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magazine of Manchester Aviation Art Society
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Issue 73 JUNE 20112
THE MAGAZINE OF THEMANCHESTER AVIATION
ART SOCIETYMAVAS
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If any member has an objection to the Society holding Membership records on a computer and using the information for societypurposes deemed suitable by the Committee, eg; the productionand distribution of a membership list, please notify the Editor
Cover Image�Suspended Aviation�Charles Thompson
Editorial
Rear Cover Image�Neptune�David Bates
This has been an excellent few months for thesociety with interesting meetings, the unveilingof the memorial plaque and the comingexhibition of American aircraft.
This PDF issue shows the benefit of theelectronic media. Because producing a printedversion is quite expensive it is limited in thenumber of pages and the use of colour,andthere is the cost of postage to add. Electronicmedia has the glorious freedom to use fullcolour, costs no extra to distribute and in thisissue has an extra four pages, with somearticles extended and some extra material notfound in the print version.
This issue looks at the man behind manyarticles, news items and paintings over theyears. Charles Thompson has been a sourceof help and guidance and a link to the Guild ofAviation Artists. Some of our members belongto the Guild and will be familiar with it�s website,For those who have not visited it there is a treatin store.
Happy browsing and successful painting,
Dave
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A Treasury a Mouse Click Away GAVA Website 4
The Man In The Lefthand Seat Takes the Hot Seat Colin Taylor, new Hon. Sec..
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Roger Markman Shares a Discovery 6
Workshop 5th May Skies and Landscapes 9
A.G.M. Report and new Committee Line Up 10
April Meeting Rob Knotts on Airships and Balloons 12
May Meeting Peter Carter on Sketching from a3view Drawing
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Introducing Charles Thompson 16
Peter Nield takes a final Irreverent View of Perspective Foreshortening
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Painting with an iPad Peter Grove Investigates 26
News Round 30
Diary Dates 31
Contents
society with interesting meetings, the unveiling
The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificialmeans and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when astranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life. ~William Faulkner
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Spare some time to visit theGuild of Aviation ArtistsWebsite it is both enjoyable
and educational.
The site has lots of informationabout membership and eventsbut the real treasures are the
galleries.
Each year the Guild has theAviation Painting of the Yearexhibition and all the paintingsfor each year are archived and
available from the site.
In years past a study of Old Masters was recommended to young artists.A study of these modern day artists can enlighten and inspire or ofcourse lead you to throw your paints in the bin and take up knitting.
www.gava.org.uk
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The Man In The Left-handSeat Takes the Hot Seat
Meet Colin Taylorthe New Hon. Sec.
I am 59 years old, single and retired last year from a career inaviation. I was raised near Watford and learned to fly when I wasin the Air Cadets. I joined the CAA as an air traffic controller inthe mid seventies and was at Glasgow Airport on aerodromecontrol and approach radar for about 15 years. I qualified as acommercial pilot in 1989 and joined Loganair in 1990 flying theShorts 360 and Twin Otter. I then flew the ATP under the BRALflag and then the Embraer the Dash 8 under Flybe. Overlappingthese two careers I was a part time flying instructor for about 13years at Glasgow Flying Club. I am an aviation enthusiast atheart and art is a nice way to indulge my interest. I startedpainting about 20 years ago and used to sell pictures of the clubaircraft to owners and other members. After a break I havetaken it up again so back on the learning curve again.
Colin Taylor
www.gava.org.uk
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Have you ever watched one of those (usually American) chat showswhere long lost, or even unknown, relatives are brought on to the hugeastonishment of the guest being interviewed? I had an experience a littlelike this recently when I came across the SE5b during my aero ramblings on Google.
I have known and loved the SE5 at since I was about eight and first cameacross it in an encyclopaedia about the First World War. Later on I built1/72 scale plastic kits of them and even a balsa flying model. This is one�plane I really know well!
Imagine my astonishment then when I discovered that there had been aSE5b!!!!!It was a one off as the advantages were so slight over the regular SE5a,that production plans were cancelled.
It differed in appearance quite a lot when compared to the SE5a. The nosewas streamlined with a large propeller spinner. The wings were differentwith a larger top plane and a smaller span and chord lower wing. Thepilot�s head fairing was enlarged and extended and a retractable radiatorwas also fitted. The �new look� was most striking making an already very
Roger MarkmanShares a Discovery
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attractive machine look even sleeker and elegant. It foreshadowed theHawker Fury biplanes of the thirties in many ways.
