go to family and friends. 

Best Wishes to all, 

Robert and David 

...and as a drought is on 

the horizon water usage 

will be restricted! 

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


Chairman 

2 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2022 

GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2022 3

Phantoms Phascination 

Chris Draper GAvA 

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom 

II is one of a select group of aircraft 

that has reached universally agreed 

legendary status. You could add the 

Spitfire, Concord, maybe the Tomcat 

and a handful of others. 

However, the Phantom would rate very 

highly in most lists. The Phantom ouses 

charisma, was loved by aircrew and 

even has its own cartoon character, 

“The Spook” created by McDonnell 

Douglas top technical artist, Anthony 

“Tony” Wong. In this article I would like 

to explore why the Phantom is arguably 

one of the most Iconic looking fighter 

aircraft ever designed and such a great 

subject for us to draw and paint. To do 

this I will break my analysis into 3 broad 

design principles. Form and function, 

Expressive design choices and Simple 

geometry. Finally, I present some of my 

paintings and the inspiration behind them. 

Background 

Developed in the late 1950’s for the 

US Navy, it occupies a very interesting 

position in fighter aircraft evolution, 

where analogue design reached 

full maturity using pen and paper 

on draughting boards. Subsequent 

generations of new fighter aircraft 

have had the benefit of ever more 

complex computational power and 

digital avionics, unlocking previously 

unimaginable possibilities. As such, the 

Phantom sits at the end of a continual 

lineage to the earliest flying machines. 

Part of its legendary status certainly 

relates to the plethora of records it broke 

in the early 1960’s, and illustrious service 

history. Over 5000 were produced 

and sold worldwide. As a true multi-roll 

fighter, it served with many air forces 

around the world and saw extensive 

combat in SEA the Middle East. The final 

examples retired in 2021, 60 years after 

the initial flight. 

I can’t remember when I became 

fascinated with the Phantom. I would 

like to think I absorbed by osmosis the 

FAA Phantom when the BBC series 

“Sailor” came on the telly when I was 3 

or four years old. Or maybe it was a very 

early memory of laying on a beach in 

Norfolk and seeing them roaring above 

me and heading out to sea. I think I 

remember being transfixed by the noise 

and futuristic shape. As I grew up and 

became more interested in aircraft, I 

was attracted to those planes that I 

thought were cool looking. My eye was 

always drawn to the paint schemes on 

model aircraft boxes or in books. 

So, when I saw Roy Huxley’s painting 

for Matchbox of two No.6 Squadron 

grey green camo RAF Phantoms 

screaming in on a target, rocket pods 

blasting away, I thought it was the most 

awesome thing I had ever seen! 

The power and dynamic composition 

of the painting is burnt into my memory. 

I bought the kit based on that box art 

and spent more time looking at it rather 

than building the contents. Whether it 

was that image, or just a general build 

up of influences, I have been obsessed 

with the Phantom ever since. I have 

bought more books than I will ever read, 

studied photos and paintings, but most 

of all I enjoyed the shape, and explored 

it through building endless models and 

drawing it over and over. When I got 

back into aviation painting in 2012, of 

course the first subject was the Phantom. 

The familiarity of the Phantom’s contours 

was like meeting up with an old friend. 

Over the last few years, I have drawn 

and painted the Phantom more than 

every other aviation subject combined. 

As most of you know the Phantom can 

be divided into two groups. The short 

and long nose versions. Both have 

many subtle variations that differentiate 

various models, including those required 

to fit the short stubby RR Spey into the 

UK variations. For my analysis I’m going 

to stick to the short nose variant as it 

represents the first production models 

and might be of particular relevance to 

RAF or Royal Navy paintings. 

Form and Function 

Whilst studying the Phantom I have tried 

to understand why it is such a great 

subject matter. For me it has little to do 

with its role in various conflicts, I’m by 

no means an aviation historian. I look 

at subjects for their abstract aesthetic 

appeal like a piece of mechanical 

sculpture. The Phantom is instantly 

recognisable simply by its silhouette. 

The unusual geometry of the anhedral 

and dihedral surfaces is a defining factor 

along with the distinctive dogtooth on 

the highly swept wing. Two gaping 

air intakes, which flank the canopy, 

preceded by the splitter ramps express 

the power of the engines. 

As with much great design, form is a 

product of function. Obviously, the 

driving factor with military equipment 

is the function of delivering weapons 

and working environment for crew. 

The broad strokes are defined by the 

laws of physics and parameters set by 

operational requirements. 

Aircraft are always at the cutting edge 

of new technology, materials, and 

performance. As such, unexpected 

challenges often must be overcome. 

During the Phantom’s initial wind tunnel 

testing, instability required a 5° dihedral 

to the wings. So as not to alter the 

underlying structure of the main spar 

and undercarriage layout, only the end 

sections were given the iconic 12° tilt. For 

similar reasons of handling at high angles 

of attack, the rear horizontal stabilisers 

were given the 23° anhedral. Earning 

the nickname double ugly. Its unusual 

shape led one British Naval officer to 

remark “have they delivered it upside 

down”. From pretty much every angle 

the Phantom offers challenges and 

compositional opportunities for artists. 

These elements alone would not be 

sufficient to elevate the design to iconic 

status. There are plenty of examples 

where form is directed by function and 

the result is odd or just plain ugly. As an 

architect we used to joke “a camel is a 

horse designed by an engineer.” 

So what differentiates the Phantom 

from its less charismatic stable mates 

such as the MD F101 Voodoo, the F105 

Thunderchief or A6 Intruder etc? 

Expressive Design Choices 

A pleasing design is the result of 

thousands of choices which gradually 

develop into a finished object. It’s 

interesting to compare the production 

models of the Phantom to its immediate 

predecessors, the McDonnell F3H- 

G/H Demon and the F4H1. The DNA is 

certainly present in the F3H, the wing 

sweep, intakes, twin engine exhausts 

under a high set tail plane. Yet it lacks 

the dynamism that was to come. Even 

the F4H1 which is 90% Phantom looks 

odd with its short pointy nose, curved 

intakes, and flat canopy. 

For tens of thousands of years our ability 

to survive in the wild rested on the ability 

to recognise nonverbal communication. 

Understanding if an animal was 

threatening or passive is hard wired 

into our brains. We continually look for 

those indicators in our environment 

and objects around us. Studies have 

shown that we spot signs of predatory 

intent faster than others. Seeing a shark 

or tiger quickly could be the difference 

between life and death. Angled straight 

lines signifies aggression whilst soft round 

shapes allow us to relax. We see this all 

the time in innate objects and project 

animal or human like characteristics to 

them. This kind of anthropomorphising is 

clearly seen in a car’s face (symmetrical 

arrangement of grill and lights). A family 

run-around has an inviting happy face, 

whereas a sports car aimed at a boy 

racer looks intentionally aggressive and 

possibly reflects the driver. 

It’s clear to see that the highly angular 

distinctive shape of the Phantom puts 

it firmly into the predator category, 

something not to be messed with. It 

reinforces our instinctive understanding 

of flight and uses a design grammar that 

we recognise. The dihedral of the wings 

is a clear indication that idiosyncrasies 

of the design have been understood 

and resolved. Even without detailed 

knowledge of aerodynamics we have 

an inherent understanding of this. As 

children we used to fold the wing tips of 

paper aircraft to make them fly straight. 

The anhedral drop of the horizontal 

stabilisers originates from performance 

issues, but also acts as a visual counterpoint 

to the wings and balances the opposing 

elements. The 52° inner wing and 54° 

outer sweep to the wings is by itself quite 

dramatic, but the dogtooth adds an 

aggressive punch to the leading edge. 

The trailing edge sweeps at 12° which 

incidentally is the same as the dihedral 

angle of the outer wing. 

You can start to see that a common 

geometry is appearing, guiding the 

design decisions, and creating visual 

harmony. 

The flat canopy of the F4H1 gave the 

rear cockpit a claustrophobic working 

environment with limited visibility. It 

was bulged slightly increasing visibility 

at high AOA whilst landing on a carrier 

and breaks the horizontal plane of the 

fuselage. The junction between the 

canopy and fuselage slopes down at 

12° (again). The result gives the front 

fuselage an expression of highly focused 

energy and concentration. The splitter 

plate and intakes all have a forceful 10° 

forward slant adding to the sense of 

speed and power. 

Many lines are given a subtle shift off 

axis adding dynamism. For example, 

the trailing edge of the tailplane is 3°off 

vertical, likewise the main undercarriage 

leg and cover shift forward slightly and 

have a distant echo of an eagles talon. 

A subtlety that is often missed is the 

banana like bend to the underside of 

the fuselage. The engines are angled 

down 7°. 

The rear half of the fuselage gradually 

follows the downward slant from the 

exact centre point of the airframe. 

This angle is balanced by the bulging 

radome which was enlarged to fit the 

Westinghouse AN/APQ72 radar with its 

huge 32in scanner. It slops down at 5° 

to preserve airflow patterns ahead of 

the intakes and gives a slight drop to 

the nose. It adds a certain pragmatic 

elegance when seen against all the 

straight edges. Like the belt line of a car, 

it draws the eye across, down and off 

the fuselage giving the illusion of speed 

even when standing still. 

Other interesting design choices I 

noticed; If you extend the front angle 

of the tail fin it also terminates at the 

midpoint of the horizontal datum. The 

line of the leading edge of the wings 

hits exactly on the junction of the front 

canopy and its frame. The width of the 

fuselage at the air intakes is exactly 

a quarter of the overall width of the 

aircraft wingspan. The angle of the two 

opening canopy frames spring from the 

datum. 



Phantoms Phascination Chris Draper GAvA British Phantom Aviation Group 

Underlying Geometry 

Often the most complex forms have 

a simple underlying geometry that 

controls the layout of components. 

An underlaying grid not only helps 

rationalise the construction process, but 

combines a complex set of shapes into a 

coherent composition with balance and 

harmony. It is common to see diagrams 

of classical temples or paintings with 

squares and rectangles overlayed that 

show how key features fall on pleasing 

proportional lines. Sometimes they have 

become so complex with golden ratio 

or other seemingly magical proportion 

systems, it’s hard to see any logic. An 

impossible mathematical puzzle. 

As humans we are conditioned to look 

for simple patterns in nature. Be it in the 

spiral of a sunflower head or in human 

proportions. The length of outstretched 

arms is usually the same as our height, 

fitting us into a neat square. Leonardo’s 

Vitruvian Man is the best example of 

this. General guidelines that govern the 

proportions of the face are all simple 

geometric divisions and subdivisions. 

To an extent you can find geometric 

relationships anywhere whether it 

was intended by the designer or not. 

Pareidolia is the tendency to see 

pattern even when it doesn’t exist. 

Most common is seeing faces in innate 

objects. 

However, looking for simple squares, 

repeated angles and shapes are useful 

to unlocking the designers logic. I 

recently wrote an article for the Lutyens 

Trust, looking at the underlying geometry 

of the Thiepval Memorial (designed 

by architect Edwin Lutyens in 1931 to 

commemorate the missing soldiers from 

the battle of the Somme). Despite its 

extremely complex massing, there is a 

recurring 13’6’’ square that crops up 

everywhere. Pretty much every element 

is a multiple or divisible ratio of that figure 

sometimes called the module. Whether 

consciously for practical reasons (for 

example based on the dimensions 

of a single brick) or on a more subtle 

aesthetic level, repeating patterns give 

order to design. 

