NAVIGATION, 2020
Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24 inches (51 x 61 cm)
The card reads...
"This year, I was blessed to fly the line with United for three months. It was short, but full of awesome people and great experiences. The rest of the year saw a lot of general aviation.
It reminded me that people enter your life at just the right time - which continues to amaze me. They can nudge you, inspire you, and help you move along your journey.
As this open-air flying machine approaches the foothills on a beautiful winter day, the sight of his hangar assures him he's on the right path. God helps me do this each and every day."
~~~~~~~~
After the sky, clouds and hills were painted, I had the big unanswered question of what to add. Originally, I thought a close-up of a crow flying towards the hangar but also wanted to add an airplane. This is the view of the crow I was going to add...
It was going to be solid black (minus some highlights).
As for the airplane, I had an idea that the original painting was also going to be a present for a retirement. The recipient, however, has flown dozens of airplanes. I knew he'd flown a
Fairchild PT-19 and he had a painting of one in his hangar - it was actually a movie poster. He currently has a
Super Decathlon, but I couldn't get the look I wanted and was happy with the PT-19. The photo above was used for reference.
This was the only paint sketch I made. You can see I sketched the crow and the airplane. The airplane was the focus as I had abandoned the idea of the crow. I was happy enough with the airplane to proceed. One thing I don't like about myself is the liberty and freedom I take with sketches only to be overly conservative with the final. I shouldn't like the sketches more than the final piece - which happens too often.
Update 202101: One of the best comments I get is that the card exceeds other cards. This was written on the back of a note from a card recipient...
Of note, that's from someone who's received almost every card.
- MM -
1 comment:
Happy 2021 from Taiya and Dennis Carter! We received our card just yesterday; we anxiously await this new edition each year and are grateful you still include us. As usual, the art is unique and lovely and most importantly, always aligns with a very moving message. I'd love to be able to connect in email and I can be reached at taiya.carter@faa.gov.
Sending you blessings and health! Hope to hear from you soon Musket :)
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