Sadly, the gains in speed, general performance and handling wereextremely small. It was not deemed worthy of a production contract atthe time. The war was drawing to a close and with the end of theconflict there was a massive amount of cutbacks in the size and strengthof the RAF.
The sole prototype was kept for further experimental work and in thisconnection standard SE5a wings were later fitted. In this form it had amarked edge over the standard SE5a but by the early twenties the gamehad moved on and there were newer and much faster offerings at handlike the Bulldog. It made an appearance at the 1920 Hendon air showbefore being eventually scrapped.
It is a unique and fascinating machine worth consideration by aviationartists wanting to depict something a bit different. Some biplane fightersare strikingly beautiful and this was one of the best of the best!
Roger Markman 2/5/12
�SE5b� by Kevin Clarkson
http://www.kevinclarkson.co.uk/aviationpaintings
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A search to see if anyother information couldbe found revealed a 3view drawing on a sitethat a lot of early data,some linked to Jane�s allthe World�s Aircraft 1913.
Unless you read Russiandon�t forget the translateoption���Ed.
http://flyingmachines.ru
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Skies and Landscapes in watercolour was the theme for thelatest Mavas workshop hosted by Ron Sergeant. Therewere only three attendeesplus Ron, just enough to
warm up the chilly conference room in the Aviation Hall of theManchester Museum of Science and Technology. Ron broughtalong two wellillustrated books on weather and clouds as a stimulus to the imagination and then gave a demonstration of his technique of watercolour, producing the effect of a mist and cloudshrouded forest and then superimposing a dramatic Lightninginterceptor using a stencil.In the five hours we were there we each produced several pages ofwork in pastel as well as watercolour, so it was a very productivesession. The most valuable thing about a live session, that youdon't get from books, is watching other people work and getting asense of the timing involved in applying washes and tints; when towork fast and when to slow down and what constitutes wet, a bitwet, not so wet, a bit wetter and so on. Clearly watercolourists haveas many terms for wet as eskimos have for snow. Also verywelcome, when things are going wrong, are those few words ofencouragement you don't get when working alone. In Ron's workshop it's not a case of 'do it like this' but rather have a go and seewhat you and the medium can do together.All in all it was an enjoyable and instructive day out which we shoulddo more often. The pictures are by Ron Sergeant, Keith Stancombeand Colin Taylor. Many thanks to Ron for hosting the event.
WorkshopSaturday 5th May 2012
Report by Colin Taylor
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As always, the meeting in the Conference Room on the firstTuesday in March was the A.G.M. This year, the meeting wasattended by 14 members and by far the main concern waswhether or not the Society could continue for another yearwithout an Hon Sec. In the absence of a proper structure,there was a very real possibility that we might have had toconsider winding the whole thing up. However, in the light ofreduced workload because of fewer outside commitments andbearing in mind that several arrangements were already inplace, new member Colin Taylor came forward and took thejob on, thereby assuring the future of MAvAS up to, andhopefully beyond, March 2013. We are very grateful to Colinfor this gesture. Also to Peter Flitcroft for taking on the job ofChairman and to Treasurer, Peter Grove for continuing to actas Hon Treasurer. Following the rather prolonged AGM, theremainder of the meeting was devoted to discussing generalmatters including the design of a plaque being prepared byRoger Markman in memory of the late Joe DeMarco.
A.G.M.
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D Bates;Magazine and Website Editor
P. Flitcroft Chairman
C.Taylor Hon. Secretary
P. GroveTreasurer
P Carter; Selection Panel Chairman
R Sargeant;Refreshments
L Sakowicz P Nield
The Committee for 2012/13
J. Williams
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The meeting in the Conference Room on 3rdApril was attended by 14 members. Theplanned illustrated talk on Airships by RobKnotts nearly had to be cancelled because, forsome reason, the requested museum audiovisual equipment had not been supplied. Chaosensued and it was only through the generousefforts of Nick Forder and Terry Burnett, whohappened to be on hand, that meeting was ableto continue. Unfortunately, this involved moving to another room on the other side of LowerByrom Street so if any members missed theevent we can only apologise and guarantee tomake every effort in future to see that this sortof situation does not happen again. Once underway, Rob`s presentation, covering the historyand development of the balloon and airship,went very well and it might be worthwhile atsome point to include Airships as a subject forone of our display panel competitions.