So with that in mind, I printed out a set 

of technical drawings I found on the 

internet and began looking for simple 

shapes with a set square. I started off 

with the top-down plan view and drew 

a box round the entire aircraft and 

immediately noticed it sits exactly into 

a one and a half square rectangle. 

The wingtip of the leading edge of the 

main wing is exactly two thirds along 

the length of the aircraft. Likewise, the 

line of the trailing edge if continued 

to the centreline falls exactly on that 

2 / 3rd line. The width of the fuselage 

from air intake to air intake is 1 quarter 

of the overall width. Looking side on at 

the profile, the height of the fuselage 

is exactly one ninth of the length and 

therefore a simple subdivision of the 

overall rectangle. The height including 

the tail is two of those squares. A 

horizontal datum line drawn from the 

tip of the nose passes through the exact 

centre of the jet nozzle. And so on. 

I have drawn out some of the simple 

geometry as it’s much easier to visualise 

rather than describing it in written form. 

The more you look the more you can 

find. Although I wouldn’t imagine that 

every line and angle is part of some 

grand proportional system, there is a 

clear logic to the decisions that set out 

the overall composition. I would hazard 

a guess that working at a mechanical 

drawing board with pencil and paper 

plays a large part. For ease of construction, 

it appears logical to refer to that datum line 

and the simple grid structure. Ultimately 

a great design comes down to the vision 

of an artist. In the case of the Phantom, 

McDonell Douglas senior designer Herman 

D. Barkley certainly created a timeless 

masterpiece comparable to any great 

work of art. 

Conclusion 

If I could only nominate one aircraft to 

paint for the rest of my days, it would 

obviously be the Phantom. Its unique 

shape with jagged angles and muscular 

simplicity make it instantly recognisable 

from every angle. Sometimes it can look 

brutish and menacing, other times sleek 

and almost elegant with the curving 

contours of the fuselage. 

Subject matters are almost endless. 

Orchestrated high drama of carrier 

operations on the Ark Royal or combat 

over Vietnam. Exotic colour schemes like 

the bicentennial Phantom, Blue Angels, 

Thunderbirds, Ferris, not to mention those 

adopted by the Japanese defence 

force are fascinating to research and 

paint. There are hundreds of books and 

thousands of photos available to study 

every detail. Model aircraft in every 

scale. It looks as great on the ground 

as it does flying, and there are plenty 

of examples in museums to paint and 

draw plein air. I get an overwhelming 

sense of sadness in the presence of their 

discarded remain. A mighty symbol 

of aviation reduced to scrap metal. A 

thrill when painting them in full burner 

soaring through the sky with power 

unleashed. Beautiful with the sun glinting 

off the canopies in early morning sun or 

duelling with MiGs over the jungle. The 

Phantom has everything. 

Ultimately there isn’t a formula that can 

define why one aircraft can be labelled 

iconic and others can’t. The Phantom 

would certainly tick these boxes- simple 

design, recognisable, memorable and 

like all great design, has withstood the 

test of time. Our preference is largely 

subjective and influenced from many 

factors. Some will love the Spitfire for 

its elegant lines or the Vulcan for its 

scale. There is something intangible, just 

beyond the horizon of consciousness 

that determines why we love this and 

not that. There are no right and wrong 

answers and that is why it is such an 

interesting subject. 


The BPAG is a group of ex-service 

personnel and aviation enthusiasts 

dedicated to the preservation of UK 

specific variants of the Phantom and 

its time in service with the RAF and the 

Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. 

Previously they restored Black Mike (now 

in the South Wales Aviation Museum) 

and the cockpit of XV470 at Newark 

Aviation Museum. 

I had followed them for a couple of 

years and was excited to see they were 

moving to a new home at the Cotswold 

The two Phantoms as they lie ready for “assembly” at Cotswold 

Airport (RAF Kemble) as portrayed in Chris’s superbly observed 

paintings. His trademark wet ground and reflections add to the 

overall effect giving a realistic sense of time and space. 

Airport (RAF Kemble) with plans for 

a dedicated Phantom heritage 

centre. The first two airframes were 

moved there in July 2021 and a crowd 

funder campaign started to pay for 

construction of a permanent building. 

I contacted them and suggested doing 

a painting and selling prints as part of the 

crowd funder. In late August, I met them 

and spent a great day in the presence 

of the two incredible machines. The 

eventual plans are to get them both 

fully rebuilt in factory fresh condition. 

In their current state they are like a giant 

construction toy waiting in anticipation. 

XT905 currently in grey will be reborn to 

represent its earliest colours as part of 

228 OCU. Sporting the green, grey camo 

with high vis roundels. XT597 still wears its 

stunning “raspberry ripple” colours from 

its time with A&AE at Boscombe down. 

Even on a rainy day and despite the 

fading paint, it radiates class and draws 

our attention. 

Spread along the taxiway are wings, 

drop tanks and all kinds of bits which 

will eventually re-join the fuselage. Now 

they look like an incredible collection of 

oddly shaped, coloured and textured 

sculptures that beg to be painted. 

For the crowd funder painting I wanted 

to show the two aircraft as they were in 

their hey day soaring over Kemble. 

I built models of both and set up a 

photobooth in the garden to get 

reference shots. In photoshop I added 

them to a screen grab from Google 

Earth which became the base for the 

final painting. 

After the addition of some text and 

signatures from the last pilot and nav 

to fly in XT597, Hansen Fine Art’s Lee 

Lacey AGAvA printed them out for the 

pledgers. 

I’m proud to have contributed a few 

extra £s towards the preservation of 

these two magnificent aircraft for 

generations to come. 


6 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2022 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2022 7

A Grand Day Out at Waddington 

Colin Ball AGAvA 

Who is Snoopy? 

Robbie Robertson AGAvA 

Colin Ball has let us know about a great 

day out revisiting No.56 Squadron at 

RAF Waddington for partner Helen and 

himself. 

It started with my painting of an “I was 

there” picture of the occasion when 

serving with No.56 Squadron, we took 

delivery of the squadron’s first Lightning. 

XM172 ‘S’ arrived on December 14th 

1960 and along with other ground crew, 

I was surprised with its size compared 

with Hunters. The Lightning landed and 

taxied to the apron of No.4 hangar 

and was parked in the line of Hunters. 

Lightnings XM174 and XM175 arrived the 

next day and the gradual conversion 

from Hunters began. 

I decided to present the work to No.56 

for their art gallery/museum, and after 

much telephoning and texting the visit 

was set up, with the only day available 

being Friday 29th April. I explained that 

this was my 87th birthday and they said 

that if I was OK with it there was no 

problem with them. And what a day it 

turned out to be! 

We were met at the gate by a Flight 

Lieutenant who made the passage 

through the guard room, with its forms 

and photos, a simple affair. He then 

led us through the street maze of RAF 

Waddington to No.56 HQ where he 

introduced us to the Wing Commander 

- Officer Commanding. 

The Flt. Lt. had set out the detailed 

historical records of the squadron for the 

time that I served, together with a photo 

album showing all the pilots of that time. 

This was totally for my personal interest. 

Then came the presentation and the 

station photographer had duly been 

detailed to record the occasion. 

After this we went into the crew room 

for tea/coffee and the delivery of a 

black forest gateau ‘Birthday cake’. The 

C.O. then handed me a birthday card 

signed by every squadron member and 

after a lot of chat we were escorted to 

the Officers Mess to take lunch. 

Soon after this it was time to leave, but 

there was one last thing. 

The Warrant Officer presented me with 

a print showing all the aircraft flown by 

the squadron since its inception, and this 

again was signed by all of the officers. 

Everyone at No.56 was so friendly and 

welcoming and gave us the red-carpet 

treatment. What a day! 

Colin Ball AGAvA 

I was lucky enough to win the Margaret 

Kahn Trophy for the best gliding related 

painting of the year 2021 and I received 

the splendid award at this year’s AGM 

for “Snoopy Aloft”. During the award 

ceremony, I noticed a few puzzled 

expressions on some members’ faces 

presumably at the title of the painting. 

Well, I guess I had better explain! 

Snoopy is my open cockpit vintage two 

seat Slingsby T21 sailplane based at the 

Black Mountains Gliding Club at Talgarth 

in South Wales where I have flown her 

for over 20 years. Built in 1947, she has 

amassed almost 45,000 launches by 

various owners over the years including 

the ATC and the Royal Navy Gliding Club. 

Naturally she has suffered a view 

bumps and bangs but with loving care 

she is as good as when she left Fred 

Slingsby’s workshops 75 years ago. With 

a wingspan of 17 meters and a very low 

weight thanks to her wood and canvas 

construction, she can soar on a f**t as 

they say! With almost a 100km of ridges 

and plentiful thermals, Talgarth is the 

perfect home for Snoopy where she is 

kept fully rigged and ready to fly. It takes 

only a few minutes to pull her out of the 

hangar into the sunshine and hook on 

to the Pawnee towplane for a tow up 

into the blue to find the lift to keep us 

airborne for an hour or longer. 

When weather conditions allow, I fly 

her all year round but, believe me, you 

need some serious extreme weather 

clothing to stay warm on a cold frosty 

winter’s day. 

Where Snoopy really comes into her own 

is on a summer’s afternoon or evening 

with a gentle breeze on the ridge and 

plentiful thermals carrying us up to the 

white cumulus clouds high above the 

glorious welsh mountains. I always keep 

my eyes peeled for buzzards or kites 

that seem to know instinctively where 

the lift is, and I have been saved many 

times from a premature landing by our 

feathered friends who seem to delight 

in company! 

With a camera always to hand, there 

is unlimited subject matter for painting 

subjects with the ever-changing light 

and scenery. 

Have a look on Youtube for some of 

my videos based on footage I have 

taken from Snoopy and other gliders. 

In particular look for “Fun with an old 

lady in Wales” and enjoy it. Despite the 

title (Which probably explains the large 

number of hits) I hope that you won’t be 

disappointed. 

Robbie Robertson AGAvA 

Another definition of En Plein Air? 

PS. Why is she called Snoopy? I haven’t 

a clue….she was Snoopy when I bought 

her in 1991! 

Simon Milan GAvA 

John Rands OBE portrait 

Peter Binks AGAvA 

By way of something a little different, 

but still on the Gliders theme, here is 

the continuing story of Simon’s “What I 

did during Lockdown….” article in the 

Summer 2020 QN. 

Peter Binks AGAvA has sent us the latest 

of his pilot portraits. 

John Rands OBE was an ex-Lightning 

and Harrier pilot who went on to 

become Team Leader of the Red 

Arrows. 

He led the Team on their famous round 

the world trip in 1995 and not long 

afterwards became the subject of the 

famous little red book, when Michael 

Aspel popped up to say ‘John Rands, 

this is your life!’ 

Peter presented the portrait to John at 

Wickenby airfield in Lincolnshire. Note 

the rather appropriate registration on 

John’s Pitts Special! 

Taken on a sunny day on Oxford’s Port 

Meadow earlier in the year during 

March, it shows some of Simon’s 

current fleet of free-flight duration 

models: 2 gliders, 2 P30-class rubber 

motor-powered, an E36 class electricpowered, 

a small rocket-powered and 

a CLG (catapult launched glider). 

Quite a collection. 

It was an absolutely perfect way to 

spend a gentle Spring day - and should 

you be wondering, Simon assures us all 

gliders were taken home intact! 

PS. In case you think he’s back-sliding, 

Simon says he’s already painted 3 works 

for the next much-anticipated Annual - 

whenever it may be. 




Donation of Sketch Day Art to RAF Cosford 

Tony Nicholls GAvA 

A cautionary tale of enthusiasm over experience and common sense! 

