Charles McHugh

This is a little differant from the usual aeroplane portraits! It depicts a tactical refuel site for support helicopters, and the point of interest is the groundcrew and their vehicles rather than the helicopters. That said, a Merlin, Puma and Chinook helicopters are clearly a major part of the composition. Not quite finished here, but close:

Col, when (not if) you have trouble with the transparency qualities of yellow, dont forget that you can counter this by adding titanium white (the most opaque colour) Regards CM

If you want to know any details about bits of Puma, give me a call. I know it very well with nearly 3000 hours flying on them. Good luck with it, initial impressions would suggest that you have your work cut out to get an accurate reproduction. The interior of them remains a pale beige that they arrive with in 1971. The middle door rail is simply a guide and is relatively insignificant in depth. The 'door' underneath does not exist on RAF aircraft, it has been permanently open, although the 'openable' doors in the floor are there. The forward half remains closed as it has a support for t

Firstly; awesome painting, incredibly difficult to achieve this quality of detail with watercolour. Am I right in assuming that you are adding v little water and pretty much using the paint as is from the tube? The toned down (green) building in the background and still polished metal aircraft will 'date' the composition to the early seventies. This gives you the green or yellow option, although I have photographs of green AND yellow steps in which the ladder is green but the supporting struts are yellow. Yellow will be a cow to get right. Remember also that the RAF went through a phase (

To accuratly get the reheat that I desire will take time and glazing, but this first layer is already providing an impression of the speed and power associated with the powerfull engines at full throttle. The photo does not do the original justice as to view it is to make the house shake!! Eaxh panel on the metallic fuselage will be reworked to give as best a metallic feel as I can create. It will take time, and the painting is nowhere near finished yet, in fact I would say no more than 50%. Still to come is the flap position, tailplane, and white Firestreak missile. A friend is photogr

Wade Just noticed that both aircraft have flaps retracted. Is that deliberate? For I would have thought it unlikely especially ifthe wing tanks are full and thus the aircraft heavy.

It is oil on canvas 36" x 24". It is painted very thinly using mostly a size 00 brush. There is barely a ripple in the paint and even experienced artists have confused the final paintings with acrylic. I also use little if any linseed oil and the minimum of turpintine. So most of the paint is applied as is straight from the tube. I make extensive used of thin glazes and this work is yet to get any. A look at my last work will illustrate the glazing associated with the prop: http://www.artistic.flyer.co.uk/fighter.htm The canvas is medium grain as I have yet to work easily with a thin g

Bare metal is proving to be hard work! Most of the paint technique is in a Monet style, although with tiny brush strokes, it probably does not look so on the photo. I have decided to get an overall metallic impression, followed by a 'panel detail' phase, followed by a ' make sure that all reflections are included' phase. It is a good challenge for appreciating light, as numerous and various colours appear all over, and that is before you look at shadow or reheat light. The reheat is simply an undercoat to ensure that its values are considered when painting the rear of the fuselage. I will ret

Thanks John, Top and bottom nose cannon are in place although the bottom one is drowned out on this photo by shadow and reflections. The donor image was an F6 and the lines around the tank have been retained because the brushstrokes are vertical not longtitudinal or should I say follow the aircraft lines in a vertical plane, and therefore will "go around the corner" when applied around the tank. I could do with access to a real F2a but believe that the nearest is Edinburgh / Scotland (I am in the Midlands -UK) to ensure that ALL the differances between F6 and F2a are addressed. If you get

Update Photo: 4 Apr 06 Aircraft based at Gutersloh Germany mid seventies

This is my new work in progress (WIP), and I am delighted to say that I am painting it because I want to rather than for somebody else. Commissions pay the bills, but do not always provide ‘job satisfaction’. The aircraft will be depicted taking off and I will endeavor to have “All weather interceptor†as the theme. The whole project is totally spontaneous; there has been no planning at all, simply the opportunity to create artwork whilst my current WIP is allowed to dry a little. As it is second priority in the studio, progress may be slow, but you can be sure that I will enjoy d

Yes; it has taken 30 years to get here, although I am a firm believer that no contempory aviation artist is as good as the Masters of previous generations. I and many others therefore still have a lot to learn. There is no doubt that an abundance of skilled artists are out there; I just wish that they would go the extra mile and create something that will stand the test of time for future generations. It is this thought that I live with every time that paint hits the canvas, a tall order, but not an unreasonable one. I am also lucky in that I fly almost every day, mostly at low level, and usu

Thankyou for the comments, they are oils on canvas, and the Hurricane will be available soon as a print. This one already is: Lancaster at dispersal WWII with 4000lb "Cookie" inbound.

Hi, everyone: I am new to this forum and thought I would arrive with my recently completed painting of a Hurricane fighter flying over Mt St Michael in France. 36" x 24" Oil on Canvas painted or rather finished in Feb 2006.