The Guild of Aviation Artists

I have rejoined The Guild of Aviation Artists. Some years ago The Guild helped me to indulge my passion for painting aeroplanes, indeed I wanted to paint anything to do with aviation. Over time my artwork changed from realistic representation to abstract art and now I paint very differently from members. I got a few frowns and sideways looks from some of the members :). My work did not fit anymore so I quit. I am happy to say after rejoining my work is welcomed (mostly) and anyway they are a good bunch of people. There is room for different aviation paintings and the Guild of Aviation Artists should be congratulated for recognising that.

I just love to paint the feel of flying in an abstract way. My goal is no longer accurate reproduction but to capture the associated emotions such as elation, wonder and anxiety.  I can use anything I choose to help create that feeling of being airbourne again. I used to be a Flying Instructor and through painting I can relive those moments of teaching for example, spin recovery. Spinning is perhaps as close as an ab initio pilot gets to aerobatics, whatever, it is always exciting and I try to create that in my original abstract paintings of any kind.

It felt particularly good to have three of my paintings accepted for the Guild of Aviation Artists annual exhibition… Why is that? Well it would anyway but the Guild of Aviation Artists is known for paintings that accurately describe particular aircraft in certain situations such as Spitfires in the Battle of Britain. My abstract aviation art is not about war specifics, it endeavours to capture that certain feeling when flying not to describe the actuality

  “Vive la Difference!”