QN SUMMER 23 FINAL

QUARTERLY 

N EWS THE 50TH ANNUAL EXHIBITION 

SUMMER 2023 

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS 

WWW.GAVA.ORG.UK 

A new era starts at IWM Duxford 

CONTENTS INCLUDE... 

From The Chair - Andrew Latham 3 

50th Annual Exhibition 2023 Report 4-9 

50th Annual Exhibition Awards 10-11 

President’s Walkabout - Michael Turner 12 

Illustrated WW2 Book - Keith Burns 13 

Why Don’t You Paint a Spitfire? - Jane French 14 

Creating the Walrus - Victoria West 15 

Personal Reflections on Responsibility - Phil Hadley 16 

A Daunting Commission - Graham Cooke 17 

Pat Forrest VPGAvA 18-19 

Region Meeting Reports 20-33 

Aviation Magazines 34 

Caption Competition 34 

HQ contact information 35 

The Back Page - Wren’s “Oddentification” 36 

GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2023

DIARY 2023 DATES & VENUES 

FROM THE CHAIR 

Andrew Latham GAvA 

QN EDITORS 

Robert Calow GAvA 

David Calow GAvA 

Welcome to your Summer QN 

Stunningly warm Summer days over a June 

weekend saw the Guild celebrate the 50th 

Annual Exhibition and our first ‘live’ one in 

four years. Everyone involved in the Annual, 

held for the first time at IWM Duxford, should 

be congratulated and it all bodes well for a 

continuing relationship in the future. It really 

was a joint effort by so many people giving 

of their time and all helping not only with 

the exhibition but also to promote the Guild 

at such a high-profile aviation event. 

Andrew has now put us all on ‘standby’ for 

the 2024 Annual and also the ever popular 

‘A5 Surprise!’, which will be happening 

again before Christmas. (see Andrew’s 

From the Chair). 

Our occasional series on major Guild artists, 

looks at one of the society’s true stalwarts 

and supporters, Patricia Forrest VPGAvA. 

We also feature articles on two other 

‘Ladies of the Guild’; portrait artist Jane 

French GAvA and newcomer and Annual 

prize winner Friend Member Victoria West. 

We also review a new book on the history 

of Second World War by renown military 

author James Holland which includes a 

stunning collection of work by the Guild’s 

very own graphic artist Keith Burns GAvA. 

There are some personal thoughts by 

Midland Region Organiser Phil Hadley on 

becoming a new Full Member and we 

would also like to wish Richard Wheatland 

GAvA well after stepping down from South 

East Region duties. It has always been a 

pleasure to work with Richard recording 

local events in that region. 

Finally, ‘The Back Page’ for this issue shows 

that you can find the most surprising – but 

very rewarding - items in book shops! 

Best wishes to all - and we will now be getting 

down to finding suitable A5 subjects…. 

Robert and David 

Midland Region Meetings 

Sat 23rd September 

Sat 14th October 

Sat 25th November 

West Region Meetings 

Sat 9th September 

Sat 7th October 

South East Region Meeting 

Sat 2nd September 

Statfold Barn, Tamworth 

Leicestershire Aero Club 

RAF Museum Midlands, RAF Cosford 

Aerospace Bristol, Filton 

Beaulieu Motor Museum, Hampshire 

Gatwick Aviation Museum 

GAvA Committee Provisional Zoom Meeting Dates 

Mondays - 11th Sept / 20th Nov 

Cartoon Corner 

A classic Clyde cartoon montage from the archives... 

by 

...and HS2 is STILL a hot topic 

for discussion! 

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

Annual Exhibition 

It seems a distant memory now and 

came on one of the warmest days of this 

‘summer’ – our first Annual Exhibition 

in real terms for four years and one that 

truly celebrated 50 Years. Opened by our 

President, Michael Turner FGAvA, in tribute 

to his dedication across that time. 

While figures are not yet finalised, the 2023 

exhibition at IWM Duxford gained much 

positive feedback. While we might always 

wish for more, sales were good, visitor 

numbers and positive comments very 

encouraging, organisation, artist support 

and helpers involvement all went as well as 

could be expected for a new venture. 

All thanks are due to Chris French for the 

inspiration and getting the ball rolling, 

the team from the general committee 

including Richard Thorne and Steve Chard 

at the centre of organising and all those 

who turned up and gave of their time during 

the exhibition, including Rob Hames and 

Dianne as welcoming party, and Martin and 

Janet on sales and those who promoted the 

Guild by painting inside and out, particularly 

Paul Couper, David Young, Chris Draper, 

John Wynne Hopkins, Graham Cooke, David 

Scrutton and Ruth Lewis. Thanks also to Phil 

Hadley for organising the name badges which 

gave a smart ‘corporate’ look to proceedings. 

Some have wondered why it was just three 

days. The answer is that the cost of hire 

is by the day; day one (Opening Day) was 

for invited guests, including many previous 

buyers, and Martin worked extremely hard 

to fill the room. We realised late on that we 

needed to provide all our own refreshments 

and are very grateful to Janet and Gina 

for organising and collecting them on 

the day; days two and three covered the 

flying weekend, where footfall through the 

exhibition hall was far greater than we ever 

had previously. There was interest in the 

works on display and in the Guild and some 

sales to airshow participants and visitors. 

This gained us unprecedented exposure to 

a public keen on aviation and indeed some 

new members. 

This leads us to think of something similar 

in 2024. As yet we do not know definite 

dates as it will depend on Duxford’s flying 

programme. So, artists are encouraged to 

get ready in case, for instance, selection 

has to happen even earlier than this year. 

A5 Surprise! 

We will need to supplement income so as to 

sustain the finances, so we are proposing 

to run the A5 Surprise! again prior to 

Christmas. We are indebted to the late Sir 

Freddie Sowrey for the idea, and I am sure 

with your support it will be a great success. 

Details will follow shortly. 

However, as a reminder, artists are asked 

to draw or paint a small work to fit an 

A5 envelope or similar. Participation is 

voluntary, the work being donated, and it 

does not necessarily need to be mounted. 

We will need an image of the work with 

title and medium for publicity and so we 

know how many to sell. Sales will be online 

and once all are sold, the works will be 

allocated to the buyers by a random number 

generator, so the work they get will be a 

surprise! Details of the purchaser will be 

sent to the artist for them to despatch their 

chosen work at the artists’ expense for UK 

sales. We will need the details by the end 

of October, so that sales can happen in 

November. 

Please do not send any works to the Guild. 

Producing pictures that size is not so easy, 

although it can be a fun exercise. Last time 

we attempted this we made almost £4k, 

which just about filled the shortfall from 

running the live exhibition. 

Thank you in advance. 

Sketch days 

Sketch days have continued throughout the 

Summer as you will see later in the QN, and 

I’d like to thank all the Regional Organisers 

for keeping programmes going when there 

are many other activities including holidays 

to attract members. In particular, thanks to 

Richard Wheatland who is standing down 

from the SE role. We’re actively working on 

finding someone to step into his shoes and 

I’m sure there will be an announcement 

shortly. 

Winners 

Congratulations to all winners of prizes and 

trophies from the 2023 exhibition; those 

presented on opening day and those judged 

during and after the show by a selection of 

Full and Associate members. You’ll see all 

the results on pages 10 & 11. The Guild 

awards and trophies are presented at the 

AGM in 2024. 

I was very pleased to introduce a new Trophy, 

donated by the late Charles Pettit, former 

Trustee. It is to recognise imagination and 

creativity. An obituary for Charles will appear 

in the next edition of the QN. 

I wish you all a productive and enjoyable 

Autumn. 

Andrew Latham GAvA 

Chairman 

2 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2023 

GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2023 3

THE 50th ANNUAL EXHIBITION 

23rd-25th JUNE 2023 

OF 

AVIATION PAINTINGS THEYEAR 

The 

GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS 

Annual Summer Exhibition 

23 - 25 JUNE 2023 

THE CONSERVATION SPACE 

IWM DUXFORD AIRFIELD 

CAMBS, CB22 4QR 

Detail from “Lightning Strikes Twice” 

- a painting by Michael Turner FGAvA (President) 

Friday 23rd by invitation only 

Open to Duxford 

Summer Airshow visitors 

Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th 

T: 03331 302223 | E: admin@gava.org.uk | www.gava.org.uk 

The 50th Annual - a review by Richard Thorne AGAvA 

Thursday - Set up & Hanging 

The team arrived early at the site, 

with convenient access and parking 

alongside the AirSpace building. Inside, 

the Conservation Area was a large 

space with the imposing Victor at one 

end. The exhibition panel supplier soon 

arrived and started work on setting up. 

Artists arrived from 10:00 bringing in works 

which were laid out in accordance with 

the allocated location within the Exhibition. 

The hanging cord system for the display 

of works was soon mastered following 

instruction and guidance from Nigel 

Bowditch from Bridport Exhibition Services. 

The system involved suspending works 

using D rings on the backs of pictures. 