One of the many aspects that I have 

enjoyed from being a member of our 

Guild has been the opportunity to spend 

happy occasions with colleagues at 

many Sketch Day venues. 

Over the years I have also had the 

pleasure of helping to organise many 

such days for Midland Region and 

through a time which was perhaps 

one of the halcyon periods for Guild 

activities and participation. 

I am also proud of playing a large part 

in establishing closer ties with various 

RAF bases who have proved to be 

so supportive and inspirational to our 

members. None less so than No1. School 

of Technical Training at RAF Cosford. 

With their fantastic support, and input 

and encouragement by Sqd. Ldr. Chris 

Wilson, a most valued association has 

been formed. 

In a drawer at home I have kept all 

of my Sketch Day works (over the 

years some have actually sold) and 

recently I thought that it may be better 

if these were mounted up as a series 

of montage panels and donated 

to whoever may be interested. My 

personal appreciation of the support by 

RAF Cosford prompted me to put my 

thoughts to Sqd. Ldr. Chris Wilson who, 

to my surprise showed great interest and 

welcomed my offer of this donation. He 

even went a step further and offered to 

cover the cost of the materials for the 

mounting panels. 

Three panels were produced containing 

some 30 odd Sketch Day works and 

these have now been hung in the newly 

opened Student Resource Centre at 

RAF Cosford where I hope they will be 

enjoyed by visitors and students. 

Of course I very much look forward to 

many more Guild Sketch Days from 

which I will probably fill the drawer up 

again! 


Photos: Crowncopyright 

The three panels 

now hang in the 

newly opened 

Student Resource 

Centre 

In 2020 I received a message on my 

FaceBook site. A prospective client living 

in Scandinavia asked if I accepted 

commissions; always a hard one to 

answer!! 

His Grandfather had emigrated from UK 

to the USA in the early 1900s. He joined 

the US Coast Guard and after war 

service went on to have a successful 

career with them. During WW1 he 

served on the US CG Cutter Manning. 

This vessel was part of a squadron sent 

by the US to provide convoy escorts 

between Gibraltar and UK together 

with other escort duties. 

The client sent a fairly faded photo of 

the Manning in dry dock. It revealed 

that she was painted in what we knew 

as Dazzle camouflage. The USN term for 

this was Razzle Dazzle. This caught my 

interest since I had done some previous 

research into this subject. 

I told him that I’d be happy to take this 

on and sent details of sizes and costs 

likely to be involved. After some delay 

he replied that he wanted a “really 

big painting”. We settled on a 4ft x 2ft 

canvas, largely because this was the 

biggest size I could fit in my studio with 

me in there as well. 

I explained that because of the size 

and the need to purchase a bespoke 

canvas I would require a deposit of 

20%. No problem it seemed yet this is 

where it all started to go wrong and my 

enthusiasm for the subject overrode my 

common sense!! 

During the lull in correspondence 

I bought the canvas, prepared a 

charcoal sketch of the design we had 

agreed and began researching the 

Manning. There are only two images in 

existence. Meanwhile he came back 

‘having trouble’ getting his bank to 

recognise my bank details and didn’t 

want to use PayPal because of their 

fees. I was not to worry since he was 

working hard to sort it out... and still I 

ploughed on in a bubble of enthusiasm. 

As part of my research I contacted the 

USCG Archivist in Maryland seeking any 

help they could give. They were pleased 

to hear of the project since they were 

planning a big WW1 display in their new 

Museum currently under construction 

in Washington. Alas they had not one 

iota of info on the Manning or any 

other details of the vessel type other 

than that available on the internet. No 

plans or images. In fact I was able to 

provide them with the colour scheme for 

Dazzle paint used by the USN that I had 

found on the net, they had never seen 

it before. So some good will established 

which proved vital in the weeks to come. 

I won’t bore you or embarass myself any 

futher. Suffice to say that his demands 

for changes to the design became 

increasingly odd. The excuses for non 

payment grew more frenetic and 

silences grew longer. The final straw 

was his request that I paint the Manning 

rigged overall with flags spelling out 

his Grandfather’s name - and still no 

deposit. The Manning was pretty much 

finished and despite all this drama I had 

enjoyed the process. I like big paintings; 

the largest I have done was an 8ft x 4 ft 

for the Sgts’ Mess at Brize Norton, I had 

access to a bigger room in those days!! 

Finally, I faced up to the truth that he 

had no intention of paying me for work 

done or indeed fulfilling his part of the 

agreement we had made and told him 

of my conclusion. I received a golden 

thumbs up in reply. However, I had sent 

a photo of the sketch and the finished 

painting to my new chums at the CG 

Museum. They were delighted with it 

and even better, once they learned 

that my client had reneged on the 

commission asked if they might have it!! 

To cut to the chase, after some discussions 

and high level decisions Stateside, I 

waved goodbye to the Manning as 

Pack and Send drove it away and sent 

it off to its new home. At the time of 

writing it has yet to be displayed but I am 

assured that it will form the centre piece 

of their WW1 display when the Exhibition 

Centre is finally opened. 

Mike Daley MBE AGAvA 



Supermarine S.6B metal car mascot 

John Corp 

Award of an Honorary Medal (OAM) 

Barry K Barnes OAM GAvA 

Our ongoing articles of members’ 

metal aircraft really has revealed some 

surprising items. John Corp has a family 

gem here for sure! 

In the thirties, Hillman Cars introduced 

a competition to design a car radiator 

mascot for their Aero Minx model. My 

father Harry Corp was a keen model 

railway enthusiast and made model 

steam trains. He entered a model of the 

Supermarine S.6B Seaplane which he 

had cast in bronze, the floats and prop 

(which turned) were made of sheet brass 

and painted silver. 

Unfortunately, he eventually had to 

remove it because little boys would 

damage the floats trying to take it away! 

My father worked in the aircraft industry 

up until the end of the fifties as a supervisor 

with Helliwells at Walsall and Elmdon 

Airports until they closed. The company 

was a large manufacturer of aircraft parts 

and also had Ministry service contracts for 

the Harvard and Navy Seafires and many 

civil contracts such as fabricating wings 

for Pembrokes and Viscounts. 

John Corp 

The competition was won by an Art Deco 

design of a swept winged bird which was 

more streamlined and would have been 

easier to manufacture. 

The S.6B mascot is clearly seen on top of 

the radiator cap in the photograph of 

my father’s Clyno car. He is seated on 

the running board with my mother in the 

driving seat and his sister in the ‘dicky.’ 

Many members of the Guild past and 

present have been recipients of this 

Country’s prestigious awards. Few, if any 

though we believe have been awarded 

a major civic honour by another country. 

Another mural at Hemswell Antiques 

John Hunter has been visiting Hemswell 

Antiques Centres near Gainsborough 

again and has sent us some photos of 

another aviation themed mural. 

We featured the magnificent War Comicinspired 

bomber crew mural on the side 

of the Astra Antiques building in the 

Winter 21/22 QN. This time John found a 

Lancaster that has been painted on the 

corner walls of the Bikers’ favourite Faun 

Cafe on the aptly named Gibson Road. 

John has some of his paintings on the 

inside wall of the cafe. 

A short history behind the Avro Lancaster 

IQ-U ‘We Dood It Too’ appears on the 

Faun Cafe FaceBook page: 

Avro Lancaster IQ-U was based here at 

RAF Hemswell in 1944 with 150 Squadron. 

Flight Officer Marriott and his crew 

completed 36 operations from here, one 

of her last operations which was after VE 

Day in 1945 was to transport ex-POW’s 

back to the UK and the 8th Army Men 

back from Italy before she was sadly 

broken up like many other Lancasters in 

May 1947. 

Barry K Barnes GAvA, has for many 

years been writing about the littleknown 

history of the fledgling Australian 

Flying Corps near his Tetbury home in 

Gloucestershire. 

As well as writing a book on the subject, 

Barry has worked tirelessly to bring the 

fascinating story of the 1st Training Wing 

of the AFC to a wider audience including 

the Royal Australian Air Force. 

His dedication and hard work bore 

justified reward on Friday 22nd April this 

year when Barry was presented with the 

Order of Australia Medal (OAM) by the 

Australian High Commissioner George 

Brandis in Australia House in London. 

The Citation reads; 

‘This honorary award formally recognises 

Mr Barnes’s service to commemorating 

the service of the Australian Flying Corps 

in Tetbury, England, and surrounding 

areas, during World War One.’ 

Many congratulations Barry and we 

look forward to reading in a future QN 

article all about those first Aussie pilots in 

Gloucestershire. 



The plaque commemorating the RAAF in 

Tetbury Market House, instigated by Barry 

and unveiled on 11th November 2017. It 

pays tribute to the service of Australian 

airmen who were based at Leighterton 

and Minchinhampton during WW1. 

BY 

BARRY K BARNES OAM 



John Milsom 1936-2022 Obituary 


Mike Gunnell AGAvA RIP 

Following on from the brief notice in our 

last Quarterly News that John Milsom 

had passed away shortly before 

going to press, I would like to now 

present a reflection of his life, work and 

involvement with the Guild as a longstanding 

member. 

John was born in Stourbridge, 

Worcestershire in 1936 and from an 

early age was well travelled around the 

County following his father’s career as 

a Policeman. After his early school days 

in Bromsgrove, he studied pottery and 

lithography at the prestigious Stourbridge 

School of Art where he achieved a 

National Design Diploma. Being able to 

‘throw a good pot’, he had one of his 

school pieces displayed at the Festival 

of Britain in 1951. Seven years later he 

was called up for National Service and 

joined the 2nd Battalion of the Worcester 

Regiment which he enjoyed and always 

spoke fondly of his travels and good times 

including 2 years in the Caribbean. 

In 1960, his early art training led to a job 

at Worcester Porcelain and over the next 

30 years he worked in several roles, initially 

as a pottery and pattern designer. The 

Royal Worcester ‘Evesham’ design was 

a big part of John’s work. He progressed 

and because of his deep technical 

knowledge in all aspects of ceramics, 

was selected by Worcester Porcelain to 

set up and manage the complex mass 

production Portland Walk factory in 

Worcester. John was particularly proud 

of establishing a training school for the 

company so creating the next generation 

of ceramic designers and painters. 

He was himself a keen painter in any 

medium and this extended to running 

painting classes where he mentored 

and helped improve the talents of many 

people over the years. This included some 

with learning difficulties at a college in 

Worcester, something which gave him 

great satisfaction. 

John was of course a Guild member for 

many years and always a firm supporter 

of the Midland Region. He very much 

enjoyed regional sketching days when he 

was nearly always joined by his wife Beth 

who, whist we were all sketching would 

sit with Margaret Sumpter, Gillian Moody 

and Liz Cooke enjoying ladies chat…. 

good times. 

He always looked forward to our annual 

regional lunch and get together and 

exhibitions at the Mall Galleries and 

Midland Air Museum where he always 

had work displayed. 

John was a firm supporter of the 

Midland Region sketch days 

John’s talents also extended to sign 

writing and scenery painting which led 

to projects for Mercia and Thames Police 

creating indoor shooting ranges and 

also for Pershore Operatic and Dramatic 

Society painting and building scenery 

for many shows over the years. Beth 

was again sharing these times with John 

making all the costumes. 