RobKnottson
Meeting � 3rd April, 2012
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The fire worshipping prehydrogen Pioneers.
The hydrogen Balloon as an artilleryspotting device, Boer War.
Pre WW1, Floating aroundfor Fun.
WW1, the Airship as a weapon.
New technology, helium andthe heavy lift Airship of thefuture.
The Inter World War years, theAirship, passenger transport,and hydrogen vulnerability.
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Peter Carter
OnSketching from3 view drawings
Meeting 2nd May 2012
There was a good turnout for Peter�s demonstration, unfortunatelyit was delayed by a combination of new members and new parkingarrangements and the unveiling of the memorial plaque (seeNewsround).Peter explained his method dated from his employment at Avro�swhere he mainly worked on the Shackleton and Vulcan. He rarelysaw the actual parts, working mainly from engineer�s drawings.Peter used a photocopy of an illustration typically found in aviationbooks.. In this case he took thewingspan as his first referenceline and drawing a perspectivesquare from it which in this casemore or less gave him the pointwhere the leading edge matedwith the fuselage. Using thesame method gave him the positions of the main parts of theaircraft foreplane, fin cockpit and nosecone.
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Then he located the position ofthe tailpipe, measuring its sizeby its proportion of the wingspan. The shape of the fin wasadjusted, the intakes and thecockpit firmed up by proportionand the �mark one eyeball�.He added the remaining partsexplaining the drawbacks of thethree view drawings for reference when some parts were obscured and the rear view andunderside view would be useful some drawings do show a splittop/underside view which doeshelp. He went on to finish thesketch, and discussed the waythe national markings and thecamouflage scheme help definethe shape.
There was a satisfying amount ofaudience interaction, and peterdiscussed different methods ofproducing drawings and described some of the work he haddone producing drawings for theconversion of the AEW Shackleton and the modification of theVulcan for Blue Steel and Skyboltmissiles.Because of the delayed start thethe discussion had to cut short butit was an enjoyable and informative meeting.
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Charles was born in 1931 in the British Army Hospital, Poona, India,His father was born in Carisbrooke Castle on the I.O.W. and, followingin his father�s footsteps, he joined the Rifle Brigade. Retiring from thearmy in 1938 his father joined the staff of La Martiniere College,Lucknow (the famous boy�s high school and the only one in the worldto have been awarded battle honours). So it was here that Charlesand his younger brother received their education until 1949 when thefamily decided to return to live in the South of England.Because Charles has always been an aviation enthusiast, his mainaim when returning to England was to find a job in the aviationindustry. However, although he was initially hired by the BristolAeroplane Company, he accepted instead the post of TraineeDraughtsman offered him by Briggs Motor Bodies at Dagenham.Why? Because Dagenham was only a 7d (7 old pennies) bus ridefrom home, whereas going to Bristol would mean living in �digs�!!However, unwittingly, this turned out to be the wisest decision he evermade because, had he gone to Bristol he would have spent hisworking life an �engineer�, whereas at Briggs, later Ford, he becamea stylist and so was able to put his artistic talents to good use.
Editor�s choice paintingsin Charles� soft light style.
G.Av.A A.S.A.A.
Introducing Charles Thompson
�La Martiniere & Fox Moth�
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Editor�s choice paintingsin Charles� soft light style.
"Royal Saudi Air Force"
"Flight of Fancy Typhoons"
�HANNO over Sharjah"
"A Field of Human Conflict"
"The Forlorn Hope"
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So, at the age of 18, Charles joined Briggs Motor Bodies, which at thattime was a �supplier� of motor bodies to several motor manufacturersincluding Ford Motor Company situated just down the road from thefactory. Initially working in the Drawing Office, he spent the next fouryears at �night school and qualified with honours in Motor Body Design.He did his National Service, in the RAF as a Senior Aircraftsman from,1955 to 1956. Upon returning Briggs which had in his absence becomepart of the Ford �Empire�, he had his request of a transfer to the Styling(Design) Department accepted. This turned out to be a very wise �move�
as he now found himself in his element spendingeach day painting, drawing, sketching ideas andmodelling shapes in clay for future cars was rightup his street. You can�t beat getting paid for whatyou like doing, can you?