With plenty of volunteers and with the 

usual expertly put together exhibition 

plan from John Rosam, the hanging 

went quite smoothly although there 

were some works that had not had top 

corner D rings fitted. These rings were 

hastily added and progress continued 

with the panel structure finished around 

3 pm. Hanging was largely completed 

soon after 4:30 pm. Labels were added 

to the display boards during the hanging 

activity. At the end of Thursday, 303 

works were on display from 84 artists 

including one artist by invitation. 

The sales desk and wrapping area were 

set up and equipment checked. All was 

ready for Friday’s opening day activitiesthanks 

to a wonderful team effort !! 

Thanks must go to Phil Hadley for 

production of the commemorative 

50th Annual Exhibition badges for 

participating artists and team name 

labels. They looked superb! 

Thursday Evening Meal 

Thanks again to Phil Hadley for booking 

tables at the Square & Compasses in 

nearby Great Shelford for those who 

wished to join in a very pleasant meal at 

the end of a successful set up day. 

Friday - Opening Day 

Friday saw the team back on site to 

prepare for the Opening of the Exhibition. 

The all important Lecturn, sound system, 

furniture and trophies were organised 

and refreshments for the reception 

were readied. Judging for the various 

Exhibition trophies and awards was 

undertaken during the morning. 

Buyers, VIPs and guests arrived and were 

able to have a look around the Exhibition 

before artists and their guest arrived. 

By the start of the opening ceremony at 

12:30 an impressive number (just over 

100) of guests, buyers, artists etc. had 

gathered to hear speeches from 

Chairman Andrew and Guild President 

Michael Turner. 

Michael and others presented the 

Opening Awards and Trophies with Paul 

Couper receiving the Aviation Painting 

of the Year prize for his work Tip and 

Run depicting RAF Hawker Typhoons 

in action. Congratulations Paul! (See 

Award and Trophy recipients pages.) 

By the end of a busy day, 34 sales had 

been recorded (including two sold prior 

to Opening) and the Exhibition was 

made ready for the public Air Show 

days over the weekend. The Cambridge 

Science Centre set up their display ready 

for the Air Show in the space adjacent to 

the Art Exhibition. 

Saturday & Sunday Airshow 

Early starts were again required on the 

Saturday and Sunday Air Show days, 

to ensure all was ready for the visitors 

arriving when the gates were to be 

opened at 8 a.m. 

There was a steady flow of viewers to 

the Exhibition during the two days with 

reduced numbers as expected during 

the afternoons when flying displays 

took place. Many good contacts were 

made, conversations had, and a few 

new Friends joined. Several artists gave 

live demonstrations and these proved 

of particular interest to visitors (and for 

one artist that interest led to sale of the 

painting !). Those artists working outside 

(in the hot conditions !) were able to 

advertise the Exhibition to visitors. 

Guild Secretary 

A number of sales were made over the 

weekend with the final total sold at the 

Exhibition being 46. 

Monday - take down 

After what seemed like all too short 

a time, it was Monday and time to 

dismantle the Exhibition. With spaces 

allocated for works in alphabetical order 

by artist, pictures were taken down and 

set out ready for collection. The display 

panels were disassembled and packed 

ready for another exhibition. Finally just 

six works remained to be collected by 

Picture Post, as the team left the site at 

lunchtime, knowing that this first live Guild 

Exhibition since 2019 at a new venue 

and the 50th Annual had been a great 

success ! 

Thanks are due not only to Chairman 

Andrew, Chris and the Committee, 

members of the Guild and suppliers for 

the success of the exhibition but also to 

the events team at IWM and not least to 

all of the visitors to the Exhibition. 

Thank you ! 

Richard Thorne AGAvA 

Secretary 

4 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER SPRING 2023 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2023 5

50th ANNUAL EXHIBITION 

Thursday 22nd June - Set Up and Hanging 

Nigel Bowditch and his wife from Bridport 

Exhibition Services building the exhibition stand. 

All done!!!! 

Hans gets to grip with the orders! 

Thursday Evening Meal 

All enjoyed the chat and meal at the Square & 

Compasses in nearby Great Shelford after leaving the 

museum. Owners Hans and Justine Pinkard looked after 

the large assembled company making sure we all had 

a great time. 



50th ANNUAL EXHIBITION Friday 23rd June - Opening Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th - Airshow Days 

The Guild in action! 

What a backdrop 

for John. 

Graham explains... 

Chris’s Sally B 

A small and dedicated Guild team manned the sales desk on the Saturday and Sunday Airshow and a number of artists were on show 

creating their masterpieces and engaging with the visiting public. 

Monday 26th June - Take down and checkout 

Rob with the brush. 

All gone, cleared up 

by lunchtime and 

ready for a bite! 



50th ANNUAL EXHIBITION - AWARDS 

The following awards were presented at the Annual Exhibition 

The Aviation Painting 

of the Year Award of £500 

Presented by President Michael Turner FGAvA 

Winner Tip and Run 

Paul Couper GAvA 

Highly Commended 

A Sudden Downpour 

Chris French FGAvA 

HC Sabres at Dawn 

Malcolm Root Friend 

HC Speedbird Dusk Arrival 

Henry Smith Friend 

The Jon Moore Best Group 

Award of Art Materials of £400 


Winner Derek Blois GAvA 11-15 

HC David Calow GAvA 22-27 

HC Lee Lacey AGAvA 170-174 

The de Havilland Aircraft Museum 

Trophy and Award 

Presented by Ian Thirsk, de Havilland A M 

Winner Gap in the Clouds 

David Young GAvA 

HC Classic Wings Airborne 

Richard Thorne AGAvA 

HC The “Twotter” 

John Rosam AGAvA 

HC BEA Comet 

Chris Tyler AGAvA 

The Royal Air Force Museum 

Award 

Presented by Dr Harry Raffal, RAF Museum 

Winner RAF Typhoon 

Ieuan Layton-Matthews GAvA 

HC Departure 


HC NVG Practice 

Malcolm Reeves AGAvA 

The Leonardo Helicopters 

Trophy and Award of £500 

Presented by Richard Folkes OBE, Leonardo 

Winner Rescue at Perranporth 

Martin Perman GAvA 

HC Juno 04 


HC Returning From a Shout 

Simon Milan GAvA 

HC Matterhorn Rescue 

Malcolm Reeves AGAvA 

HC Helmand Apache Dusk 

John Wynne Hopkins GAvA 

The Bonham Trophy and Award 

of £100 

Presented by Graham Cooke VPGAvA 

Winner Victoria West Friend 294-296 

HC Brian Casey Friend 34-37 

HC Stephen Hopper Friend 144-147 

The Great War Aviation Society 

Award 

Presented by Marcus Williams, Trustee TGWAS 

Winner Letord Artillery Spotting 

Graham Turner GAvA 

HC Homeward Tracks 


HC Captain Albert’s Nieuport 

Colin Ball AGAvA 

The Sir George Edwards 

Memorial Plate 

Presented by Desmond Penrose 

Winner Scampton Departure 

Anthony Nicholls GAvA 

HC BEA Comet 

Chris Tyler AGAvA 

HC Team Trident 

Stephen Chard GAvA 

HC Helmand Apache Dusk 

John Wynne Hopkins GAvA 

The Alex Henshaw Trophy 

Winner Hatfield Surveyor 

Mike Hutchinson AGAvA 

HC Birth of an Airline 

Graham Cooke GAvA 

HC The Wonderful Wizard 

Darren Howlett AGAvA 

HC Avian Study 


The Arthur Gibson 

Memorial Trophy 


Winner Sabres at Dawn 


HC Speedbird Dusk Arrival 


The Charles Pettit Trophy 

Winner Mitchell’s Marvel in Metal 

Damon Poole AGAvA 

HC Over a Blue Planet 

Nick Harder AGAvA 

HC Indebted 

Geoff Marsh AGAvA 

HC Evolution of the Moth 

Vincent Nevin GAvA 

The following awards will be 

presented at the AGM in 2024 

The John Blake Memorial Award 

Winner Outside Classroom No.1 

Phil Hadley GAvA 

Runner-up Pencil Power 

Alan Pearson AGAvA 

The Margaret Kahn Trophy 

and Award 

Winner Silent Flight 

Martin Bleasby GAvA 

Runner-up Tangmere Twilight 

Jack Froelich Friend 

The Wilkinson Sword Poignard 

Winner Gladiator Study 

Benjamin Holmes AGAvA 

Runner-up Checking Finals 

Alex Hamilton FGAvA 

The Hawker Siddeley Trophy 

Winner The SE5 Proves its Worth 


Runner-up Return to Goodwood 

Chris Draper GAvA 

The Joe Latham Watercolour 

Trophy 

Winner Rescue at Perranporth 


Runner-up Cosford’s Komet 


The Pooley Sword 

Winner Blackpool First Airshow 1909 

Vincent Nevin GAvA 

Runner-up 12000ft Freefallers 

Allan Perera-Liyanage AGAvA 

The Qantas Trophy 

Winner Leaving ‘Soon’ on a Jet Plane 


Runner-up Once We Were Kings 


The SBAC Trophy 

Winner Sabres at Dawn 


Runner-up Speedbird Dusk Arrival 


The Light Aircraft Trophy 

Winner 12000ft Freefallers 

Allan Perera-Liyanage AGAvA 

Runner-up G-CEXO at Hangar 3 

Emily Coxon Friend 

The Jon Moore Best Group Award 

Derek Blois GAvA 

The Bonham Trophy and Award 

Victoria West Friend 

The Arthur Gibson Memorial Trophy 


The Aviation Painting of the Year 

Award 


The de Havilland Aircraft Museum 

Trophy and Award 

David Young GAvA 

The Royal Air Force Museum Award 

Ieuan Layton-Matthews GAvA 

The Sir George Edwards 

Memorial Plate 

Anthony Nicholls GAvA 

Paul’s Winner - Tip and Run 

The Great War Aviation Society 

Award 


The Great War Aviation Society Award 

HC Martin Perman GAvA 

The Leonardo Trophy and Award 


The Committee and Members of the Guild of Aviation Artists wish to thank the generous sponsors of the 2023 exhibition: 

Hansen Fine Art, The Clearbrook Group, and L Anthony Edwards BSc MBA CEng FRAeS. 

