Pete Wenman Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 Pretty close to finishing this one By the Dawn's Early Light Oil on Canvas 36" x 24" I plan to offer this as print (I've promised one as a prize in the USN Centennial of Naval Aviation Superbuild and Contest GB. C&C welcome Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
warthoglvr Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 That's beautiful, Pete. Very nice! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 Pete as always SUPER!!! :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 Just Beautiful ! Love that one, Pete ... Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SBARC Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Beautiful painting Pete. I've added your site the ARC links pages under Manufacturers/Artwork and Prints....and I've changed your ARC forums account to "Manufacturers". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lloyd Posted December 6, 2010 Share Posted December 6, 2010 Very very nice Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaiidanTomcat Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 Those colors have Pizazz!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aircraftprofiles Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 looking good !! if it´s not too late, then maybe add some black smoke from the J79 engines...They where quite prone to produce a thick black smoke which would alert AAA and SAM batteries long time before the aircrafts had feet dry Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete Wenman Posted December 15, 2010 Author Share Posted December 15, 2010 Cheers all for the kind words - it's appreciated I've added your site the ARC links pages under Manufacturers/Artwork and Prints....and I've changed your ARC forums account to "Manufacturers". Thanks Steve, that's very good of you. maybe add some black smoke from the J79 engines This is a big issue for me, and so it's not surprising you have commented on it. My decision is to omit the smoke trails, as I think it wil spoil the look of the sky and the overall composition, but I know it's not accurate. But that's what artistic licence is for Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete Wenman Posted December 29, 2010 Author Share Posted December 29, 2010 (edited) Finished and signed By the Dawn’s Early Light Oil on canvas 36†x24†Three Phantom F-4B’s from VF-151 on an early morning mission over North Vietnam. NF 213 is piloted by John “Bedhog†Chesire, with RIO George “T.A.†Healey in the rear. NF 210 has Ted Triebel in the front seat and Dave Everett in the rear. Dave and Ted were shot down on August 27, 1972, on a photo escort mission over North Vietnam while flying 210, and spent the rest of the war as POW's in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. Dave recalls, â€Aside from the very occasional MiGCAP, the best hops a j.o. could draw were the armed recces in route pack 5/6 at first light -- targets of opportunity as mostly we defined them, hoping to catch those night trucks trying to squeeze in a few extra kilometers before parking under the trees for the day. (Don't think that scenario didn't occur to Ted and I when we were being trucked to Hanoi). RIP NF210 in a zillion pieces on a karst ridge in Thanh Hoa Province. Lost on one of those low altitude, go fast, flak magnet, Baby Giant photo escort missions, that we all came to enjoy, on 27 Aug over Phu Ly Bridge when all hell broke loose and luck petered out. Close up of Bedhog and T.A. 213 measures 24" tip to tail, the smallest F-4 is 6" long thanks Pete Edited December 29, 2010 by Pete Wenman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
felixdk Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 Outstanding Pete, probably your best yet. I think this will be on the wall at the National Aviation Museum in May. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete Wenman Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 Cheers all Just to confirm this painting along wth OK2 will be on display at the Naval Aviation Museum Pensacola, from 1st May to 31st August, as part of this years ASAA art exhibition, so if you are in the area pop along and have look. I have a whole week at the museum in May and can't wait to see all that NavAir goodness Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Cheers all Just to confirm this painting along wth OK2 will be on display at the Naval Aviation Museum Pensacola, from 1st May to 31st August, as part of this years ASAA art exhibition, so if you are in the area pop along and have look. I have a whole week at the museum in May and can't wait to see all that NavAir goodness Pete Pete, Congratulations...Hope it goes brilliantly..and if you can will you take some photos ..That would be so nice to see them here, Have a good time there HOLMES Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete Wenman Posted April 23, 2011 Author Share Posted April 23, 2011 (edited) Cheers Holmes, I'll certainly post some photos and share them here Prints now available if anyone is interested http://www.btinternet.com/~petewenman/BTDEL.html Pete Edited April 23, 2011 by Pete Wenman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Congratulations, Pete ... What a year to have this piece on display too ... Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete Wenman Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 (edited) A quick update and some photos as promised. I'm delighted to announce that this painting won the Captain Duane Whitney Martin, USAF Award for "artistic excellence in depicting the conflict in SouthEast Asia 1964-1974" at the ASAA 2011 International Aerospace Exhibition. The painting will be on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola until the end of August. This award is sponsored and judged by Jack Fellows and he presented the award in person ! and here I am with John Chesire, he is the pilot of the featured F-4, and proud owner of the painting. I've just recevied an order for a full size giclee on canvas print from VFA-151 to hang in their hangar at NAS Lemoore, which is the icing on the cake ! I've included below the citation for the award. As you can appreciate when reading it, this is an award I wass was very proud and honoured to have won. CAPT DUANE WHITNEY MARTIN, USAF AWARD The Kaman HH-43 Huskie helicopter was originally designed to provide rescue support and fire suppression for aircraft accidents