Success soon led to the designing ofthe MkI Cortina and Station Wagon;The Corsair and The MkIV Consul,Zephyr and Zodiac model ranges,Promoted to Executive Designer,Charles eventually took early retirement in 1986 after spending 37years� service with the Company.An aeromodeller since early childhood Charlesenjoyed designing, building and flying models ofall types. But it was not until 1979, when he discovered and joined the Guild of Aviation Artists(G.Av.A.), that he begin to paint seriously, in oils,He was initially elected an Associate Member ofthe GAvA in 1982 and then in 1984 he was electedto the highest echelon as a Full Member andserved as Press and Publicity Officer for sevenyears before holding office as the Chairman from1997 to 1999. His work has been accepted forevery GAvA London exhibition since he joined.
"Oshkosh Aesthetics"Speed Wing.
"Roll on Demob"Self Portrait
Charles with "A Real Honey"MATS Constellation VC121A
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In 1988 Charles joined the American Society of Aviation Artists(A.S.A.A.) as an Artist Fellow and has had work accepted for exhibitionevery, winning numerous awards including two prestigious �James V.Roy Awards� for the best painting in show.Charles is aMaster Artist of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA),Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1992 after winning four Par Excellence awardsin two consecutive years in their annual competitionsPan Books Ltd. published his book "Wings" (Combat Aircraft of theSecond World War�.
Charles has never been interested in the limitededition print market, and only occasionally produced commissions for clients.
Today, he much prefers to paint outsidethe studio en Plein air along with othermembers of the GAvA, rather than workingfrom reference material inside.
"Sunny Sally B". Painted on site at Duxford
"Size Matters" Airbus A380
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It was a beautiful day in Heaven and God was just settling downto a nice mug of steaming hot tea when there was an hystericalknock on the workshop door. God knew straight away that it wasGabriel on yet another frantic mission in his thirst for knowledge.�Come in, my little eager beaver� said God �and what can I do foryou?�. �Well� said Gabriel. �What`s this foreshortening business allabout?� �Ah� said God, �that`s a question I get asked about all thetime and, providing you promise not to pester me any more, I`ll tellyou what I know. �Do we have a deal, Gabe?� �OK Boss� saidGabriel, slightly sad that this would be his last trip to the workshop.
�Right� said God, �Here we go�. �For a kick off, foreshortening issimply a consequence of perspective which, as you know, onlycame about because I invented my fantastic compact lens thatwas part of my revolutionary eyeball design. This and was done inorder to give the ability to see stuff, judge distances and to stopfolks banging into things. You might remember that this wascovered in magazines 66 and 67. Anyway, you OK with all that?�.�Yup�, said Gabriel.
�OK� said God, �Let`s get this right. The word �foreshortening� isgenerally used to describe the appearance of an object when anartist gets really close in with an oblique view, much closer thannormal. In this situation, the perspective appears to becomeexaggerated � not what we are used to seeing in normal circumstances. Note that I use the word �exaggerated� and not �distorted�. I get really hacked off with people who say �distort�, d`youhear, really, really hacked off!!� �Steady on, Boss, watch the oldblood pressure� said Gabriel �I get the message�.
Foreshortening
Part 7 and the endAn Irreverent View of Perspective
By Peter Nield
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�Make sure you do� said God �My super duper lens doesnot distort. What you see is what you get (Gee, I made ajoke!). This technique has been used by artists for dramatic effect since the 5th century BC and can be seen inmany artworks worldwide, including early architecturalwork and 15th century frescos in Greece. In more recenttimes, these dramatic exaggerations can be seen in theartwork of comic books � Captain Marvel and so on, andthe effects have even been used by Chris Wren in aircraftrecognition�. God paused. �Are you taking this in, Gabe?��I sure am� said Gabriel �most interesting� �Right� saidGod, �Here are a couple of foreshortening examples foryou, Chris Wren`s Oddentification Blenheim IV and aswift doodle showing a close up oblique version of you��Ooh, I do look weird� said Gabriel. �I`m saying nowt�said God.
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� OK� said Gabriel �but what about photography?� �Well�said God �Your average camera uses a lens that is similar to myfantastic natural eyeball lens so the effects of close up obliqueshots are very much the same. Think about those severely tapered images of railings and railway lines�. �And what about wideangle and fisheye lenses?� said Gabriel.