They also thank: The de Havilland Aircraft Museum for the Trophy and Award, Leonardo Helicopters for the Trophy and Award, the late 

Jon Moore for the Best Group Award, Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, for the Award, the late Yvonne Bonham for The Bonham Trophy 

and Award, the late Eira Gibson for The Arthur Gibson Memorial Trophy, Angela Newton for The Sir George Edwards Memorial Plate, the 

late Alex Henshaw MBE for The Alex Henshaw Trophy, the late Walter Kahn MBE for the Margaret Kahn Trophy and Award, The Great War 

Aviation Society Award for their Award. 

810 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS NEWS SUMMER WINTER 20232022/23 


The President’s 50th Annual Exhibition Walkabout 

The Second World War James Holland & Keith Burns - the new book 

Looking at the exhibition as a whole, bearing 

in mind the totally different surroundings, 

the overall visual effect was reassuringly 

commendable, although we were missing 

the number of works by some of the top 

artists we are used to seeing. 

The lack of space between the screens 

also made it more difficult to view work 

compared to our customary space in the 

Mall Galleries and previous venues. 

As an initial impression, many otherwise 

notable examples on display were, 

perhaps, let down by fairly basic elements. 

Use of light and shade, unnatural looking 

figures, inappropriate settings and, most 

importantly, use of the limitless forms 

provided by clouds, when part of a scene 

set in or against a sky, could be enhanced 

by their considered use to create 

atmosphere or visual attraction. The use 

of colour can also create attention and 

enhance atmosphere where appropriate, 

be it dramatic or subtle. 

I am reluctant to specify specific works 

which deserve positive appreciation, as the 

spacing of the screens inhibited my overall 

perception, but among the conventional 

subjects, Chris Draper’s treatment of the 

highly polished silver Spitfire in a hangar 

absolutely sparkled. As a contrast, Chris 

French showed Stirlings at dispersal with 

ground crew seeking shelter from a 

cloudburst, a cyclist in the foreground trailing 

very realistic spray across the tarmac. 

Interesting stories or locations were in 

abundance and snow was effectively used 

by Malcolm Root who used very believable 

tracks in the white stuff leading to a parked 

Constellation middle distance. Phil Hadley’s 

DH60 turning low over a snowy field had 

the added interest of grazing sheep 

below, more interested in finding grass to 

eat than the passing plane. The fishermen 

featured by Lee Lacey casting their lines 

by a peaceful river were similarly unmoved 

by a Chipmunk passing low overhead. In 

a similar vein, Anthony Collins’ Shooting 

Stars taking off with intent for a mission in 

Korea are contrasted by locals absorbed in 

collecting crops alongside the runway. 

Albatross CIII he has just dispatched. The 

scene at wartime Duxford by Phil Jackson 

tells a story featuring the P-51 of Lt Stier, under 

scrutiny having landed safely with a battle 

shattered tail. One of John Wynne Hopkins’ 

favourite Sunderlands manoeuvres over an 

Atlantic convoy steaming in unmolested 

lines below, whereas Michael Daley has low 

flying Mosquitos over fishing boats in a windswept 

stormy sea. 

Ted Runciman uses interesting back lighting 

for his F-35 Lightning taking off, and Chris 

Tyler attracts with a dramatic view of a 

strikingly lit Concord landing. Paul Couper 

chooses back-lighting for an impressive 

depiction of a Tristar tanker with two 

customers lining up to take on fuel and an 

impressive wall of cloud as a backdrop 

setting. Excellently sketchy but impressively 

lifelike figures feature in the depiction of a 

fragile looking flying machine displaying 

at Blackpool by Vincent Nevin. 

There were several portraits to add variety, 

with Jane French showing a varied group 

of five posed heads, and Alex Hamilton’s 

study shows an alert Chipmunk pilot, as 

seen from the back seat. 

Finally, there were quite a number of 

hangar studies resulting from the Regional 

sketching days, with some particularly 

absorbing semi-abstract compilations by 

the Calows; Robert with stylised shapes 

backing a side view of Cosford’s Me163, 

David with Puma main and tail rotors woven 

into a design. For something completely 

different, Paul Warrener’s Tornado painted 

on an immaculate brick wall was probably 

the most innovative idea of all. 

As usual, many more works which deserve a 

mention, but time constraints have caught 

up with me! 

Michael Turner P&FGAvA 

OF 

AVIATION PAINTINGS THEYEAR 

The 


Annual Summer Exhibition 

23 - 25 JUNE 2023 

THE CONSERVATION SPACE 

IWM DUXFORD AIRFIELD 

CAMBS, CB22 4QR 

Detail from “Lightning Strikes Twice” 

- a painting by Michael Turner FGAvA (President) 

Friday 23rd by invitation only 

Open to Duxford 

Summer Airshow visitors 

Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th 

T: 03331 302223 | E: admin@gava.org.uk | www.gava.org.uk 

A major new book has been published 

on the history of WW2. It is written by 

the acclaimed historian James Holland 

and lavishly illustrated by our own Keith 

Burns GAvA. We asked Keith to give a 

background to this large scale project. 

Rowland White is a member of the RAF 

Club and happened to see my exhibition 

there. He is also a creative director at 

Penguin Random House. I met him at 

Flying Legends and he asked if I’d be 

interested in working with James Holland 

on a series of 12 Ladybird books on the 

history of WW2. Obviously I said yes! 

I then met James Holland in 2017 and 

over the next five years we worked 

through the 12 books covering all the 

years and battles of the war. They were 

published as part of the ‘Ladybird Expert’ 

series aimed at adult readership. These 

books were then drawn together into one 

volume and published this year in a 348 

page hardback fully illustrated book by 

Penguin Michael Joseph. RRP £30. 

Although it’s been a delight to reach the 

end, now it’s over, I miss working on it. 

With 288 illustrations and little interference 

I doubt I shall ever work on anything like it 

again. Looking through it I find it interesting 

to see how the painting loosens up over 

the time it took to complete. 

Keith Burns GAvA 

Keith’s stunning view 

of a silver B17 on a 

raid over Germany 

is the impressive 

cover illustration. 

The back showcases 

a selection of the 

288 illustrations which 

feature inside. 

Choice of interesting settings was also 

used by Pat Forrest to feature a Spitfire and 

Hurricane overflying Capel-le Ferne, and 

a dramatic view of a Sikorsky helicopter 

banking over Mumbles Head as portrayed 

by Ieuan Leyton-Matthews was an eyecatcher. 

Derek Blois’ Apache helicopter 

fills the frame in an intimidating aggressive 

pose, whilst more restful was a Bleriot with St 

Michael’s Mount beyond, by Simon Milan. 

Air combat was featured by Graham 

Turner, his simple focus on the two WW1 

protagonists clearly records Albert Ball in 

his SE5 climbing away from the smoking 

Keith’s skill at 

depicting all theatres 

of war are clearly 

shown throughout. 

His figurework is also 

an outstanding part 

of the collection. 

Brilliant! 



Why don’t you paint a Spitfire? 

Jane French GAvA 

Creating the Walrus on Clay Board 


One of the most familiar faces and 

personalities at the Duxford 50th Annual 

this year was Guild portrait artist Jane 

French GAvA. Your eds caught up 

with Jane after the show on the ‘Take 

Down’ Monday when we were watching 

Spitfires overhead - something which 

we found out is very important to her. 

The question I’m often asked is, ‘Why are 

you a member of the Guild of Aviation 

Artists when you’re a portrait artist?!’ 

A reasonable question and my artistic 

journey took lots of twists and turns 

before I ended up where I am today. 