John Milsom was a kind and caring man 

who through his life gave much to help and 

support others. It was a fitting reflection 

that his funeral at Pershore Abbey on 

the 10th May 2022 was attended by so 

many. Canon Claire Lording, a longstanding 

family friend, paid fine tribute 

to John as did others including son Jon, 

who read a lovely eulogy to his father. This 

was followed by ‘You’ll never walk alone’, 

sung by members of Pershore Operatic 

Singers, the closing address and the final 

hymn, ‘I vow to thee my Country’. 


John was an artist who showed his skill 

in any medium. He had a keen eye for 

architectural detail and a nice freedom in 

his watercolours. Tackling aviation subjects 

was more of a challenge but John made 

award-winning progress throughout his 

time in the Midland Region. (see above) 

John receives the Midland Air Museum 

Award for the Midland Region artist making 

the best progress throughout the year at 

the MAM exhibition in August 2011. 

John and Beth always enjoyed meeting 

members at the Midland Region lunches. 

It’s with some sadness that I have to report 

the passing of Mike Gunnell AGAvA. 

Mike was the East Anglian Regional 

Organiser for many years and a very dear 

friend of mine. He was a kind, considerate 

and quiet gentlemen and his watercolours 

and organising skills were exceptional. 

Unfortunately Mike had to retire from 

the post and his artistry due to ill health a 

number of years ago. 

Mike and his partner Vicky have always 

been close friends of mine and we have 

always kept in touch over the years. He will 

be truly missed by myself and everyone 

who knew him in the East Anglian Region 

and throughout the Guild. 

My condolences go out to Vicky and all 

the family. 

Phil Jackson GAvA 

East Anglain Region Organiser 

Your Eds heard the sad news that Mike 

Gunnell AGAvA had passed away on 

the 25th May. 

Mike had been a well -respected East 

Anglian Region Organiser and over the 

years we had grown to know Mike and his 

John Bryce RIP 

We have also heard the sad news of the 

death of John Bryce, a highly respected 

past Full Member of the Guild. 

John was a superb watercolourist as well 

as being highly proficient at etching and 

woodcut art. He was elected a member 

of the Society of Wood Engravers in 2001. 

He became a Full Member of the Guild 

in 1990 and on retirement concentrated 

on watercolours as a member of the 

Wapping Group who have been painting 

the River Thames for over 70 years. 


Mike received the Guild Medal for 

outstanding services to the Guild from 

President Michael Turner at the AGM in 

March 2015 

partner Vicky well, sharing our many similar 

Suffolk countryside and aviation interests. 

Some years ago, we were ‘chuffed’ 

to be allowed a very special visit to the 

beautifully preserved Martlesham Heath 

Control Tower near Ipswich in Suffolk, all 

organised by Mike and Vicky. A great 

aviation-themed day out for the Eds! 

We send all our thoughts to Vicky and all 

who knew Mike. 


Barbara Hardy Obituary Michael Turner P&FGAvA 

I am sad to report that Barbara Hardy 

died on May 20th at the age of 81. 

Wife of Wilf Hardy, she was a willing 

helper to the Guild, and a welcome and 

cheerful supporter, accompanying Wilf at 

Guild events during his many years as a 

much admired Full Member. 

Born in 1941, she met Wilf in the late 

1950’s, and they married in 1960, settling 

in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Barbara excelled 

at Chemistry and Physics at school, 

but their first child was born in 1961, and 

any ambitions to attend University were 

abandoned in favour of raising a family 

and supporting Wilf. In later life, she and 

Wilf cared for one of their three sons who 

was autistic, but sadly he pre-deceased 

them, and a few years later Barbara 

became Wilf’s carer until he died in 2016. 

Through all these problems in later life, even 

when she herself became bedridden, she 

remained selfless, supportive of others, and 

retained her lively sense of humour. 

Tony and Isobel Cowland along with Roy 

and Sue Huxley attended the funeral on 

27th July at Tunbridge 

Wells Crematorium. 

She will be much 

missed by all who 

knew her, and 

we offer sincere 

condolences 

to her family. 

Michael Turner 

P&FGAvA 

Mike was never 

without his little 

sketch book. 



WEST REGION MEETING 

Wallop Wheels & Wings 

Army Flying Museum 

Middle Wallop 

Saturday July 2nd 

For our second outing to the popular 

Wheels & Wings event at Middle 

Wallop, with a vintage fly and drive in, 

and 5000 people expected through 

the gates, we started early for a long 

day promoting the Guild. 

It was also an early start as ever, for the 

Welsh members. John, Ieuan, and Tim 

were on site well before anyone else it 

seemed regardless of travel time! Martin 

had travelled up from Cornwall the day 

before, to assist with portable payment 

devices which aid sales, and took fees 

from a new member that we signed up 

on the day. 

was a visual feast for machine minded 

types, and great for getting in some 

reference too. We are already looking 

ahead to next year’s event, and I would 

say that if anybody who has not thought 

about taking part so far should give it a 

go as it’s a jolly good day, if a long and 

tiring one, and there is a beer call at the 

end of play! 

A huge thank you to all those who 

supported the Guild’s presence on the 

day, and to the organisers at Wheels 

& Wings for positioning us again in the 

beer tent! I look forward to seeing you 

all again soon in the West Region. 

Rob Hames GAvA 

West Region Organiser 

Photo:www.armyflying.com 

Photo:www.aviationpostcards.co.uk 

With a car full of set up materials, 

pictures and hanging grids, we were 

on site from 7.00am until close of 

play at 5.00pm, with a steady flow of 

public through our position which was 

once again situated next to the bar! 

Being able to ask if people had driven 

or flown in, and waiting to hear the 

answer of either Aston, or Auster is fun 

as well, an audience of air minded and 

automotive types helps the day along 

somewhat. 

With 100 works on display from past 

Annuals, and with Guild badges on, 

we spent the day fielding questions 

about who we were, what the artwork 

depicted, and having a good catch up 

amongst other things. Artists who made 

the trek to Wallop included the Welsh 

team of Ieuan, John, and Tim, Martin 

Perman from Cornwall, Paul Couper, 

and Jack Froelich from the SE Region 

in Hampshire, Chris Draper and Barry 

K Barnes from our West Region. Works 

came from Darren Howlett, and Patricia 

Forrest, and of course I showed willing 

with a set of paintings and drawings too. 


We realised that we would have to 

engage the public at every opportunity. 

I have found when doing numerous 

outdoor art fairs myself recently, that if 

you can hold someone’s attention with 

flyers in their hands, or interesting facts 

about the piece in question you’re 

making inroads to a sale. Our talented 

members as ever are full of anecdotes, 

and info, and with GAvA banners 

proclaiming who we were, I feel we 

held our own! 

Photo: www.aviationpostcards.co.uk 

With a wealth of vintage aircraft having 

flown in, from Auster, deHavilland Moth 

types, Chipmunk, Stinson and Harvard, 

to all the four wheeled participants, it 


The West Region GAvA Team were kept busy putting the exhibition together in the marquee 

ready for the visiting public. Over 100 works were on display! 

16 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2021 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2021 17

SOUTH EAST REGION MEETING 

FAST Museum 

Saturday May 28th 

now faded. The aircraft certainly casts 

Having decided to call off our visit to 

Farnborough last autumn due to the 

‘crisis at the pumps’, it was good to 

make another visit to the FAST museum 

in May this year. It was our second 

meeting of 2022, with most of the aircraft 

exhibits displayed outside, a late May 

date was chosen and fingers crossed 

for a dry day. 

Many of the established exhibits on 

show have Farnborough ‘Royal Aircraft 

Establishment’ connections with several 

other interesting aircraft being added 

over the last few years. More recent 

additions since our last visit being two 

new helicopters; a Westland Lynx and a 

Westland Scout. 

The fine weather brought out thirteen 

members for a welcome day’s sketching 

and painting. It was good to see Chris 

Draper from the West Region and 

Paul Couper from the SE Region, both 

highly respected Full Members and no 

strangers to working at Guild sketching 

and painting events. 

As on previous visits the spectacular twoseater 

Jaguar was a popular choice of 

subject, resplendent in its red, white 

and blue RAE ‘Raspberry Ripple’ colour 

scheme, (now somewhat faded and a 

little more soiled since we last visited). 

The Jaguar was the chosen subject of 

choice for David Livesley, Chris Draper, 

and Nick Harder. 

Next door sat the Folland Gnat which 

was the choice of Brian Miller. Brian 

went for a head-on view with his seat 

and easel placed alongside the De 

Havilland Trident nose section. In so 

doing he managed to be included 

in Paul Couper’s ‘twin nose’ rendition 

featuring the Trident and the Canberra. 

Further on and Katie John sketched a 

rear three-quarter view of the Westland 

Scout; quite a challenge with all the 

mechanics on show. Moving on down 

the row and we found Damon Poole 

working in his unique ‘mixed media’ style, 

his subject the Puma helicopter which 

was fairly well encased in scaffolding 

and scaffold boarding while the aircraft 

received some much needed attention. 

Nestled in amongst the exhibits at that 

end, Chris Tyler found an interesting 

viewpoint to work on a selection of 

aircraft tails which if all went to plan 

would form an interesting montage. 

a different shape. I remember seeing 

these on static display in the SBAC 

Farnborough Air Shows in the 1960’s; all 

ground breaking technology back then. 

The rest of us headed to the other end 

of the Trenchard House site. John Rosam 

and myself worked by the new Westland 

Lynx addition. I chose a head on view 

and went for the speed of pastel and 

prismacolor pencils. John went for a side 

‘nose view’ in watercolour with the two 

seat Harrier behind. The Harrier was the 

sketching choice for Scott Lester and 

John Jones with Shirley moving around 

for a second sketch, once the Jindvik 

was done. 

Others who managed a second sketch 

were Scott Lester who tackled the two 

seat Hawker Hunter and our resident 

Concorde specialist Katie John couldn’t 

resist a pastel drawing of a section of 

Concorde fuselage that had been used 

for testing purposes in period. 

All too quickly it was time for our 3.30pm 

review meeting to close the days 

proceedings and Paul Couper very 

kindly conducted the revues. Taking 

advantage of the fine weather, we held 

our meeting on the picnic benches, 

overlooking the Farnborough Airport site 

with the occasional interruption when 

an executive jet passed over. As always 

an eclectic mix of styles and subjects, 

there were some impressive studies and 

plenty to both admire and discuss. I’ll 

leave it to you to admire the work done 

on what was a very enjoyable day. 

Thanks to all who came along and 

especially the staff of the FAST museum 

who I’m sure enjoyed seeing the work 

progress throughout the day and 

making us so welcome once again. 

Nick Harder 

Damon Poole 

Chris Draper 

Chris hard at work on the 

Raspberry Ripple Jaguar. 

The muted colour palette 

for the foreground and 

background brings out 

the red and blue on the 

aircraft. Also note the 

reflections. The brilliant 

white highlights and 

cockpit reflections finish 

it all off. Superb! 

Katie John 

Richard Wheatland 

John Rosam 

Tucked around the corner we found 

our Guild Treasurer, Shirley Batten-Smith 

sketching the unique Jindivik target 

drone, with its florescent orange paint 

Richard Wheatland GAvA 

South East Region Organiser 

Shirley Batten-Smith 

David Livesley 

Katie John 

Chris Tyler 


NORTHERN REGION MEETINGS 

Breighton Airfield 

The Real Aeroplane 

Company 

SaturdayApril 9th 

Our first visit of 2022 to the Real 

Aeroplane Company at Breighton 

Airfield will be remembered for a few 

things, but the fridge-like conditions 

may be the main one! 

