QN SUMMER 23 FINAL

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…
Phil Hadley GAvA
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