I’ve always loved art and the only thing 

I needed on a wet day to keep me 

occupied as a child, was a piece of 

paper and a pencil - it was something I 

excelled at in school but somehow it got 

lost during my training to be a primary 

school teacher and once I was teaching, 

there was never any time. Then when I 

gave up teaching it was tapestry I turned 

to and I have a living room full of cushions 

I designed and made to prove it! 

It wasn’t until nearly 15 years ago that 

I went back to my first love of drawing 

and painting. Without any formal training 

it was a process of experimentation and 

often failure. I watched endless videos 

and eventually found a way of working 

that felt instinctive. There were many 

times I felt close to giving up, but there’s 

a wonderful quote by Einstein that says, 

‘In order to succeed, your desire for 

success should be greater than your 

fear of failure’ and I’ve thought on that 

when I’ve needed the encouragement 

to continue. 

None of that explains why the Guild 

of Aviation Artists! My connection to 

aviation is through my father who was a 

Spitfire pilot during WW2 though I can’t 

say growing up it really meant that much 

to me, he was just my dad. It was after 

he had retired and I’d given up teaching 

that I started spending more time with 

him - we would visit museums and talk 

to modern day pilots, in particular BBMF, 

and it was then I began to realise the 

significance of the role he played. It 

coincided with a renewed interest in 

WW2 and I’m pleased he chose to write 

down his experiences and agreed to be 

interviewed on film. 

In addition, my mother was a Filter Officer 

in the WAAF and an expert on radar, 

lecturing both British and American air 

crew. It was someone I met through 

one of the visits with my dad who asked 

if I’d like to go to the Guild’s exhibition 

one year as he had a ticket and I never 

believed for one moment that I would 

end up exhibiting there myself! 

My first exhibition was in 2014 and I was so 

excited I thought I would burst and when 

I sold a portrait, I was hooked! From 

the first Submission Day, as a complete 

unknown and through my time being 

a member of the Guild, I’ve always felt 

accepted and encouraged and I’m 

the artist I am today because of that, for 

which I’m very grateful. 

Of course the other question I’m asked 

is, ‘Why don’t you paint a Spitfire?!’ My 

love of Spitfires will never fade, but I shall 

leave the painting of them to those more 

qualified than me, and stick to portraits! 

Jane French GAvA 

Jane makes sure the ladies don’t miss out and champions the women in uniform as well! 

Another one of the ladies of the Guild making her mark both on sketch days and 

now at the Annual, is Friend Member Victoria West. Victoria won the Bonham Trophy 

for her duo of pictures at the Duxford Exhibition. Her painting of the Walrus attracted 

much attention at a recent Midland Region meeting prior to the Annual and in this 

article Victoria shows us how the award-winning picture was created. 

For a long time I have worked with oils 

on canvas or graphite on paper but I 

eventually felt the need to experiment 

with new materials and so step outside 

of the comfort zone. It was a very difficult 

thing to do especially when people have 

known me to always produce work using 

the usual materials along with the same 

photographic style which I will no doubt 

continue to use when needed. 

1. Using a neutral coloured permanent 

pencil, I marked in the basic lines of the 

composition remembering not to use 

graphite as this can later contaminate 

the colours when adding water. To erase 

unwanted areas, I used a cotton bud 

and a sponge dampened with water. 

When happy with the lines, the colours 

were added using watercolour pencils in 

a diagonal direction keeping the pressure 

of pencil on board fairly light. If you press 

too hard on the board you will lift off some 

of the under layers of pencil. I started with 

the highlights first. It’s important to keep 

the pencil point sharp. 

2. This shows a close-up of the shading. 

The light blue area in the top right corner 

is masking fluid which I’ll explain later. 

I discovered clay board when browsing 

through an art supplies catalogue and 

after reading the information about it – it 

wetted my appetite. When I ventured 

into this new territory using good quality 

watercolour pencils, the very smooth 

surface of the board forced me to change 

my style. This proved to be very challenging 

and after several frustrating attempts I finally 

achieved some pleasing results. 


3. Using a fine pointed aqua brush and 

working from light to dark, I applied the 

water to the pencil in a very tight circular 

motion to create an almost stippling 

effect. I took care not to over wet the 

brush to avoid the colours running. 

4. This shows an area on the bottom left 

after water was added. Note how much 

darker the colour became once the water 

had been applied. The masking fluid which 

I mentioned a little earlier, well, I would 

not recommend that to be used on clay 

board. It contains latex which didn’t rub 

off very easily and left a sticky residue on 

the surface. Luckily however, I managed 

to remove it very carefully with white spirit 

without any damage to the surface. 

5. The completed work! 

A word of advice - if one half of you is itching to try something new but the other half is unsure and backs off, grab the bull by the 

horns and have a go because with perseverance it can be like a breath of fresh air! 



Personal Reflections on Responsibility - from a new Full Member 

A Daunting Commission 

Graham Cooke VPGAvA 

As reported in the AGM article in a 

previous QN, I have, this year, been 

granted the privilege and honour of 

being promoted as a Full Member of the 

Guild. This unexpected surprise came in 

the form of a letter to me from Chairman 

Andrew which I received a few weeks 

ahead of the AGM. 

Contained in his most pleasant and 

welcome letter was the sentence: 

“it (promotion to Full member) also carries 

the responsibility to continue your support 

of Guild activities.” 

And it was this sentence that started me 

thinking about not only my own personal 

responsibilities to the Guild, but also the fact 

that the responsibility to the Guild is surely 

something that applies to us all – no matter 

what our individual rank or status is within the 

organisation. 

Like many of us, I’m old enough to remember 

JFK and exactly where I was on the day he 

was assassinated, November 22nd 1963 - 

(For what it’s worth…..playing on the carpet 

in Mum and Dad’s dining room with my 

favourite Dinky cars!!) 

In his inaugural address back in 1961, JFK 

famously included the words: 

“Ask not what your country can do for you – 

ask what you can do for your country” 

Surprisingly, in recent years, a Full Member 

of the Guild resigned as he had come 

to the conclusion that ‘having looked at 

his commitments – he had come to the 

conclusion that the Guild did not do enough 

for him to justify his annual subscription’…… 

Surely this has to be the complete antithesis 

of JFK’s aspirations. 

Of course, JFK’s sentiment can be applied 

to anyone in any organisation or company. 

For myself, throughout my life, I have derived 

maximum enjoyment out of belonging to 

an organisation whenever I have put in the 

greatest contribution that I can. 

Like most hobby clubs, the Guild’s activities 

and organisation are carried out for the 

benefit of the whole membership and are 

arranged and managed by surprisingly few 

people. These very dedicated souls give 

selflessly of their time and effort –presumably, 

like me, because they get most satisfaction 

out of ‘doing’.It’s a shame, then, to realise 

just how many folk join the Guild only to not 

get involved. 

As a Regional Organiser, those that know 

me are aware of how much I have put into 

organising the Midland Region since I took 

over the reins from my predecessor in 2017. 

We now average 10 -12 Midland Region 

weekend meetings in every calendar year, 

plus additional weekday meetings on on an 

ad-hoc basis. 

It may come as a surprise that the notices for 

those meetings are emailed out to around 

55 members in the Midlands alone. Of 

those 55 or so, the response always seems 

to come from the same 15-20 people. The 

majority don’t even acknowledge receipt 

of emails, let alone turn up to a meeting 

of the very organization they happily pay 

good money each year to be a member of. 

I guess a similar thing happens across all of 

the Regions. 

I do recognise that a certain number of those 

I email have, in the past, been very active 

Guild members. Some have now reached 

quite advanced age or have conditions 

which prevent their participation. 

I therefore stress that my thoughts and 

comments here are not aimed in their 

direction, as their contribution has already 

been made, but rather in the direction of 

those who are young enough and capable 

enough of joining in, but sadly choose not to. 

Whilst talking about emails and 

communication, I know that there are 

some areas where we can improve in 

how information is disseminated to the 

greater membership. But please don’t 

forget that communication is a two way 

street. If an email is sent out it is nice for the 

sender to then receive at the very least 

an acknowledgement of receipt from the 

addressee. 

And if a member has a good idea, a 

complaint, a suggestion or simply wants 

something clarifying….please get in touch! 

Don’t stay silent, or put pointless posts on 

social media – but do get in direct touch 

with someone ‘in the know’. You’ll find their 

contact details are inside the back cover of 

every QN mag. 

I also know full well that some members are 

non- artists which is why I want to be clear 

that I consider Midland Region get-togethers 

as ‘meetings’ rather than ‘sketching 

days’. At our meetings we do not have a 

requirement for anyone to produce a sketch 

or painting, the only requirement is that 

anyone attending should enjoy a good day 

out at a museum or airfield - in the company 

of like-minded fellow members who all share 

our common love of aviation and art. 

Indeed we have several Midland members, 

whose partners/spouses regularly come 

along to meetings, so the Guild is not just 

an exclusive club for practicing artists. And 

to cap it all, one of my predecessors, Chris 

Heath, was a non-artist …..and he ran the 

Region, being a valuable member of the 

Guild, for many, many years. 