The weather forecast and illness didn’t 

help our numbers on the day but it was 

enjoyed by those who attended. Vince 

Nevin (with his wife Jackie, and friend) 

made the journey over from Chester for 

the day and later on we were joined by 

Dawn and Dave Chilver from Thirsk. 

As usual, we were made very welcome 

by the club and a space was made 

available in one of the Collection’s 

hangars. We were surrounded by historic 

aircraft such as Bucker Jungmeister & 

Jungman, Miles Hawk Trainer (Magister), 

Ryan PT-22, Max Holste Broussard, Flying 

Flea – and all these in just our hangar! 

As it was cold and gusty little was 

parked outside, so Vince and I chose 

the Broussard first. It’s a strange aircraft, 

looking as if parts of a DH Beaver are 

mixed with other types. 

Vince did a delightful sketch with it 

silhouetted against the light of the open 

hangar door. It would be great to see 

this worked up as a painting. The idea 

for my sketch was to concentrate on 

the reflections on the side of the aircraft. 

Vince then went on to a beautiful study 

of a newly-restored Jungmeister. The 

‘lumps’ around the engine must have 

been very difficult to depict. I then 

went out of my comfort zone and tried 

a biro study of the Flying Flea hanging 

from the roof. Some very strange angles 

and shapes and you can’t hide your 

mistakes with a ball point. I’ll sketch the 

outlines in pencil first next time! 

There were a few distractions from 

outside with visiting helicopters, sports 

and light aircraft. It was good to see 

Ray’s Supercruiser and Cliff’s Vagabond 

(and the owners too!). 

While we were busy with our studies we 

had a couple of nice surprises. Firstly, 

by Dawn and Dave visiting with some 

moral support. The second surprise was 

that a lady and her grandson joined us 

in the hangar for some sketching. 

Shirley and Travis had responded to a 

club email saying that the Guild would 

be visiting and having a sketching day. 

Travis keenly observed what we were 

doing and did some lovely drawings, 

assisted by his grandmother. 

Graham Henderson 

We were all amazingly impressed 

with Travis’ work. Why? Travis is only 

THREE! He’s going to be a superb 

artist, especially with the nurturing 

and encouragement shown by his 

grandmother, Shirley. Who knows, a 

new Junior member of the Guild! We 

hope they can join us on future visits to 

the RAC Breighton. 

I’d brought a couple of pieces for 

comment and it was encouraging 

to hear that the Hawk sketch I did at 

Cosford should be entered in the Annual. 

Soon it was time to go. We were proper 

‘nithered’ and Vince’s party needed 

to make their way home and to get 

warmed up! We all thoroughly enjoyed 

our time here though. Next time it will 

be warmer (with a new clubhouse) and 

hopefully some of the Midland Region 

can join us too. 

Many thanks again to all at the RAC for 

making us so welcome. We always love 

the atmosphere and subject matter. 

Graham Henderson GAvA 

Graham Henderson 

Breighton Airfield 

The Real Aeroplane 

Company 

SaturdayJune 25th 

Breighton Airfield, home of the Real 

Aeroplane Company, saw our second 

visit this year for a sketching day. 

The Club has a superb collection (a red 

Monocoupe had recently joined) and 

other resident classic aircraft. The 25th 

was chosen as The Vintage Aircraft 

Club were visiting and bringing some 

interesting aircraft to the airfield. 

I arrived early but all appeared quieter 

than expected. Phil Hadley and Vince 

Nevin from Shrewsbury and Chester, Neil 

Foggo, Dawn and Dave Chilver from 

Thirsk and Roger Brown from Wakefield 

completed the team. An apology 

came from Eric and Cath Humphrey 

and AnneMarie and Geoff Marsh. 

There was a major problem on the day; 

a strong, blustery cross wind from the 

south, at 90 degrees to the runway. The 

conditions made it difficult for the older 

aircraft with the result a distinct lack of 

visiting aircraft. However a couple of 

noteworthy visitors did make it: red Mew 

Gull G-HEKL and a silver RAF marked 

Chipmunk WD286/G-BBND. Staying 

overnight was the very unusual Stinson 

Reliant of Navy Wings (N69745). 

As many visitors were expected, the 

hangars were cordoned off so we used 

an outdoor table as a base. We don’t 

normally have an ice cream van and 

beefburger stall to hand while holding 

every meeting! We started with ‘any 

news’, an update from Phil on Guild 

exhibition plans and Roger with his 

report from the Leeds Royal Armouries 

and their enthusiastic comments about 

potential Guild exhibitions there. 

We had a look at work brought along 

for comments/advice. Phil brought a 

lovely piece created at the RAF Cosford 

AGM and Roger a superb watercolour of 

USAAF Mossies. I brought my 6 Squadron 

pencil and oils piece, to demonstrate ‘The 

Artist Panel’ by Ampersand. It provides an 

incredibly smooth surface taking oils and 

pencil work (see www.ampersandart.com). 

plans cut to size and pasted to card. It 

made for a useful tool and looked great. 

We ALL soon had a great surprise as an 

aircraft came in LOW and did a couple 

of close circuits before continuing 

on to Scarborough: Navy Wings’ big 

Supermarine Seafire Mk XVII SX336 !!! 

As there was a relaxed atmosphere (ask 

Vince!) any work was limited; only work 

by Phil H, Neil and a little from me. Phil 

sketched the Mew Gull and it looked 

like Phil had brought a complete studio! 

Neil chose a hangar concentrating on 

a new Hawker Cygnet Replica G-EBJI. 

He then sketched Taff Smith’s recently 

restored Jungmeister. I tried to depict 

the de Haviland Chipmunk… 

Before long, we gathered in the old 

crew room to have our crit of work. 

Standing out for the amount of work 

and quality was Phil Hadley’s Mew Gull, 

in pencil. 

Neil’s delightful crayon study was of the 

Hawker Cygnet’s nose area and was as 

delicate as the aircraft itself. Neil also 

did a heavier pencil study of the ’new’ 

Jungmeister with its distinctive shapes on 

the cowling. A powerful study. 

I thought I knew the Chipmunk and 

that it would be simple… I soon found 

my sketch to be a nightmare! I did the 

cockpit area first and then added the 

nose. I wasn’t happy with the engine 

area and kept erasing it. A lesson 

learned; get proportions right to start 

with! My two minute sketch/cartoon 

had more right about it… 

Soon it was time to make a reluctant 

departure. Despite the problems we 

still had a great day. Phil’s response to 

his first visit was positive; he will certainly 

make the effort to visit again. Breighton 

and the Real Aeroplane Company 

seem to have a worked their magic! 

Thanks again to Charles Sunter and all 

at the RAC for their welcome and great 

atmosphere. 

Graham Henderson GAvA 

Phil also completed a colour rear view of 

the Mew Gull back in the studio. 

Neil’s contrasting 

aviation views 

Graham’s cartoon 

Chippies! 

Neil Foggo brought some recent 

pieces to show on his laptop, including 

some superb maritime paintings with 

windjammers out at sea. Great stuff! 

The real thing... 

Vince Nevin 

Roger surprised us by bringing a card 

model of a Westland Wapiti. He wanted 

to do a painting of the aircraft with 

a specific angle. The ‘model’ was 

created using scale elevations and 

Graham observes a genius in the making. Young Travis will go far! 

20 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2021 GUILD OF OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS WINTER SUMMER 2020/21 2021 215

EAST ANGLIAN REGION MEETINGS 

City of Norwich 

Aviation Museum 

Saturday April 9th 

I arrived at the museum at 9.30am, 

having looked at the weather 

forecast beforehand. I was hopeful 

for some sunshine and it seemed to 

be the case for the day. esides the 

cold chilly easterly winds the weather 

seemed to behave itself for once. 

The City of Norwich Aviation Museum is 

small but with plenty of local historical 

exhibits and run by volunteers. The 

museum has a new cafeteria which was 

serving coffee, tea and snacks on our 

arrival and it was just what we needed 

on this cold spring morning. 

Some of us ventured out early to start the 

sketching day while others enjoyed the 

cosy atmosphere of the cafeteria. We really 

didn’t want to move but as the morning 

got older we all eventually decided to 

leave the warmth of the cafeteria and 

venture out into the fenland winds. 

Mike Daley chose to paint the Meteor 

from a table underneath the Vulcan 

wing which was a good idea because 

it provided a good wind break and a 

more than reasonable view. I myself 

decided to follow suit and joined him 

with Bill Smith painting the Lightning on 

the table next. 

David Smith had sketched the Nimrod 

with a very exaggerated perspective 

and produced a really superb 

piece and David Fosh’s pastel T-33 is 

something to be admired indeed. 

Phil Jackson 

Norfolk & Suffolk 

Aviation Museum 

Sketching and 

Art Exhibition weekend 

Sat 21st & Sun 22nd May 

We had a really enjoyable weekend 

at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation 

Museum. I decided to stay overnight 

and joined Phil at a local B&B. 

The event opened with a flypast from 

the BBMF Avro Lancaster. In fact it made 

three passes which was a joy to watch! 

We set up a small Artwork Exhibition 

in the main hangar and most of the 

attending members offered some work 

to display. 

After the flypast, various members 

found their subjects and began work. 

At the end on the day Alex Hamilton 

and Chris French chaired the critique. 

David Fosh’s Pastel sketch of the MiG 

15, received some lovely comments 

with David observing the overall lighting 

extremely well. 

Patrick Sadler offered up his Pen and Ink 

sketch of the Bloodhound Missile. Chris 

gave some nice comments on the way 

Patrick has handled the sketch. 

Rod Kirkby produced a couple of 

sketches, one in Watercolour and the 

other in Acrylic. Firstly his Watercolour 

of the Phantom was placed on the 

easel, and received some encouraging 

comments from the ‘critters’. Alex 

offered up an interesting tip using a ruler 

to obtain a straight line, the reference 

was on the leading edge of a wing. 

Alex also talked about his own 

small sketch, and gave advice on 

the reflection on both the top and 

underside of the subject. 

At the end of the day, with the Museum 

staff looking to lock up, it was time to 

go home. The day went so quickly 

and it we all felt thet it had been a 

perfect weekend outing. My thanks to 

Phil for organising a great weekend for 

everybody. 

Martin Bleasby GAvA 

I would like to add a big thank you to 

Alex and Chris for their expertise in the 

critique, all members that attended the 

day and for their continued support, 

Martin for the write up, Stephen Bell 

(Chairman) and all the staff and 

volunteers at the Norfolk and Suffolk 

Aviation Museum, and not forgetting 

Ray and Jane for their excellent 

breakfast and hospitality in our stay at 

the B&B. 


East Anglian Region Organiser 

Rod Kirkby 

David Fosh 

Bill Smith 

Rod Kirkby 

Martin Bleasby also demonstrated 

his skill and technique on the Harrier 

painting he bought in. 

We were also joined by some of the staff 

at the critique and they contributed in 

the group conversation which was very 

interesting. So all in all a really great day 

in Norwich and it was so nice to catch 

up on things with everyone. 

My thanks to the members who came 

and of course a big thank you to Lynda 

and all the staff of the Norwich Aviation 

Museum who made us so welcome. 



Mike Daley 

Bill Smith 

Chris Impey 

AGM Unjuried Show 

winner Bill Smith 

shows a different and 

inventive approach 

to the usual ‘plane in 

the middle’ painting 

by including the wing 

above and shadow 

below. Something the 

Eds approve of and 

what sketch days are 

all about. 

Secondly his Hawker Hunter was 

presented and again received some 

good feedback. A comment was 

made about the use of RED on the 

subject and thus possible causing a 

distraction, but overall both works were 

very well received. 

