2020-12-27

CC2020 | Navigation | 2020-12


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:

Anonymous said...

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 :)