Of the artist members, I am sure there are 

a lot who don’t like working ‘en-plein air’ 

and who are only comfortable working in 

a studio environment. But to them, I would 

say, please try coming along, you don’t 

have to paint anything on the day, but do 

please bring along some things you have 

done in the studio. Join in - and share your 

experiences, skills, hints and tips. You never 

know, you may also go home having 

learned something in return. One is never too 

old to learn new things. 

As we all know, the Guild has a membership 

category structure. As one gains more 

experience and becomes successful, one is 

rewarded with promotion to a higher status. 

This is common throughout all organisations 

and companies. And with higher status 

comes greater responsibility - not less. 

Over the past few years, comments have 

been heard that in some opinions, the 

standard of art depicted at our Annual 

Exhibitions has been declining. 

Surely then, it is the greatest responsibility of the 

most senior ranks to ensure that they contribute 

their maximum effort in bringing along, 

mentoring and educating the juniors and less 

experienced. It is in their power to ensure that 

standards are maintained (or improved ) and 

it is only with their help and assistance that the 

less able will learn and their artistic ability will 

grow. And yet there are so many ‘seniors’ who 

are never seen and who don’t get involved. 

With our current promotion procedure, in 

time, some of our existing Associates will be 

considered for promotion to Full Membership. 

Existing Full Members will then be required 

to vote on an Associate’s promotion…Yet 

how can a FM possibly consider or judge 

somebody who they probably may never 

even have met? 

I believe the Guild needs to have the 

greatest involvement from the most senior 

ranks, we need to be led from the top, 

and from the front, and that we all have 

a shared responsibility to our organization 

and our artistic abilities. And those seniors 

who are already commendably engaged 

and involved need to have more of their 

colleagues working alongside them. 

The Annual Exhibition aside, the Guild 

operates on a Regional basis for a very good 

reason. I feel that it is therefore incumbent 

on every member to get involved with their 

respective Region and to attend as many 

Regional meetings throughout the year as 

they can. 

Without the involvement and commitment 

of us all, whatever our rank or status, the 

Guild may in all probability inevitably decline 

and eventually fail... and in my opinion that 

would be really sad… 


Midland Region Organiser 

Some ten years ago, John Hennessy, a fellow member of the Stamford Model 

Engineers Society asked if I would do a painting of his father’s aircraft. He had been 

a rear gunner in a Wellington Mk 1C during WW2. Having agreed to do the painting, 

he told me the story and described the scene which he wanted me to depict. I was 

then filled with dread in that I felt that I did not have the skills at that time to create 

what he wanted. It was only this year that I plucked up the courage to make a start. 

The Story 

On the night of 24/25 July 1941, 25 

Wellington bombers including R1369 of 

No 3 Group, and 30 Hampdens of No 5 

Group took part in a raid on Kiel. 

Along with other Wellingtons of 57 

Squadron, R1369 took off from Methwold 

(a satellite airfield of Feltwell) at 22.20hrs. 

During the return flight from Kiel, R1369 

was damaged by AA fire and the aircraft 

eventually ditched into the sea off the 

Frisian Isles, North Germany. 

Sgt N D Hennessy, the rear gunner, was 

one of only two survivors of the crash and 

both were picked up by a German patrol 

boat. Moreover, the aircraft floated and 

was towed ashore by the patrol boat. 

The two aircrew then spent the rest of the 

war in a POW camp. 

Instructions for the Painting 

Aircraft is about to ditch ie, not quite in 

the drink. Coastline in the background. 

Side view right to left, correct markings 

on the A/C and one engine on fire. 

Finally, the composition to be based on 

the following digital image produced by 

John’s son. 

The Painting 

When accepting a commission, I stress to 

the clients that they are not obliged to 

purchase the finished painting and that 

they will only have ‘first refusal’. This is in 

case they are not happy with the finished 

work and it takes a lot of pressure off the 

client. I am pleased to say that in over 30 

years of painting in oils, there has been 

only one refusal and I sold it later a local 

art society exhibition. Also, I send the 

client progress images as the painting 

develops and ask if there any changes 

needed. The clients are very interested in 

seeing the progress and additionally, will 

have a record to go with the painting. 

Below are the progress images of the 

Wellington painting. 

The first thing was to build a 1/72 model 

of a Wellington Mk 1C and photograph 

it in the required position against the 

canvas. I always illuminate the model 

with a photoflood lamp in order to make 

sure that the shadows and highlights 

are correct. Fortunately, there would be 

some dawn light about that far north 

even very early am. 

I was greatly relieved that the client was 

very pleased with the finished painting. 

Although it is a subject which I would 

never have thought of painting, it means 

a great deal to the client and it is the 

client who is in control. 

Aircraft in WW2 were not clean and shiny, 

they were dirty, damaged, patched 

and weather-beaten. The thought of 

ditching in the sea that far north would 

be utterly daunting and the crew would 

be filled with dread. It is that cold and 

unwelcome sense of foreboding that 

I have attempted to achieve in the 

painting. 

Graham Cooke VPGAvA 

Graham in action at this year’s Duxford Annual 

Graham shows the various stages involved in the painting’s development; drawing out,adding 

background, sketching the plane in, painting and developing the waves, adding the coastline, 

colouring the plane and painting the final details and shadows. 

16 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2023 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2023 17

Patricia Forrest VPGAvA 

Our occasional series of articles looking at the background and career of major 

Guild artists focuses in this QN on one of the longest standing and supportive 

members of the Guild, Patricia Forrest VPGAvA. 

Your Eds were greatly helped in the first years as QN Editors by Pat and her beloved 

husband Jon Moore who for many years had organised the printing and distribution 

of the Quarterly News. Pat was also a stalwart at the Mall Annual Exhibitions including 

the all-important job of confirming the panel votes for each painting as registered 

on the green and red light machine! 

After leaving school, I went to St Martin’s 

School of Art in London before going 

onto the Royal College of Art, where I 

gained a degree in Graphic Design in 

1956. 

As a matter of interest, during my first 

year at the Royal College, I was invited 

to work on the College magazine with 

the opportunity to become the art 

editor for one issue. I was Advertising 

Manager to Len Deighton, who was Art 

Editor at the time. He was a very affable 

and dynamic personality. I was not to 

know then that he was to become a 

famous author writing novels such as The 

“Ipcress File” and “Funeral in Berlin” and 

also books on aviation – Fighter Bomber 

and The Battle of Britain (for which Frank 

Wootton designed the book jacket). I 

became Art Editor two issues after Len. 

On leaving the College I worked for 

a publisher for nine months and then 

decided to become a Freelance 

Graphic Designer, working for many 

publishers and companies including 

Cadbury Schweppes and Marks & 

Spencer. In 1979 I took up painting 

full time producing flowers and 

landscapes. I regularly exhibited at 

local art exhibitions and also sold my 

work through independent galleries 

in Surrey. My medium was and still is 

predominantly gouache, although I also 

enjoy painting in oils and watercolour. 

In 1987 my friend Lesley Shelton, who 

became a Chairman of The Guild in 

1993, suggested that my work would 

lend itself to aviation art. I knew 

nothing about aircraft but nevertheless 

produced my first aviation painting of a 

Puss Moth to exhibit at the Guild. To my 

surprise Frank Wootton made comment 

on it in his report of the exhibition. I then 

joined the Guild in 1988 and was made 

a Full Member in 1994. 

I served on the Committee and was 

Sub-Committee Chairman for the 1997 

Exhibition and have been privileged to 

produce the poster painting for both 

the 2001 and 2013 exhibitions. 

In the spring of 2000, a new chairman 

was needed. I was nominated and 

subsequently won the contested 

election. My condition for standing had 

been that my husband, Jon Moore, 

should be on the Committee, however, 

this was ultimately refused and so I declined 

the position. Stephen Arch eventually 

became Chairman (a job he did for a 

number of years) and I offered him my full 

support, working behind the scenes. 

In 2003, I was introduced to the Royal Air 

Force Charitable Trust Enterprises and 

I spent the next ten years producing 

paintings for the RAFCTE for my own 

calendars, cards and prints. 

My first calendar was of Concorde in 

2005 followed by the Avro Vulcan XH558, 

the Spitfire’s 70th Anniversary, Bomber, 

RAF 90th Anniversary, Icons of Aviation, 

Battle of Britain 70th Anniversary, 

Fighters, The Golden Age of Flying from 

1927 to 1939 and Securing the Skies. This 

involved a lot of time and research to 

produce!! 

Throughout the years, I have been 

tirelessly helped by my now late 

husband, Jon Moore. He took on the task 

of publishing and distributing Quarterly 

News in 1996 and I produced and 

selected the images in the catalogue 

for the Annual Exhibition. These were 

jobs that we both did for 20 years. Chris 

French’s help was invaluable to me 

during this time, as he was responsible 

for the photography of the selected 

paintings that went through submission, 

and for that I would like to thank him. 

Jon and I were very proud to be 

presented with the Air League Trophy in 

2013 and I was honoured to become a 

Vice President in 2016. 