Bill Smith’s sketch obtained a number of 

comments from Chris and Alex namely 

about Tonal Values and Colour; the 

greens being quite dominant but again 

a well received work from the winner of 

the AGM Unjuried Show! 

Chris Impey produced a sketch of 

the F100. Again tonal values were 

mentioned, but an overall nice work. 

Chris also offered up a painting of the 

Hawker Tempest, a work which was not 

produced on the day, but was up for 

discussion. Alex commented on the 

nice sky colours and offered advice on 

the way clouds could be handled using 

a Fan Brush. 

Patrick Sadler 

Chris Impey 

22 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2022 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2022 23

EAST ANGLIAN REGION MEETING 

Shuttleworth Collection 

Old Warden Airfield 

Saturday July 9th 

David Smith 

I arrived at the Shuttleworth airfield 

perimeter admission box at 9.30am 

and we all gathered there for the usual 

sketching and catch up banter. We 

all knew it was going to be a bit of a 

scorcher so we all decided to do our 

artistry in the shade of the hangars! 

David Smith sketched the Shuttleworth 

MG sports car with the Provost combined. 

The perspective and draughtsmanship 

was well achieved and it has now been 

completed in colour. (see right) 

Rod Kirkby went with his usual oil watersoluble 

colours on a trio of work, capturing 

the light and dark tones. All recognisable 

as Rod’s quick oil sketch style. 

David Heaton sketched the Travel Air 

Speed Wing with lighter watercolour 

tones, cleverly using the tonal strength 

of the paper. 

David Fosh used pastels on the Bucker 

Jungmeister with the balance between 

yellow tones and gray paper masterly 

portrayed. A pastel yellow as we all 

know, is not the easiest to handle. 

Allen Churchyard sketched the Douglas 

Rapide in light pencil and pen adding a 

little a figure drawing for practice. 

Rod Kirkby 

Tim Durratt, who is a volunteer at the 

collection, decided to join us. He 

showed all his sketches he had done in 

my Art for All sketching hour I used to 

teach during the lockdown period. Very 

impressive they where too! He hopes 

to join us as a member in the not too 

distance future. 

I chose the The famous Shuttleworth 

Wellingborough bus to paint. Giving 

myself the time limit of the day I 

decided to produce an acrylic painting 

in a loose impasto format. Having a 

feeling of “pleased to be there” about 

it seemed to contribute to the result. 

David Heaton 

Allen Churchyard 

This superb pencil 

understudy provided 

the starting point for 

another trademark 

‘combo’ painting 

by David Smith. 

Brian Miller produced a good pencil 

drawing of the Sopwith Camel but 

being so close to the aircraft I think he 

had a slight problem in perspective, 

ie. the port wing, (something we all 

are familiar with in packed aviation 

museums). 

David Fosh 

All in all a really good day was had by 

everyone. My thanks to Shuttleworth and 

all the members supporting on the day 

and I will look forward to the next visit. 



Phil chose the well known Shuttleworth 

Wellingborough Bus for his subject. The 

time limit of the day led Phil to produce 

an acrylic painting in a loose, creative 

impasto format. 

Phil Jackson 


MIDLAND REGION MEETING 

No. 230 Squadron 

RAF Benson 

Tuesday April 26th 

Attended by ten artists, this visit was a 

return by the Guild to No.230 Sqn at RAF 

Benson, Oxfordshire which is a support 

helicopter main operating base. 

230 Squadron’s Flt. Lt. Ollie Lee and his 

team were our hosts for the day and 

made us very welcome. After signing 

in, the group was escorted on to the 

base and spent the morning looking 

over a number of Chinooks and Pumas. 

Robert Calow led the critique towards 

the end of the day, in 230 Squadron’s 

interesting History Room. The many 

challenges faced by artists on the day 

included the representation of the drab 

olive green colour on all the helicopters 

and changing weather conditions! 

At the critique, the first work to be 

reviewed was Rob Hames’ oil painting 

of the subject Puma using a limited 

pallet, including mauves and greens. 

Rob demonstrated his spontaneous 

approach in the piece, starting with 

short flat brush on the burnt umber and 

flake white ground and going on to 

capture the characteristics of the Puma 

very well. 

Rob had to work around changing 

lighting conditions as the Sun ‘went in’ 

during the afternoon. A second Puma 

in the background was an effective 

part of the composition. 

Demonstrating a more of a ‘linear’ 

approach, Patrick Fleming produced 

a well-observed drawing of the subject 

Puma on Daler paper. Strong lines were 

evident throughout including a line 

around the shadow on ground through 

which Patrick wanted to capture its 

complicated shape. Patrick started 

the work in pencil and used biro to 

emphasise the front part of subject. 

Chairman Andrew Latham’s work was a 

pleasing water colour of the Puma from 

the front port direction. Khardi paper 

was used, prepared by soaking in water 

the previous evening and taped down 

to give a good flat surface. Simple tonal 

values worked well with depiction of 

wheels and shadows of note. A pallet 

of basically three colours was used, 

along with cobalt for the sky. Discussion 

included how background tone can 

bring out the outline of the subject. (see 

From the Chair) 

Using the inside of the Puma as his 

vantage point, Phil Hadley produced 

a very effective study of the helicopter 

plus tail of an adjacent Puma on the 

flight line in water colour on Daler 

Rowney Aquafine paper. Of note was 

the angled border on two sides of the 

painting, formed by the edge of the 

cabin doorway opening. These lines 

contrasted well with the conventional 

horizon line in the composition and the 

main subject stood out well in ‘pseudo’ 

silhouette form. 

Tony Nicholls’ work was another view 

from inside the Puma showing two 

helicopters on the flight line. Tony used 

Caran d’Ache coloured pencils on 

toned paper, producing a picture with 

a warm feel, greens and yellows being 

very evident. The open frame tower 

structure provided a good contrast to 

the ‘solid’ helicopters and the shadows 

and highlights were very effective. 

A pencil drawing of the Puma on grey 

toned paper was Richard Thorne’s 

work for the day. Unfinished but with 

some darks and highlights included to 

set a range for tones, there was plenty 

of scope for further work. Mention was 

made of the challenges of coping with 

changing lighting conditions during the 

session. 

After lunch we gathered around and 

inside a 230 Squadron Puma HC2 for an 

afternoon of sketching and painting. 

New member, Neil Adcock, completed 

a good sketch of the subject Puma 

in a pale sepia pallet. Discussion on 

the shadows and darks in the drawing 

covered whether the cab interior 

could be darker and the far wheels in 

silhouette? Neil commented on how 

he approached representing the main 

rotor blades with three blades shown 

going off the edges of the paper. It was 

noted that the stationary blades are not 

equally spaced due to their forward lag 

when at rest. 

This then raised the question of drawing 

items as the eye expects to see them 

(e.g. static rotor blades in this case) or as 

technically accurate? Neil accurately 

recorded the many various add-ons and 

attachments typical on in-service aircraft 

in his drawing. 

Peter Maxwell completed a well drawn 

front three quarter view of the Puma in 

pencil on white Bristol board. Peter used 

pencil strokes, marks and lines to good 

effect to indicate shape and texture of 

the subject. In particular, Peter captured 

the appearance of the non-shiny finish 

on the helicopter and the overall drab 

colour scheme. Suggestion that some 

lights and darks could be emphasised 

e.g. with use of putty rubber to bring out 

some highlights. 

Steve Mazurek, in contrasting to other 

works, used a ‘softer’ approach to 

the subject, with no ‘holding’ lines 

around the helicopter. Taking an ‘off 

head-on view, Steve used Derwent 

coloured pencils on toned paper to 

produce a well observed drawing. 

The use of subtle blue in the helicopter 

colour scheme was very effective. 

Commenting on being aware of lines 

and intersections in compositions, it was 

noted that the edge of hardstanding 

in the background was level with the 

underside of the helicopter. 

Final offering to be reviewed was 

Robert’s own work, a fine study of 

two Pumas on the flightline using 

watercolours on 300gsm paper. Of note 

was the way that Robert had conveyed 

form in the subjects as well as depth in 

the composition from the ragged grass 

area in the foreground through the 

subject plane and to the distant hills. 

So ended a very successful 

and engaging day. Many 

thanks to Phil for all the 

hard work in setting up and 

organisation of the visit and to 

our hosts at RAF Benson who 

laid on a great programme 

(and Puma!) for us. 

Richard Thorne AGAvA 




Turweston Aerodrome 

Saturday May 7th 

This was possibly our 4th visit to 

Turweston. The airfield is situated near 

Brackley and is a few miles south east 

of the A43. Unfortunately those last few 

miles would better suit an off- road 

vehicle! Nevertheless we all arrived 

intact. Our host was the Light Aircraft 

Association (LAA). 

We were located in their splendid HQ 

in one of the meeting rooms which 

was accessible all day. Hot drinks were 

available and buffet lunches were 

delivered in individual bags. 

Dave Burchett 

Phil Hadley started the meeting by 

explaining airfield safety instructions 

and no - go areas. He also welcomed 

colleagues from other Guild Regions 

namely Allen Churchyard and David 

Heaton (East Anglian) and Damon Poole 

(South Eastern) So, with the sun shining we 

all set off for our favoured locations. 

Trevor Colegate 

Simon Goodburn 

Allen Churchyard 

At around 15.20 we all gathered in the 

meeting room for the critique. In fact, it 

was decided that since there were no 

Full Members attending, we should each 

present our own paintings. 

Jon Westwood 

Phil Hadley had decided on the great 

outdoors to paint a Robin DR400 parked 

on the grass. All proportions correct 

displaying the mid wing dyhedral to good 

effect. Phil used acrylic on Multi Media 

paper. 

Jonathan Westwood painted a Cessna 

340 parked near the west end of the 

runway. Jonathan received some good 

comments on the painting and it was 

great to see him again at a Midland 

sketching day. The painting was in oils on 

mount board. 

Mike Garner painted the Beagle Pup 

using watercolour. This was a good 

representation with the main comment 

being that a stronger shadow would 

better ground the aircraft. 

David Burchett painted the Cessna 340 in 

his usual style with watercolour on mount 

board. This was a nose on view showing 

off good reflections on the side fuselage. 

David Heaton did a pencil sketch of the 

Vanns RV9. As illustrated, the aircraft had 

the covers off the engine bay and David 

did well to capture the detail there. 

Patrick Fleming produced two sketches 

using coloured pencil on Canson paper. 

The first, a Bulldog followed by an RV7. 

Both excellent work. 

Damon Poole chose the Beechcraft. This 

was a pencil drawing which was then 

wetted before “splashing” paint on. 

Structural lines were formed with acrylic 

paint. The whole effect gave an abstract 

feel to the painting. 

Allen Churchyard sketched the part-built 

Bleriot and Eindecker. These were replicas 

from Stow Maries, now stored at Turweston 

Andrea Goodburn completed two 

good sketches of the Reims Cessna 

150, whilst husband Simon produced 

a commendable drawing of the R.R. 

Electric Aircraft in transit. 

I spent a relaxing day near the end of 

the runway painting the landscape and 

enjoying the sunshine. The painting was 

in gouache with occasional help from 

coloured pencils. Just before the crit I 

included a representational aircraft to 

justify the painting as aviation art! 

As an occasional relaxing exercise, I can 

thoroughly recommend this approach. 

It had been an excellent day with good 

weather and wide selection of aircraft. 