�Similar principle� said God, �but just more distorted �whoops! Exaggerated� �I guess that wasn`t so bad� said Gabriel.�Hang on a minute�, said God, �There`s one more type of foreshortening that all artists should be aware of if they are going tocopy photographs and that is the artificial foreshortening you getwhen you enlarge, say, a couple of small distant objects in aphotograph for the purposes of creating a painting. The objects fitnaturally into the width of the photograph, meaning the widthacross the cone of vision of the camera say 40º, roughly similarto my magical eyeball and the perspective appearance of thesmall objects corresponds, as always, to the viewing distance. Ifthe two objects are then enlarged and placed in a normal frame,the enlarged size of the objects in that frame width will imply acloser viewing distance and the distant perspective they carry willnot be compatible. Also, if the distant objects are one behind theother, they will appear to be compressed together � foreshortened and the relative sizes and perspectives in the enlargedview will suggest that they are much closer together than theyreally are�. �No kidding� said Gabriel �That`s a lot to swallow inone go. �It`s not so bad if you go through it methodically� said God�Check the sequence of images below taken in the workshop witha standard lens. Here we have two pairs of 7.5� x 2.5� cardboardpanels spaced 7.5� apart. The second pair of panels is 40� alongthe worktop and the viewpoint is about 3� up from the ground andsome 15� from the first panel�
�Oh, my Sunday hat!� exclaimed Gabriel �The enlargedDistant Pair look nothing like the real panels. Now they are almostthe same height! Also, given the size in that frame width (acrossa 40º CoV) and the apparent nearness of the panels to eachother, they look more like a couple of spindly columns 7.5� high
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A General View
Focusing on the Near Pair
Focusing on the Distant Pair
Distant Pair enlarged tofit normal frame
by less than 0.5� wide with a gap ofabout 1� between them. Also, the perspective on the feet is all to cock for anearby viewing distance. I guess wehave to be really careful about thiskind of foreshortening if we are goingto use photographic images for ourpaintings�.
�Another thing you have to remember� said God, �is that you get exactlythe same problems with images takenwith telephoto lenses. All they do ismagnify stuff and the only difference ishat the enlarged distant image isdumped directly on a �normal� sizedfilm, sensor or frame. In the aboveexample, you would have gonestraight to the last image without anycropping and enlarging�. �Gosh!� saidGabriel �are you telling me that alltelephoto shots have faulty perspective?�
�Nope� said God �the perspectiveis sound but the Cone of Vision ismuch less than the more natural 40ºso it always look a bit odd in a normalsize frame setting. Mind you, telephoto shots do have some advantages,not least of which is the ability to photograph what appear to be close uphead on shots of aircraft taking offwithout getting flattened. Invariably,the distant perspective is way out ofsynch with what it should be but, boy,it still makes you want to get out of theway of the charging rhino!�
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Il76 Take Off � Close Perspective Normal Lens Engines Splayed OutTwo seconds to Live Splat!
Il76 Take Off � Distant PerspectiveTelephoto Lens Engines Head OnThe Safer Option!
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�Interestingly� said God, �these two shots demonstrate bothtypes of foreshortening � the dramatic effect of a true close upslightly oblique view and the flattening effect of distant perspectivethat is not compatible with the �normal� frame size�. �That`s amazing� said Gabriel �When I think about it, I`ve seen this foreshortening effect many times in F1 racing where the telephoto shots ofcars coming towards you on the track show them all much thesame size with little or no difference in perspective and, in spite ofknowing there are big gaps between them, they all seem to bebunched up� �Right on� said God �That`s another good example�
�Is that it, then?� said Gabriel, with a little tear in his eye. �Is thiswhere we part company?� �I`m afraid so� said God, �I`ve got amillion things to do and I think we`ve covered most aspects ofperspective in a round about sort of way� �OK� said Gabriel �I haveloads to tell my blob friends so I`ll be on my way. Do you have anyfinal advice?� �I sure do� said God �If you really want to get yourteeth into perspective, get hold of Joe DeMarco`s Artists` Perspective Modeler (APM). It is basic, brilliant and creative. Youdon`t need to be a rocket scientist and you will be rewarded by theresults of your own raw efforts. Well worth it, Gabe, go for it!�
Perspective is to painting what the bridle is to the horse, the rudderto a ship. (Leonardo da Vinci)If the artist does not understand perspective and how to see and useit, all the applications of paint and ink and pencil will not overcomethe lack of good perspective. (Helen Scott)
If you intend to make a living at drawing, by all means learn it [therules of perspective] now, and do not have them bothering you andyour work for the rest of your life. (Andrew Loomis)
Perspective is a ghastly mistake which it has taken four centuriesto redress. (Georges Braque) Hmm..?