The special thing about the Guild is 

the camaraderie with the membership 

at meetings, such as Submission Day, 

Hanging Day, Opening and Closing 

days, Regional Meeting and of course 

the AGM. I have made some wonderful 

friendships through the Guild. Since 

moving to Wimborne in Dorset last 

summer to be near to my two daughters 

and son-in-law I have already been 

visited by Janet and Andrew Latham, 

Martin and Gina Perman, Bob and Susie 

Farr and Robert and Nicky Calow. 

It’s wonderful that life has returned to 

normal and live Guild exhibitions are 

back. 

Patricia Forrest VPGAvA 

Photo:www.thisisalfred.com 

Pat painted the poster image for the 2013 Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. Her 

stunning artwork depicts one of the distinctively camouflaged Spitfire MKVc defending the skies 

above Malta 70 years before. Pat was also the familiar welcoming face on the Sunday sign out 

desk for many years at the Annual Exhibition, alongside her work on Submission and Hanging 

Day . 

Pat and Jon were presented with The Air League Trophy by President Michael Turner in 2013 in 

recognition of their outstanding contribution to the Guild of many, many years. 


MIDLAND REGION MEETING 

Simon and Andrea fly in with Paul and Victoria! 

Shropshire Aero Club 

Sleap, Shrewsbury 

Saturday May 13th 

The Midland Region held its May 

painting and sketching day at Sleap 

(pronounced ‘Slape’) airfield, in 

Shropshire just north of Shrewsbury. 

It was released from the RAF in 1964 

and is now the home to the Shropshire 

Aero club, however it is still used as 

a relief airfield for Juno and Jupiter 

helicopters from RAF Shawbury. 

The members firstly congregated in 

a meeting room housed in one of 

the original buildings which formed 

part of the RAF station. It is also a 

small museum displaying artefacts 

excavated from crash sites within the 

county. 

Having been briefed by a member of 

staff, the artists dispersed to various 

locations within the area of the control 

tower. It was a busy day with aircraft 

constantly landing and taking off. This 

was a challenge as it was difficult for 

the artists to decide which subject to 

choose for fear of the aircraft suddenly 

taxiing away and taking off. It was 

commented on by the artists how, 

even though this was a live airfield 

the staff had a very relaxed and 

easy-going attitude. The weather was 

pleasant with clear blue skies and a 

light breeze. 

Although this is a civil airfield there 

were a few military aircraft under 

private ownership. One in particular 

being a North American T28 Trojan, 

formally of the US Airforce. This was 

the trainer version and when towed 

out of the hangar several artists seized 

on the opportunity do sketches of the 

aircraft before the pilot took it on a test 

flight. As expected the pilot started 

the Wright R 1820 cyclone engine, the 

same engine used in the B17 and the 

ground vibrated beneath your feet. 

The artists gathered together back at 

the meeting room mid afternoon for 

the critique which was conducted by 

Phil Hadley and Nigel Morris. 

Graham Witts submitted two pieces, 

the first being a study of the control 

tower using two-point perspective to 

great effect. The second was a side 

view of the T28 Trojan trainer, using 

Caran-d’ache couloured pencils. 

Ian Smith completed a pencil sketch of 

a Vans RV8, using the grey tones of the 

pencil and reflections to good effect. 

water tower achieving an aged look to 

the buildings. The second two sketches 

were of the Trojan using an ink pen in 

an A5 sketchbook, the extreme of the 

tones achieved using the ink pen and 

the white of the paper resulting in a 

very pleasing sketch. 

Victoria West presented a pencil sketch 

of the view from the control tower 

roof, achieving a good perspective 

of the aircraft and the surrounding 

landscape. 

Stephen Clayton also chose a close 

study of the control tower again using 

perspective angles to good effect, 

using pastel crayons on Pastelmatt 

paper. 

Vince Nevin 

Phil Hadley took advantage of the first 

floor of the control tower which gives an 

excellent view across the airfield. Two 

nice pencil sketches of a Cessna and 

Husky were the result from an interesting 

elevated angle. His third piece was of a 

starboard view of the T28 Trojan trainer 

using caran-d’ache coloured pencil 

and a fine line pen on toned paper. An 

almost completed sketch considering 

the short amount of time before the T28 

took off for its test flight. 

Bob Spendlove presented two pieces 

of work both of the Trojan; one a close 

study of the nose section in pencil and 

the second a side view of the starboard 

using crayon on toned Pastelmatt 

paper. Both give accurate depictions 

of the aircraft and especially pleasing 

were the highlights glinting off the skin 

of the fuselage. 

Nigel Morris embarked upon a rear 

port view of the Trojan whilst it was 

still inside its hangar using oil on white 

gesso board. The lines of the aircraft 

were captured very accurately. 

Andrea Goodburn chose to do a 

coloured pencil study of a leather 

flying jacket which was part of the 

museum display. Andrea was advised 

that more tonal work on the shadows 

and creases would have benefited 

the sketch, something which could 

be worked on at a later time. She also 

completed a cockpit study. 

Pete Maxwell produced a watercolour 

sketch of the control tower and its 

ancillary buildings. It was mentioned 

that more interesting greys could 

have been used in the foreground 

which would have complimented 

the picture as a whole. The medium 

was watercolours on Strathmore multi 

media paper. 

The day was not without incident as 

a Husky tailed over when landing but 

the pilot was uninjured and the aircraft 

was recovered very quickly. 

Grahame Witts 

Vince Nevin had a productive day 

completing no less than three pieces 

of work, the first being a watercolour 

study of the original wooden huts and 

At the end of the day the artists would 

have a journey home by car, some 

quite lengthy, but not all. Simon and 

Andrea Goodburn along with Paul and 

Victoria West flew up from Gloucester 

airport in a Piper Arrow P28. A journey 

of 33 minutes. Needless to say they 

would have a very pleasant return trip 

giving the clear calm May weather! 

Pete Maxwell AGAvA 




Sywell Aerodrome 

Northamptonshire 

Saturday June 23rd 

Andrew Latham 

Normally on this second weekend in 

June the Midland Region would have 

been visiting RAF Cosford for the pre- 

Airshow Day sketching opportunity, 

and my report would have been 

packed full of the usual info from the 

very busy scene when the Airshow is 

in its final stages of being set up, ready 

for the actual show on the Sunday. 

Sadly, with not much time to go before 

the big day, our expectations were 

dashed when it became apparent that 

in order to satisfy regulations, the only 

way our visit could be achieved was if 

we were all personally escorted for the 

duration of our time ‘airside’. 

Amongst our party we welcomed to their 

first meeting new Friend Members of the 

Guild, Clive Halliday and Jim Turley. And 

for the second meeting in a row, Andrea 

and Simon Goodburn arrived by air in 

their Piper PA-28R Cherokee Arrow from 

their home base of Gloucester. What a 

way to travel ! 

Clive Halliday 

Jim Turley 

Jim Turley 

Clearly this would be impractical, and 

so, reluctantly, I had to send out a 

cancellation notice. 

Then, behold, wonder of wonders, in the 

space of a few hours of my cancelling, 

step forward John Hamshere of 

AeroExpo. 

John wanted to know if we would be 

happy to send a party to Sywell on 

June 10th to sketch any of the visiting, or 

exhibiting, aircraft at AeroExpo. 

(The Guild knows of AeroExpo from many 

years ago, when this prestigious annual 

event was held at Booker and the South 

East Region were then regular visitors to 

the show.) 

Of all the aircraft present, Robert, Clive 

and I chose to shelter from the blazing 

sun in the shadow of one of Sywell’s 

hangars and from there to sketch a 

special edition Diamond DA62. This 

amazing aircraft being demonstrated at 

the show had been specially converted 

and equipped with all sort of hightech 

equipment …including an under 

nose turret containing a high powered 

camera with infra- red and goodness 

knows what other capabilities. 

Ian Smith 

Robert Calow 

After discussing arrangements for 

access and finding out there would 

be no admission fee (as we would be 

classed as exhibitors) I had to ponder 

the invitation for all of five to ten seconds 

before accepting ! 

So there we were, back on for a meeting 

on June 10th, only this time instead of 

being almost on my doorstep, it was to 

be all the way over in Northamptonshire. 

The day was forecast to be incredibly 

hot and after a welcome coffee sitting 

outside the Aviator hotel, the assembled 

party of 13 ventured out onto the airfield 

to view all of the assembled aircraft and 

for those intending to sketch, select their 

preferred subjects. 

We knew this because after a couple 

of hours of sitting there, the camera’s 

operator came across to the three of us 

to show us a photo of how we looked 

in infra-red, all quietly sitting in a row, 

sketching his aeroplane! 

Shades of ‘Big Brother’ and all that………. 

As the afternoon wore on, partly because 

several of our party had to leave fairly 

early, and partly due to the continuing 

searing heat of the sun, we decided to 

not hold a formal Crit of the day’s work 

and instead escape to the refreshing 

coolness of our air conditioned cars. 