Our thanks to Phil for organising the day 

and also to the LAA for providing the 

facility. 

www.lightaircraftassociation.co.uk 

Phil Hadley 

Patrick Fleming 


Andrea Goodburn 

Damon Poole 

David Heaton 

Pete Maxwell 

Trevor Colegate AGAvA 




No.1 FTS RAF Shawbury 

Thursday May 26th 

It’s hard to believe, but it was back in 

June 2018 during the RAF 100 Airshow 

at RAF Cosford that I first started talking 

with the then Station Commander 

about arranging a Guild visit to 

Shawbury, my ‘local’ RAF station. 

Within a year or so, the Station 

Commander had moved on to his next 

posting and his successor, having taken 

up the reigns, facilitated an exploratory 

visit by Dave Burchett and me to discuss 

how a visit might be structured. 

Having sorted out what might be 

possible, we waited for our contacts to 

establish a really good location from 

which to view the No.1 FTS helicopters 

on the pan. 

All seemed to be progressing well…… 

then….boom…LOCK DOWN !! 

Fast forward another two years and 

in April of this year, I re-established 

contact with Sqn. Ldr. Kim Leach, who 

is Corporate Engagement Relations 

Officer at the base. 

Within the space of a couple of weeks, 

Kim had confirmed a location for us 

from which to sketch, offered us some 

dates and put in place all the necessary 

arrangements for our visit. 

(A task which is rather more complex at 

Shawbury than some other stations, due 

to the fact that the RAF at Shawbury is in 

partnership with Ascent Flying Training, 

who subcontract to Airbus Helicopters) 

Despite being several years in the 

planning, our lead in time was 

considerably short as our sketching 

location was scheduled to be 

redeveloped in June for future use. 

Accordingly, only six of us made it on 

the day, but wow, was it worthwhile. 

Arriving at the visitor car park, we were 

met by Kim’s deputy, Fl. Lt. Adrian Vine 

accompanied by Fg. Officers Charlotte 

Thomas and Pawan Gurung who would 

both remain with us throughout the 

day. Transport in the form of a mini bus 

was ever present to ferry us about the 

station with all of our kit when required. 

After initial briefings and welcomes, 

we settled down to carry out some 

sketching, but here the weather 

seemed to not be on our side. Whilst 

it was not raining, there was a blustery 

wind which progressively strengthened. 

This meant that whilst we started out 

with around a dozen or so helicopters 

in our field of view, one by one, the 

engineers recovered them to the safety 

of the hangars ….until by lunchtime 

only a few were left out. 

We were thus concerned about what 

we would be able to accomplish during 

the afternoon. 

At midday, Fl. Lt. Vine arrived back at 

the hangar with the minibus and over 

lunch in the Officers Mess we explored 

possibilities for the afternoon. 

Very soon, Adrian had sorted out Plan 

B for us. 

Returning to our sketching location we 

spent a further hour finishing off our 

pieces and then at 15.00 hrs embarked 

the mini bus again to travel over to the 

far side of Shawbury’s runway, where 

across several hangars, Shawbury’s 

Aircraft Maintenance and Storage 

unit is to be found. Here we spent a 

very enjoyable last hour to the day 

and learnt all about the function of this 

unit, which is one of the RAF’s longest 

established MUs. 

In the hangar we visited, were 5 x 

Tranche 1 Typhoons and several 

Hawk T1 trainers. One of the Hawks, 

a Red Arrows variant, was currently 

undergoing preparation prior to transfer 

to the RAF Museum. Another hangar 

which we did not have time to visit is 

currently storing around 24 Tucanos. But 

perhaps we’ll see those another time, if 

they’re still there! 

After returning to our cars, we held a 

very informal Critique session of the 

day’s work on the car park. 

Although it had been a long time in the 

making, the visit was another highlight 

in our 2022 calendar and I would like 

to thank Sqn. Ldr. Kim Leach, Flt. Lt. 

Adrian Vine and all their colleagues at 

Shawbury for all their arrangements in 

facilitating the visit, providing our lunch, 

and making us feel so welcome. 

Phil Hadley AGAvA 

Midland Region Organiser 

Nigel Morris 

Peter Lane 

Tony Pratt 

Nigel Morris 

Richard Thorne 

Peter Lane 

Phil Hadley 

Robert Calow 




RAF Cosford 

Pre-Airshow Sketch Day 

Saturday June 11th 

On Saturday 11th June the Midland 

Region visited RAF Cosford for a very 

special sketching day on the airfield. 

This was the final preparation day 

before the Cosford Air Display on 

the Sunday so there were plenty of 

subjects on show. Once again we were 

indebted to Squadron Leader Chris 

Wilson and his team for hosting us and 

allowing access to the varied collection 

of aircraft assembled. The weather was 

a challenge being cloudy, windy, sunny 

with some rain! 

The Critique from Robert Calow and 

Nigel Morris was much appreciated by 

all who attended. 

The Tiger Moth in the static line up of 

trainers, with its striking yellow colour 

scheme was drawn by myself and Peter 

Maxwell. The drawing was unfinished, 

using pencil from HB up to 6B on 300gsm 

watercolour paper (which meant the 

texture showed through in places). 

Wings were ‘cut off’ at the edges of 

the work which lead to focus on the 

fuselage. Some shading in the sky would 

be good to ‘push the aircraft forward’. 

Peter Maxwell’s Tiger Moth was an 

acrylic on w/c paper and a view set 

in an open field. Form was effectively 

rendered by light and shade on the 

subject plus details such as the roundels. 

The horizon line was discussed and its 

positioning in a composition as well as 

how a good background can ‘throw’ 

the subject area forward. The purple 

and yellow complementary colours 

were used effectively with good shadow 

on the ground. 

Tony Nicholls completed a striking head 

on view of a Red Arrows Hawk in w/c 

on Hahnemuehle paper. The bright 

yellow direction lines effectively draw 

the viewer into the picture and the 

subject. Use of complementary colours 

to the yellow made for a very good 

composition, all linking together nicely. 

Steve Widing produced a well-observed 

head on drawing of the Buccaneer, 

the folded wings gaving the subject 

a pleasing shape. Steve used Caran 

D’Ache pencils on pastel paper using a 

variety of marks including hatching for 

some shading. Effective shadows from 

the wheels ‘grounded’ the subject. 

Michael Garner chose the Mosquito 

for his subject. The wing coming ‘out’ 

of the picture presented an awkward 

shape to capture. Mike painted a good 

rendition in watercolour on watercolour 

paper, setting the aircraft outside 

against a background of hills and sky. 

Andrew Ross produced a fine threequarter 

view of a Jaguar in gouache 

on pre-prepared oil based paper. 

The colour scheme of flat grey and 

sand in the subject was discussed, 

along with ideas on how other colours 

may be introduced to enhance the 

composition. The shadows could also 

have been a little darker. 

Vince Nevin battled the elements to 

produce a pleasing study of the Spitfire. 

Using alkyd oils on a prepared greenpink 

background, the work was framed 

as well! The five propeller blades in a 

symmetrical arrangement provided a 

centre of interest and the background 

building also enhanced the focus on 

the aircraft. 

Another view of the Spitfire, this time a 

rear three-quarter, by Trevor Colegate, 

was on a grey board using gouache. 

A blue theme was apparent in the 

composition from the shiny blue of the 

aircraft through to the blue sky, with the 

grass having some darker areas with 

blue added as well. Trevor finished off 

the work using coloured pencils. 

Peter Lane produced a fine w/c study 

of the RAF Wessex 2 with good details 

evident on the challenging yellow 

subject. Darker shades of yellow were 

also used to convey form. Gloss finish 

and highlights on the subject were 

effectively represented and the flat 

background contrasted well with the 

subject’s form. A suggestion was to try 

using some purple as complementary 

to yellow in the shadows, as well as 

reflection in the rotor blades. 

The Harrier GR3 was the subject of 

a very pleasing study in pencil on 

Aquafine watercolour board by Phil 

Hadley. The effective representation 

of the camouflage was achieved with 

shading and some parts left white to 

indicate highlights and reflective areas. 

‘Negative shapes’ and areas were 

noted in the composition e.g underside 

shape and the fin. 

Dave Burchett coped well with the 

changeable weather and made a 

great start on a w/c painting of the 

Pucara on Langton watercolour block. 

The bold choice of orange for key areas 

worked well with a pale colour overall 

pallet. Well observed darker underwing 

areas showed some reflected light. 

Another study of the Pucara was shown 

by Chris Harrison; a pleasing depiction 

of the starboard side of the forward 

part of the aircraft. The composition 

worked well and was completed with 

watercolours and pencil. Effective 

linework brought out shape and detail. 

Robert Calow’s w/c of the Spitfire on 

300gsm Langton watercolour pad was 

a rear view with wing tips ‘cut off’ at 

the edges of the picture. A ‘strong’ 

use of colours was evident in this very 

effective piece using purples, blues and 

contrasting colours. 

Nigel Morris produced a head on view 

of the RN Sea Harrier 3 on mdf board 

(treated with gesso and a thin acrylic 

layer). The alkyd oils were drying quickly 

due to the temperature and wind so 

this meant Nigel had to work quickly. 

Oil pastel/oilwash was used to convey 

a soft sky, with areas of sienna on the 

board still present in final painting. The 

cut off wings at the edges of the picture 

give the composition an ‘action feel’. 

Richard Thorne AGAvA 

Robert Calow 

Pete Maxwell 

Phil Hadley 

Andrew Ross 

Richard Thorne 

Chris Harrison 

Dave Burchett 

Peter Lane 

Steve Widing 

Vince Nevin 

Trevor Colegate 

Nigel Morris 

Tony Nicholls 

Tony Nicholls 

Tony also completed 

another painting back 

in the studio based 

photos he had taken on 

the day. It was another 

“watercoour/crayon 

combo”! 



Hooton Park Trust 

Ellesmere Port, The Wirral 

Saturday July 9th 

Welcome to Hooton Park Trust in the 

wilds of The Wirral in Cheshire! 

When Vince and I found the venue had 

taken charge of some of the collection 

from Manchester Air and Space 

Museum, we felt it was a good time 

to see what painting and sketching 

possibilities were available. 

Over the years we have travelled many 

light years (hundreds of miles) to attend 

Guild meetings in various locations around 

the country so when we found one on our 

doorstep that had some good sketching, 

we thought it was time that we had to 

travel only 15 minutes from our respective 

homes in place of the normal 2 hours plus! 

Hooton Park airfield was built in the 

grounds of a Hall and racecourse in 

WW1, the hangars using the Belfast truss 

roof construction. The RFC flew Sopwith 

Dolphins and Avro 504s. 

The inter war years saw the airfield used 

for civilian flying and for a short time was 

Merseyside’s airport. The Comper Swift 

and Pobjoy radial engines were also built 

on the site. 

In 1936 the RAF arrived and formed 610 

Squadron initially using Hawker Harts and 

Hinds. WW2 saw Fairey Battles, Hurricanes 

and Spitfires, the latter remaining for the 

duration of hostilities. The site was also 

used for Coastal Command activities in 

Liverpool Bay and for the assembling of 

US aircraft after arrival at Liverpool. Post 

war aircraft included Meteors before the 

airfield was disbanded in 1957. 

The Hooton Park Trust are now engaged in 

a long-term project to bring the 4 hangars 

back to life as a transport museum. At the 

moment though, the site is only open for 

special events. 

This Guild meeting was very unusual in 

that it involved a form of ‘community 

engagement’ with four members of a 

local Facebook group, the Wirral Urban 

Sketchers, all colleagues of Vince, who 

came along and thoroughly enjoyed their 

day and initiation into the Guild, albeit as 

our guests. 