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I know that it�s a bad idea to start an article like this with anapology but I should make clear that I am by no means an experton this subject. I�ve had an iPad for about a month and I�ve madeonly a few paintings using it, a couple of which were miserablefailures. However, I�m sufficiently enthused with what I have doneand learnt so far that I thought it worthwhile to pass on myexperiences and to suggest that it is a real alternative to moreconventional painting.
I was only inspired to try using the iPad after watching afascinating television documentary about David Hockney in preparation for his exhibition at the Royal Academy in London at thebeginning of the year. Hockney has produced landscapesthroughout his career but they have principally been of Californiaand the American desert. The main point of the exhibition was thatfirstly it was a more traditional exhibition of painted landscapes,unlike the current trend for installations and videos, but also thatthe paintings were on a huge scale and of the Yorkshire countryside. The Royal Academy had given over all their exhibition spaceto one artist, something I believe they have never done before.
Everybody will have their own opinions of the paintingsthemselves which are impressionistic and full of intense colours,a sort of combination of Monet and Matisse, but personally I lovedthem, even the hawthorn trees in full blossom, some of which havea rather distorted, threatening, triffid look. However, the featurethat particularly struck me was Hockney�s use of an iPad duringthe preparation of the paintings.
He started out using the iPad as a sketch book, jottingdown colours, shapes and compositions without the bother ofwatercolours, brushes, water and all the necessary cleaning up.His coat was altered to add a pocket into which he could put his
Peter Grove on
Painting Using the iPad.
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iPad and that was all the equipment he needed to go out for aday�s sketching in the countryside. However he soon realised thatpaintings produced on the iPad had an artistic value in their ownright and the Royal Academy exhibition included a room full ofpaintings which he created on the iPad and then printed.
Hockney has often adopted the use of modern technologyin his art, for example using a series of overlapping Polaroidphotos from slightly varied positions to create a series of collagemosaics showing wide landscapes of deserts or of the GrandCanyon. He has used computers and even faxes to create his artand began using an iPhone for drawing before adopting the iPad.At the same time he has always placed an emphasis on theimportance of craft in art and has recently criticised some of theluminaries of the current art scene, such as Damien Hirst, forhaving their works made by other people. He has also stronglyexpressed his concern at the reduced importance of drawing incurrent art school training.
I know that many people think that digital art created on ascreen is not �real� in the way that applying oils to a canvas orgraphite to paper is �real�. However, throughout history the meansof creating art has constantly changed, from powdered pigmentsmade from minerals or crushed insects, mixed with egg yolk thenpainted on to wet plaster, to synthetic chemical paints applied toan artificial canvas such as Daler board. At one time �real� artistsmixed their own paints (or rather their apprentices did) but theinvention of the metal paint tube in the 19th century freed artistsfrom that labour and this advance allowed the Impressionists totake their equipment out into the country and paint en plein air.Personally I see the iPad as a continuation of this process.
With the iPad you paint with your finger on a screen.Effectively you are applying coloured particles (pixels) to a surfacein the same way as with conventional painting and, rather thanwaiting for it to dry, you simply save it. It is as permanent (orimpermanent) as a conventional painting. The only real difference,and the same argument also applies to photographs, is that it canonly normally be displayed as copy, or print, produced from theoriginal artwork, which comprises a digital record on a silicon chipor a chemical deposit on a film (or glass plate).
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Having said that, at Salts Mill in Yorkshire there is an exhibition of Hockney�s iPad works projected from the computer on to anumber of screens in a continuous slideshow and this is possibly thebest and most original way of displaying the work, as it captures theluminous quality of iPad pictures. Hockney has compared the effectof an iPad picture to that of a stained glass window. There ishowever a limitation to the size that can be projected as the largestscreen lost a certain amount of definition and light intensity.