Vince Nevin 

Steve Hennah 

And so ended a very interesting and 

different day, arrangements for which 

were amazingly cobbled together in the 

space of ten or so days. 


Midland Region Organiser 

Phil Hadley 

Phil Hadley 

Andrea Goodburn drew her Piper PA-28R Cherokee Arrow! 

22 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2023 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2023 23


Hooton Park Trust 

Ellesmere Port, The Wirral 

Saturday July 16th 

On a characteristically blustery July 

Sunday, we were invited back to our 

latest find, the historic hangars in the 

care of the Hooton Park Trust. In a 

landscape dramatically changed 

over the last century; the former grand 

hall and estate of 18th C Hooton Park, 

falling into decline and becoming the 

site of an RFC station in 1917. 

The later RAF station closed in 1957 with 

most of the estate being redeveloped as 

the Vauxhall motor factory which is still in 

operation today. Despite the closure, three 

First World War Belfast-truss hangers have 

been retained and restored, and have 

become home to a collection of vintage 

aircraft and vehicles, which provide an 

ideal set of subjects for our artists. 

This was another occasion on which we 

reached out to the periphery of our area 

(any further and we would have been 

in the sea), but then the Midland Region 

is very extensive, and we are used to 

travelling far and wide. 

Sheltering from the occasional thundery 

shower, we stayed quite close together 

in the main hangar which was quiet and 

comfortable. We were eleven in total, with 

two non-sketching guests. 

The works illustrated tell an impressive 

tale of what can be accomplished in 

three hours, and we were particularly 

pleased to meet two new, first-time Friend 

members, Heather Vernon and Steve 

Hopper. Between the nine sketchers, we 

chose the Dragon Rapide (3: Heather 

Vernon, Grahame Witts, Steve Hopper), 

Avro Avian (2: Trevor Colegate and Vince 

Nevin), Auster Alpha (Nigel Morris), Tiger 

Moth (Ian Smith), Miles Messenger (Phil 

Hadley), and the Wallis-Bensen Autogyro 

(Robert Calow). 

Meeting at 10, we settled down to sketch 

at about 11, giving a comfortable 4 hours 

until our crit at 3; a period of 4 hours, which 

in retrospect seems more than enough to 

handle the sketching and have a good 

luck around, and a natter. 

The question of time management came 

up during the crit, ably and sensitively 

handled by Phil and Robert, as an essential 

tool in the sketching process. We all know 

the feeling of ‘where has the time gone?’ 

and there is nothing like sketching to give 

yourself the discipline of saying: outline 

sketch in 1 hour, detail in 3, block-in tone 

and colour in 3, finesse and detail, 4. 

The work produced covered a wide 

range of materials including pencil, 

coloured pencil, charcoal, watercolour 

and oils. The variety and quality showed 

well in the images reproduced here. 

Once again, the day, and in particular 

the Guild’s inclusive critique approach, 

demonstrated the value of such meetings, 

particularly to new or less experienced 

members in not only looking, but listening 

to and learning from others. It is the 

importance of being dragged out of your 

comfort zone! 

With special thanks to our hosts, the 

Hooton Park Trust. You are firmly on our 

radar. 

https://hootonparkhangars.co.uk/ 

Vince Nevin GAvA 

Ian Smith 

Trevor Colegate 

Nigel Morris 

Vince Nevin 

Phil Hadley 

Robert Calow 

Heather Vernon 

Steve Hopper 

Vince Nevin 

Grahame Witts 



WEST REGION MEETING 

The Helicopter Museum 

Western Super Mare 

Saturday April 29th 

My trip across the lovely Mendip Hills 

had been a misty one, but by the time 

I arrived at Weston’s Helicopter Museum 

the sun had broken through. Since 

our last visit a brand-new extension 

containing shop and much needed café 

was found by our band of artists. . 

A catch up, and coffee to begin with, 

and then into the packed hangar full 

of helicopters, Leo Marriot and David 

Young soon found with paint on their 

respective canvas’. David having 

travelled the furthest from Cornwall was 

given the critique to chair as his prize; so 

here is what was created on the day: 

Derek Saunders had actually flown in 

his chosen subject, the mighty Mil Mi 

24; his pencil preliminary sketches led 

into a lively acrylic and gouache study, 

measured under drawing and dashes 

of colour making the helo look rather 

dragon like, and certainly purposeful in 

an ugly kind of way. 

David Young also had the Mi24 in 

his sights, and created an acrylic 

not unlike a Commando Comics 

illustration, with a bold red background 

and accentuated tones, looking like 

another sleeping dragon. Again, David 

is no slouch on these days, covering his 

canvas as quickly as the miles along the 

A30 no doubt. 

Whilst there I handed over Darren’s wellearned 

Associate Member certificate 

which he had been unable to collect 

at AGM time, but Ed’s, feel free to 

photoshop in our President instead of 

me in the included photo! 

David Young 

Paul Fuller 

Bob Farr 

Leo Marriot depicted the big glass nosed 

Mi-8 in acrylics; a lively wash background 

that said just enough to suggest a sense 

of place. With subtle colours around the 

prominent darkened transparencies, and 

red engine blanks as a counterpoint, it 

was a simple but strong piece. 

After a look over the shoulders of our 

talented bunch of artists, I managed to 

sketch a couple of A2 pieces, the MBB 

Bo105, and bug like Hughes Cayuse. A 

bit of measuring, but a lot more dash 

with a Cretacolour artists oil crayon (the 

Ed’s did ask what I use) to make up for 

lost time and to fill the paper! 

Bob Farr 

Darren Howlett 

Rob Hames 

Derek Saunders 

Bob Farr went for a double depiction; 

the Dragonfly, and Piasecki, both 1950’s 

oddities with insect like qualities. His 

lively drawings captured their varied 

tones, darkened cockpits and lightly 

suggested hangars leading your eye 

around these Dan Dare like forms. 

Paul Fuller had made 

the most of the weather 

to sketch a fine study of 

the Bristol Bloodhound 

outside, noting that it 

was pointing towards 

Bristol Airport just to the 

North with the budget 

airlines directly overhead! 

Plotting out with an H, 

and then 2B and 6B 

graphite sticks for tones, 

Paul captured the light upon the dark 

missile’s angular flanks with aplomb. 

Darren Howlett sat near the nose of 

the MBB Bo105 producing a painterly 

acrylic study that captured the bold 

camouflage, transparencies, and 

workmanlike qualities of this little antitank 

‘copter very well. 

Again it was a warm welcome from 

our hosts at THM. With their burgeoning 

building work progressing to house 

more Bristol built types, there will be 

room for more rotors by the time of our 

next visit for sure. 

Rob Hames GAvA 

West Region Organiser 

Leo Marriot 


WEST REGION MEETINGS 

Jet Age Museum 

Gloucestershire Airport 

Saturday April 22nd 

On Saturday 22nd April new Associate 

Member Darren Howlett travelled up from 

Torquay to attend the Jet Age Museum 

at Gloucestershire Airport, Staverton 

who were running a special open day 

to celebrate the 82nd anniversary of the 

Gloster E28/39 Whittle’s first flight. 

Darren volunteered his services after Phil 

Jackson had asked for Guild members 

to attend a ‘join the artist’ event at a 

couple of venues, and handed me 

some notes afterwards about the day. 

With ex Red Arrows pilot Dan Simmons 

giving guided tours, and resident Jet 

Provost, and Vampire T11 displayed 

taxiing ‘over the fence’ of the adjacent 

airport, a busy day ensued. 

I was joined by several children, (from 

age five upwards) throughout the 

day, as I painted the museum’s Glos. 

Javelin. They drew a variety of aviation 

subjects with much enthusiasm, and 

seemed very pleased with their results, 

So perhaps some future aviation artists 

amongst them? 

With double the anticipated visitors 

attending, the museum hoped to stage 

another such event in the future. What 

a great way for the public to have a go 

themselves whilst seeing our artists at 

work. 

Thanks to Phil Jackson GAvA our East 

Anglian organiser for the heads up on 

this event, to Jet Age for hosting the 

Guild on the day, and to Darren for 

flying solo, and waving the Guild flag! 

Wallop Wheels & Wings 

Army Flying Museum 

Saturday July 1st 

An early start for myself and Martin 

Perman to be on site at 07.00, but having 

just done a stretch of these for the Guild’s 

Annual at Duxford we were both ready, 

and looking forward to coffee and 

brownies after set up! 

The car packed with paintings from 

regional members fresh from the 

Annual, and with Michael Garner 

joining us early to help out, we looked 

forward to another busy day promoting 

the Guild. Barry K Barnes also travelled 

down from Tetbury to swell the ranks, 

as the show is now attracting a larger 

crowd each year, and we welcome 

any members who can attend to help 

spread the load on the day. 

The Wheels & Wings event saw some 

glorious weather with a good deal 

of participating automobiles and 

aircraft. Aston, Bentley, Maserati, and 

VW, to Auster, Avro, and DeHavilland. 