on or near any given airbase. In the opening days of Americas war in Southeast Asia, however, its job description was forced to expand to include combat rescue operations for downed flight crews. On 20 September 1965, Capt. Thomas J. Curtis, aircraft commander, 1Lt. Duane W. Martin, co-pilot, crew chief SSgt. William A. Robinson, and pararescueman A1C Arthur N. Black comprised the crew of a HH-43B helicopter, call sign "Duchy 41," which was on a rescue mission for the pilot of an F-105D. Willis E. Forby of the 334th Tactical Fighter Squadron had taken a severe beating; he ejected ten miles east of the Laotian border, forty miles south of Vinh, North Vietnam. The little Huskie departed Nakhon Phanom Airbase, Thailand otherwise known as NKP or Naked Fanny - and headed northeast, where Air Force search & rescue Skyraider support aircraft were doing their best to keep Forby alive. Within five minutes of arriving on station, one of the Sandy pilots observed the Huskie take ground fire and crash on a ridge that bordered a small canyon which was enclosed on all sides by steep slopes and jungle canopy. As a second SAR helicopter hovered over the downed HH-43, it took several hits from enemy ground fire, forcing him to move away from the wreckage. Because of the intense enemy presence in the area later determined to be a combination of North Vietnamese regular army troops and Communist Pathet Lao forces - no ground search was possible for the crews of the F-105D and HH-43B. All five men were listed Missing in Action. Of the helicopter crew, Curtis, Robinson & Black were captured by NVA regulars as was Forby, the Thud driver - and moved to a POW camp in North Vietnam. Duane Martin was captured by Pathet Lao forces and immediately moved to a POW camp deep in Laos. This camp already housed the surviving crewmen of an Air America C-46 - American Eugene DeBruin, three Thai and one Chinese which had been shot down in 1963. Throughout the fall of 1965 and into spring and summer of 1966, the group of Americans suffered regular beatings, torture, harassment, hunger and illness in the hands of their captors. They witnessed their captors behead one unnamed American Navy pilot and execute six wounded Marines. By February 1966 Navy pilot LT Dieter Dengler joined the POWs. In late June the seven POWs prepared for an escape. At that time they were housed in two cells constructed of logs in a bamboo fenced compound measuring 20 by 20 meters. Three towers overlooked the compound. The camp's 16 guards had their quarters and mess hall near the front gate. Each morning the prisoners would be taken to a nearby stream and allowed to bathe and fetch water. They were permitted to walk within the compound until receiving their morning ration of rice. After eating, they were placed in stocks and handcuffs which they soon learned to remove. The guards then would eat together leaving their weapons in the watchtowers. On the morning of 29 June 1966, while the 16 guards ate their meal in the mess hall, Dengler, Duane Martin & one of the Thai crewmen removed a previously loosened log, left their cell, climbed through an opening in the bamboo fence and secured the rifles from the empty guard towers. The three armed POWs confronted the guards. When they were ordered to remain still one of the guards panicked and began to flee. The three POWs killed the guards and all seven POWs fled the compound. Following prepared plans, they split into three groups: Dengler & Martin, DeBruin & the Chinese crewman, who was very ill, and the three Thais. They planned that if one group was rescued, it would direct a search party toward the other two groups of escapees. Dengler and Martin and the others made their way through the dense jungle surviving on fruits, berries, and some rice they had managed to save during their captivity. DeBruin, unwilling to abandon his sick Chinese companion, was captured the next morning and never seen again. The three Thai crewmen managed to reach safety, and freedom. Dieter and Duane floated down river on a raft they had constructed, eventually coming to an abandoned village where the men found some corn. After a night's rest, they made their way downstream to another village. It had been five days since their escape; Dengler was weak from dysentery, while Martin was delirious with malaria. As Dengler watched from the relative safety of some brush, Martin decided to get something for them to eat. Seen by a young girl, Duane entered the village to ask for food when another villager charged with a machete. As Lieutenant Martin fell to his knees, pleading with hands clasped, the mans first swing cut off Martin's leg. Dengler, too weak to help his friend, could only watch in horror as the villagers second swing decapitated him. The Naval Aviator was forced to continue alone. 23 days after their escape, on 20 July 1966, Dengler was rescued by helicopter. To date the Laotians have made no attempt to return the remains of Duane Martin. He left behind a young widow and two small daughters. Martin is one of nearly 600 Americans who remain missing or otherwise unaccounted for in Laos. ASAA artist Jack Fellows thought enough of his cousins late husband to establish the CAPT Duane Whitney Martin, USAF Award, honoring the best art commemorating aviation during the war in Southeast Asia. Pete Edited June 13, 2011 by Pete Wenman Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gray Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 This was a beautiful piece of work, Pete. Great to see you get the recognition for it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 That's fantastic, Pete, well deserved ... Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Pete Wenman SIR, YOU certainly deserve that accolade..WELL DONE AND CONGRATULATIONS... ...AND I can happily say that I OWN a painting done by an Artis who has been awarded this Citation...woo hoo.. I have your Limited edition Giclee print of "Into The Storm" {3/65} and signed by you Guess who is smiling as much as YOU ARE !!! Again KUDOS Pete, HOLMES Quote Link to post Share on other sites
olemanjoe Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Wow! PURE AWESOMENESS (stealing a quote from a certain well know martial arts Panda), good to see your work recognised! The comission for a full size painting is indeed icing on the cake! :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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