The characteristic that primarily attracted me to the iPadhowever was that it encourages a freer style of painting, which Ihave been attempting to achieve for some time. I normally work fromphotos and avoid the necessity of taking too many artistic decisionsby putting in every detail. I confess that I still like those highlyrealistic paintings but I feel that it�s a bit limiting if it�s the only thing Ican do. Leaving out careful pencil underdrawing, rulers and rubbersis, for me a bit like working without a safety net but I�ve decided togive it a go.
When I say I use the iPad, strictly speaking I use an application (or App for all people under 25) called �Brushes�, which can bebought from iTunes for a princely £5.99 and loaded onto your iPad.The iPad itself is the expensive bit. Even for a bit of a dunce like meit is remarkably straightforward to use with a choice of brush typesand a colour selection wheel, plus an eraser and an �undo� button forall those mistakes. You can change the width and transparency ofthe brush strokes and apply �paint� on up to 4 layers, each of whichcan be amended without affecting the rest of the picture. To add anelement of �feel� to the action, the width andtransparency of the brush stroke can bechanged by the speed with which you apply it.The faster the movement the thinner or moretransparent the brush mark.
Here, as an example, is the first thingthat I did sitting on the sofa with a glass of wineand nothing to work from other than remembering what a tree looks like. Not brilliantly imaginative I must admit but, as a first effort I foundit quite satisfying.
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I then tried something in colour andpainted a jar of water, sat on my desk,which I�d used for cleaning watercolourbrushes � which gives some idea of howoften I tidy up. With the ability to paint inlayers, I put in the background on one layer,a rough outline of the jar with a two pixelwide brush on the second layer and thenput the colour in on a third layer. This hadthe benefit that I could tidy up the outline ofthe jar with the eraser without affecting thebackground. I could also rub out the outlineon the second layer, after finishing painting,without removing anything else. Again, notstartlingly original but I felt I was makingprogress. It took a couple of hours.
My final example is a proper landscape, working from aphoto of Salford Quaysthat I took fairly earlyone morning. I knowthat working from photos is a bit of a cheat,given what I saidabove, but I am stilllearning and my intention is to go out into thecountry and work direct from nature whenI�m a bit more confident. Nonetheless, I�m quite pleased with the result. Again I put in thebackground, the sky and water, on the first layer, the furthest buildingson the second layer and then the nearer buildings, the reflections in thewater and the rower in the third layer. This was useful as it took quite abit of fiddling to get the reflections right and I could do it without havingto redo the basic water colouring. Once more I could use the eraser tosharpen up the edges of the nearer buildings.
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At the April meeting Roger Markman revealed theplaque created in memory of our late Americanmember and friend, Joe DeMarco. This plaque is nowpositioned next to the memorial painting by EddieCohen on the Display Panel in Air and Space Hall asa permanent feature. A second plaque with differentwording was sent to Joe�s family.
In Recognition
NEWS ROUND
Above Peter Nield unveils the plaque.
Wording on the Museum plaque �Inmemory of his outstanding achieve
ments in and contribution to Aviation Art.
Always our friend and Mentor
In recognition of his unique and valuedassociation with us over many years.
Manchester Aviation Art Society 2012
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Diary DatesSunday 1st July, 2012
�City Airport (Barton) Family Day�An Exhibition of approx 50 PaintingsExhibition Officer � Colin Taylor
Deliver works with hooks, string and labels by 900amCollect works at 445pm
10% on sales to support Barton Aerodrome Heritage Museum
Tuesday 3rd July, 2012�Sketching in Air and Space Hall�
Hosted by Len SakowiczBest sketch decided by concensus
Tuesday 7th August, 2012�Bring Alternative Work�
A general appraisal by Roger MarkmanBest work decided by concensus
Saturday 11th August, 2012�Workshop�
Sketching from Model AircraftModels supplied by Peter FlitcroftBest sketch decided by concensus
Runs 1000am to 400pmCar Park entry £3 as agreed via exDirector Tony Hil
Tuesday 4th September, 2012�Working with Pastels�
A demonstration by David Steeden
Tuesday 2nd October, 2012�Avro Trophy Competition�Subject � �Pioneering Flights�
Adjudicator TBA
Meetings are held from 700pm to 930pm in the Conference Room in theAir and Space Hall at the Museum of Science & Industry in Manchester
on the first Tuesday in the month unless otherwise stated.
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Editor: Dave BatesTel: 01612843467Email: david[email protected]
Society website: www.mavas.co.uk
Available for free download from website