With flypasts by the BBMF Lancaster, 

Navy Wings Swordfish, and Rolls Royce 

Heritage Spitfire and Mustang, we 

had the chance to see some classic 

warbirds overhead again. 

We had a steady and appreciative 

audience through our one-day 

exhibition being handed Guild 

QN’s, flyers, Annual catalogues, and 

countless questions answered about 

artworks and the Guild in general. One 

young chap, who amazed us with his 

aircraft recognition skills, asked how old 

you had to be to join the Guild as he 

was only 9. I told his mother if she wished 

to bring him along to a sketching day 

that would be fine, as he just wanted to 

draw planes! 

Thank you to all the artists who exhibited 

with us on the day; Barry K Barnes, Paul 

Bennell, Patricia Forrest, Jack Froelich, 

Laurence Hemmings, Darren Howlett, 

John Wynn-Hopkins, David Young, and 

of course myself and Martin Perman! 

Overall, and so soon after our Annual 

Exhibition, a smaller but just as successful 

event for promoting the Guild to an air 

minded public. 



West Region Organiser 

The excellent collection of Gloster aircraft is the real attraction of the Jet Age Museum. 

Your Eds always lookout for the replica Hurricane though, as it was a mock up built for 

the Battle of Britain movie back in 1968! 


EAST ANGLIAN REGION MEETINGS 

Vintage Fabrics 

Audley End Airfield 

Saturday April 24th 

Norfolk & Suffolk 

Aviation Museum 

Saturday May 21st 

Everyone had a great day at Vintage 

Fabrics and the East Anglian Region was 

joined by the YES group of Air Scouts 

happily showing off their artistic skills 

(with a little help!) 

The weather was excellent again at 

Audley End for sketching and as usual 

some really nice work was produced by 

the Guild members and the YES group. 

Andrew Latham 

produced another 

of his trademark 

hangar views of 

the Bf 108 Taifun 

in watercolour. 

We all had a really enjoyable weekend 

at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation 

Museum. The event promised a flypass 

from a Spitfire 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. 

YES (Youth & Education Support) is a UKwide 

group and the Youth Education 

branch of the Light Aircraft Association 

(LAA). Working together with them, 

leading industry companies, local 

education authorities, schools and 

universities and many others educate, 

encourage and inspire young people 

to take part in all sorts of activities 

connected with aviation. 

Photo: www.aviationmuseum.net 

Congratulations to Bill Smith who’s sketch 

of Willie’s RV “The Joker” was bought by 

him on the day. 

Some good work was produced by a 

small number of us who managed to 

claw our way from other activities there. 

David Fosh’s Westland Whirlwind was 

one to note and the colour tones were 

spot on in his pastel style. 

Martin Bleasby’s prints of his paintings 

I would like to add a big thank to all 

members who attended on the day and 

for their continued support. Thanks also 

to Gary Stebbings (Acting Chairman) 

and all the staff and volunteers at the 

Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum. 

Chris French demonstrated his skills in coloured pencil crayon with his excellent rear view 

sketch of the Bulldog under wraps. 

Phil Jackson GAvA 

East Anglian Region Organiser 

Paul Millett got 

stuck into a nice 

watercolour of 

the Yak. 

Many thanks to everyone who joined us, 

including Chairman Andrew and Chris 

French (who conducted the crit for us), 

Stewart Luck and all the organisers. A 

special thanks as always to Clive, Linda 

and Pete. 

David Fosh 

It was also nice to end the day with a 

good pint and curry at the local! Thank 

you for the invite Stewart and Pete...see 

you all next time. 



The assembled YES Air 

Scouts enjoyed their 

day out at Audley End 

alongside the Guild 

members. 

Chris Impey 

David Scutton’s watercolour Tiger 


EAST ANGLIAN REGION MEETING 


HQ NEWS... HQ NEWS... 

Shuttleworth 

Saturday July 22nd 

Members of the East Anglian Region 

had a great sketching & painting day 

at Shuttleworth again. It was a really 

windy and wet day but fortunately it 

didn’t spoil the artistic activity from the 

members present. 

David Smith chose to draw the Hucks 

starter vehicle in pencil which was very 

fine effort. 

Will Williamson used pencil to do a 

superb duo of the Lysander and Spitfire 

which with the tonal structure, gave it an 

excellent perspective. 

David Fosh used his controlled pastel 

style on the Ryan STM 2. 

Will Williamson 

Photo: www.shuttleworth.org.uk 

Get Ready for 2024! 

Having put on a physical exhibition at IWM Duxford in June (the first since 

2019), we intend to stage an annual exhibition again in 2024. 

This will be in the Summer and submission of works will again be online. 

With this in mind, please start thinking now about getting some paintings done ready to submit in late Spring 

next year. We were unable to give this much notice last year and this made it difficult for some artists to 

submit due to workload or time available to get work prepared. 

As soon as there is definite information about the venue and date, we will let the membership know but for 

now, get planning - and get painting! 

Chris French FGAvA 

David Heaton chose to combine the SOE 

car “Violette” with the Lysander behind. 

A perfect combination! 

Phil Jackson Well! I had a go at Debbie 

Land’s pride and joy Citroen “Violette” 

as well. I was quite pleased in the way it 

turned out but looking closely, I thought 

it had the characteristic of an Austin Six! 

I think I forgot my usual start up sketch of 

‘looking at it from a distance’ to get the 

shape right but what great fun! 

My thanks again to Shuttleworth and 

of course to all the GAvA members for 

their support. Apologies to members I 

haven’t included. 



David Heaton 

David Smith 

David Fosh 

32 36 GUILD GUILD OF AVIATION OF AVIATION ARTISTS ARTISTS QUARTERLY QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER NEWS 2023 AUTUMN 2022 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2023 33


HQ NEWS... HQ NEWS... 

AVIATION ARTISTS SOCIETY MAGAZINES 

Other aviation artists’ societies 

issue quarterly magazines 

Colin Taylor has sadly informed us that with only 

a handful of active members and no material for 

inclusion they have decided to discontinue the 

MAVAS magazine, scale back activities and relocate 

to the Avro Heritage Museum at Woodford. 

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 shown. It is interesting to see what 

our fellow aviation artist societies are 

getting up to throughout the year. 

www.asaa-avart.org 

www.aviationartists.ca 

www.crossandcockade.com 

CAPTION COMPETITION SUMMER 2023 


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 

Janet Latham VP Hon Treasurer 

treasurer@gava.org.uk 

07778 068563 

Stephen Chard GAvA 

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 2023 

Issue Autumn 2023 Copy to Editors Sept 2023 

Est Dispatch October/early Nov 2023 

State of the art Soviet air 

force? 

Another of 

No entries arrived for this pic... so a couple from your 

Eds... 

Ryanair have just opened their new jet liner - themed 

hotel in Greece. 

Elon Musk has moved the X (formerly Twitter) HQ to 

smaller premises! 

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 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 BACK PAGE 

E. A.‘Chris’ Wren - aircraft Oddentification! 

While on a recent trip to Suffolk your Eds 

visited many of our favourite bookshops and 

this time found a real gem. “RAF Parade” is 

a 1944 collection of RAF themed cartoons 

by the great artists of the wartime era, 

including the legendary Giles. Amazingly, 

the book was also the personal copy of 

Chaz Boyer, the well known writer of over 40 

books about the RAF. 

One of the cartoonists whose work 

appealed straight away was E.A.“Chris” 

Wren (1909-1982) and his series of aircraft 

cartoon ‘profiles’ called Oddentification. 

E. A. “Chris” Wren was a well known 

freelance aviation cartoonist in the UK. 

During WW2 aircraft identification became 

essential for the Armed Forces after 1941, 

when political pressure was applied to 

save Allied lives from ‘friendly fire’. Wren 

portrayed caricatures of aircraft, entitled 

Oddentification, which then highlighted 

salient aircraft characteristics as an aid 

to identification. The quirky style added 

humour to the individual aircraft profile, 

gave them ‘character’ and made the 

shapes easier to remember. 

Wren regularly appeared in Aeroplane 

with his column Wroundabout and the 

aerodynamic animation of his aircraft 

caricatures, (which somehow looked more 

real than the originals), and his wartime 

Oddentifications won him an enormous 

international aviation fan club. 

The Empire Test Pilots School mess is 

apparently filled with his drawings of the 

countless international pilots who have 

attended it over the years. Wren died at the 

1982 ETPS annual dinner (an occasion he 

would never miss) at a youthful 73 and at 

the height of his powers. 

The little yellow Oddentification book is 

now a real collectors’ gem and features a 

barrel-like Brewster Buffalo on the cover! 


1944’s ‘RAF Parade’ 

featuring a colour 

Giles cartoon on 

the cover. 

Every Oddentification had a rhyming poem 

about each aircfraft 

36 GUILD OF AVIATION ARTISTS QUARTERLY NEWS SUMMER 2023

QN SUMMER 23 FINAL

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

Delete template?

Save as template?