Phil Hadley also bought along a fellow 

Shrewsbury artist for the day. Hopefully, 

they will be back as members! Maybe a 

plan for future meetings? 

Thanks must go to John Mackenzie for the 

opportunity to visit the Trust and also to 

Atie Van Doesburg and Tony Piggott from 

the CH21 Eastham Home Guard Group 

who, suitably dressed for the period, 

looked after us so well with refreshments 

throughout the day. 

Hooton Park is certainly a venue that we 

should look at visiting again in the future. 

Nigel Morris AGAvA 

Six Guild artists were present. 

Vince Nevin used ink pen to produce two 

small sketches of the de-Havilland Rapid 

and Roe Triplane. Their small scale belied 

the immense detail in the images, and 

they were worth examining closely to fully 

appreciate the work involved. 

Nigel Morris chose the Avro Avian using 

Alkyd Oil paints; their fast-drying nature 

allowing the work to be completed in one 

session. Nigel’s painting used MDF board, 

gesso’d with burnt sienna acrylic paint. 

The line work was also in sienna. 

Pete Maxwell produced a 7B pencil 

drawing of the Autocrat, creating a 

successful graphical concept. Pete used 

the edge of a sheet of paper to create a 

paper mask to deliver crisp lines and an 

interesting texture to the image. 

Phil Hadley made an inspired choice using 

green paper for his Autocrat image. The 

background really ‘zinged’ the red plane 

out of the page. Water soluble crayons 

were blended with markers to create a 

high-quality finish. 

Four artists from the Wirral Urban Sketchers 

also all enjoyed themselves in what was 

a completely different environment from 

their usual subject matter. 

Olena Mamochkina, produced a very 

competent ink line and water colour 

image of the Avro Avian combining 

accuracy with an overall looseness of style. 

Edward Webb chose the Autocrat and his 

graphic treatment of the subject worked 

well, incorporating the aircraft’s wings 

and hangar windows to create a striking 

symmetry. 

Lori Guest bought an interesting 

perspective to the treatment of two 

aircraft. The Chipmonk demonstrated a 

freedom of line and colour to create a 

loose and confident work. The Rapide is 

always a challenge with the flat silver finish 

but Lori was able to inject colour and life 

into the artwork. 

Pauline Hoey created two miniature 

sketches of the ROE 1 and Pollard’s van 

with a simple, loose approach; their 

diminutive size belied the amount of detail. 

Olena Mamochkina 

Edward Webb 

Lori Guest 

Robert Calow also chose the Avro Avian 

focusing on the aircraft’s highly polished 

alloy cowling with watercolours. Robert 

used a dark background to throw the 

aircraft forward out of the image and the 

blue fuselage was livened up with washes 

to create texture. 


Patrick Fleming chose the combination 

of Hooton Park’s Alvis and de Havilland 

Rapide. With the line work completed, 

but with limited time left, Patrick chose to 

colour the Rapide, leaving the Alvis as line 

art. The composition had a satisfying feel. 

Atie and Tony 

added a very nice 

period touch to 

the refreshments 

during the day! 

Nigel Morris 

Pete Maxwell 

Bob Spendlove, a fellow Shrewsbury 

artist, came along with Phil Hadley. Bob’s 

technical background was shown to 

good effect with his painting of the Avro 

Avian. Focusing on the aircraft’s polished 

alloy cowling in watercolours, his bold 

treatment created a striking result. 

Bob Spendlove 

Pauline Hoey 

Vince Nevin 

Vince Nevin 

Phil Hadley 

Robert Calow 




Aviation Art Workshop No.2 


GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS 

HQ NEWS... HQ NEWS... 

RAF Museum Cosford 

Saturday April 23rd 

Following the success of the inaugural 

Aviation Art Workshop in 2021, the team 

at RAF Museum Midlands again invited 

the Midland Region to run a second 

workshop on April 23rd. 

Being the end of the Easter holidays, 

sadly the numbers attending were 

reduced, but once again those who 

did attend enthusiastically embraced 

the opportunity of learning some of the 

basics of how to ‘draw - and paint - 

aeroplanes’ 

Course tutors were Nigel Morris and Vince 

Nevin, with Nigel leading on ‘painting’ 

and Vince leading on ‘drawing’ 

Guild Exhibition plan 

for 2023 

The Guild intends to stage an exhibition 

at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford in 

June 2023. This will be our first physical 

exhibition since 2019 and is an exciting 

new project. 

The exhibition will be held in the Victor 

conservation space inside the Airspace 

building and will be a three-day 

event, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

The weekend dates will coincide with 

Duxford’s Summer Airshow. Although 

these dates have not yet been officially 

set, Duxford’s Summer Airshow is usually 

the third weekend in June. 

Set up and hanging will be on the Thursday 

and artists’ works are to be delivered to 

Duxford on that day. 

The private view and official opening with 

invited guests will be on the Friday with 

the exhibition opening to Duxford visitors 

thereafter. 

Over the weekend, up to 50,000 people 

attend the Airshow so ‘public’ footfall to 

our exhibition is expected to be very high. 

Dismantling will be on the Monday. 

Selection will be by digital image to which 

we are now familiar. 

There are many details to be worked out 

but there is plenty of time to get things 

organised. Submission is expected to be 

in Spring 2023 and will be online. 

More information will be released in due 

course, but for now, please put a rough 

date in the diary and get painting! 

It is still anticipated that an online exhibition 

will be mounted in November this year. 

The details are being worked on so as not 

to disadvantage potential entrants for the 

2023 exhibition. 

Thank you again for your continued 

patience and understanding. 


Chairman 

11 August 2022 

Assisting me in support was Patrick 

Fleming, who having been a student 

on the first course last year subsequently 

went on to join the Guild as a Friend 

member. Since joining the Guild, Patrick 

has become a very committed Guild 

member and so he was ideally placed 

to be able to relate to the students on this 

course his own personal experiences. 

Tony Pratt 

Ian Smith 

Tracey Donovan 

Tony Pratt 

As with the first workshop, all who 

attended provided feedback on 

the course scope, content, and 

presentation. All of the feed-back 

received was extremely positive and 

the students unanimously agreed that 

they had very much enjoyed the day. 

During the review of the students work 

at the end of the workshop it was 

apparent that they all had produced 

work which was very worthy of any 

Guild sketching day and we hope that 

they go on to further develop their skills 

and techniques for capturing images of 

our favourite subject matter. 

I am delighted that again, since attending 

the workshop, at least one of the students 

has enrolled as a Friend member. 


Midland Region Organiser 

Andrew Edgington 

Tony Pratt 

Tony Pratt 

Becky Haywood 

Kumi Earnshaw 

Steven Ball 

Darren Howlett - The Bonham Trophy and Award 

Darren Howlett was unable to attend the 

AGM Sunday awards back in March and 

the Bonham Trophy was accepted on his 

behalf by Rob Hames GAvA. 

Rob recently made the trip to sunny 

Torquay to meet up with Darren and hand 

over the Bonham Trophy in person. 

The Bonham Trophy and Award is given to 

the Best Group of Paintings in any medium 

at the Annual Exhibition by a Friend of the 

Guild. 

Guild Merchandise 

Photos:www.iwm.org.uk 

Many members purchased and received 

the excellent Guild merchandise that 

Phil Hadley AGAvA organised before the 

AGM weekend. 

Hi-Viz Vests, Baseball Caps in grey or blue 

and Car Stickers along with a small number 

of QN Binders are still available. 

Please follow this link to make a purchase: 

https://guild-of-aviation-artists.square. 

site/guild-merchandise 

Purchases may be collected from Phil, at 

a regional meeting for instance, or select 

the appropriate UK shipping option, which 

will appear once you input your address. 

Shipping costs are £.70 for a car sticker 

alone, £3.50 for a Hi-Viz vest and £4.20 for 

up to two baseball caps and a Hi-Viz vest. 


Chairman 



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.113 with cover showing a 

Viking of Air Ferry Ltd “Ferry to Ostend” by 

Peter Grove. 

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 interesting 

to see what our fellow aviation artist 

societies are getting up to. 

MAVAS 113 features our very own 

Charles J Thompson again and 

also an extensive article by Keith 

Woodcock on the importance of 

pencils in black and white drawing for 

commissions starting points. 

www.mavas.co.uk 

www.asaa-avart.org 

www.aviationartists.ca 

www.crossandcockade.com 

CAPTION COMPETITION SUMMER 2022 


YOUR REGIONAL ORGANISERS 

East Anglian Region 


07484 302051 

philjacksonart@btinternet.com 

Midland Region 


01743 860404 

07876 222485 

midlandregion@gava.org.uk 

Northern Region 

Paul Warrener AGAvA 

01309 673606 

paul@griffon.uk.com 

South East Region 

Richard Wheatland GAvA 

01293 885430 

richardwheatland@aol.com 

evenings - weekdays 

(7.00 to 9.00pm) and weekends 

West Region 


07976 102955 

rahames@hotmail.com 


GENERAL COMMITTEE 

Andrew Latham GAvA Chairman 

07711 652152 

chair@gava.org.uk 

Chris French FGAvA Vice Chairman 

01376 551869 

Richard Thorne AGAvA Secretary 

secretary@gava.org.uk 

Shirley Batten-Smith Treasurer 

treasurer@gava.org.uk 

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 GAvA Administrator, 

Commissions and Sales 

can be reached via Guild phone number: 

0333 130 2223 

and admin@gava.org.uk 




Paul Warrener AGAvA 

Anita Hole Bookkeeper accounts@gava.org.uk 

NEXT QUARTERLY NEWS DATE FOR 2022 

Issue Autumn 2022 Copy to Editors early September 2022 

Est Dispatch October 2022 

The wings are next door... 

Another pair from John Hunter GAvA 

“If it’s good enough for ‘Winkle’……” 

“….(Hic)….. Hey Maverick…. I don’t remember that 

lake at the end of the runway…. (hic)…..do you?.......” 

Keep them coming in everyone please - 

not just the ‘usual’ members! 

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: 0333 1302 223 

Email: admin@gava.org.uk 



The bikes and planes of David Uhl 

At a recent Midland Region meeting Phil 

Hadley suggested we look at the paintings of 

American artist David Uhl. He is renowned for 

his work combining the visual history of Harley- 

Davidson alongside the aviation of the era. 

THE BACK PAGE 

David Uhl was born into a family of engineers 

and artists which made him particularly 

suited for capturing the lifestyle inherent in 

motorcycling culture. He purchased his first 

bike in 1988 and soon after his pencils and 

pens reflected his visual passion for the sport. 

In 1993 he began producing countless best 

selling artworks for Harley-Davidson apparel. 

After several years at the helm of Uhl Studios, 

Uhl fulfilled his desire to move into Fine Art. In 

1998, he created his first oil painting and, upon 

taking it to the Harley-Davidson headquarters 

in Milwaukee, he was eagerly welcomed as 

the first ever licensed company oil painter. 

Since then, David Uhl has created scores of 

masterpieces reviving the rich history of this 

legendary manufacturer. Poring over the 

many company black and white photographs 

in the archives, he has selected numerous 

compositions and brought them “back to life” 

in oil on canvas. 

His painterly style is perfect for capturing 

the deep emotions Harley-Davidson bikes 

evoke and will allow the legacy to live on for 

generations to come. The glamorous women 

are another of the obvious attractions! 

See his fantastic work at: 

www.uhlstudios.com 


All images copyright David Uhl. 

www.uhlstudios.com 

40 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2022

QN SUMMER 22

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