What aviation art is popular?

[geedubelyer]

Copied from the General Discussion forum:

Hi guys,

My curiosity has got the better of me lately so I was wondering what style, type or subject in aviation art you all think has commercial appeal?

What medium do you think is best? What style do you like to see and what do you all think sells best?

I have my own thoughts on the matter but I'm interested to see what everyone else thinks.

It goes without saying that there is no right or wrong answer in this discussion as there are probably as many different answers as there are members but it might be fascinating to see the results.....

Cheers.

[SBARC]

I've always admired the prints by Robert Taylor depicting WW2 scenes.

[K2Pete]

Some of my non-artist friends are attracted to the Robert Taylor, Douglas Bader, Keith Ferris type, 'traditional' paintings too.

There's a site called Wet Canvas which caters to artists, pros and recreational, in a wide variety of media and subject matter. You might just wanna check out the site, just for the helluvit.

For the past little while, I've been doing non-aviation paintings, but sales are abysmal. I contacted the editor at The Artist's Magazine and after telling her I would like to see an article on how to perform better at these weekend outdoor shows, she said to be very cautious be-e-e-ca-a-ause, the art market is very soft ... everywhere.

As with everything else, you have to target your market ... modelers have their preferences, corporate offices have their preferences, and Joe Average has his preference as long as it isn't more than $50.

Myself, I love the cloudscapes with an aircraft or two in there. Clouds can be very dramatic at full noon and /or sunset. But geez, I think whatever you do, you'd need to promote the beejeebers out of it and somewhere, there'll be someone who will be your market. And in this activity, price is key ... for some reason, people are reluctant to spend $300 or $500 let alone $1,200 on ... a painting ... no matter how good it looks.

And to see what sells, just take a look at the old box art ... dramatic, accurate paintings of ships and airplanes ... did I say dramatic? Something the viewer can get lost in!

... I could go on forever about this ... but you've asked the eternal question for artists ... what is popular? What will sell?

Pete

[geedubelyer]

Brilliant feedback guys, cheers.

Pete, I'll be sure to check "Wet Canvas" out, thanks.

[Koen L]

Might want to check http://ehangar.com/ as well, it's dedicated to aviation art.

[geedubelyer]

Might want to check http://ehangar.com/ as well, it's dedicated to aviation art.

Brilliant. Many thanks Koen L and apologies for the tardy response.

[NeilF92]

There's a specific Aviation Art section on Wet Canvas now - down in the "Explore Subjects" Section.

Edited April 8, 2013 by NeilF92

[geedubelyer]

There's a specific Aviation Art section on Wet Canvas now - down in the "Explore Subjects" Section.

Thanks for the heads-up Neil. I signed up for Wet Canvas and got an account but the following day got an e-mail saying that the account had been deleted. I was careful to abide by the rules so it is an enigma.

[dehowie]

Just head to Ehangar.

Taylor stuff is pretty serios stuff though prices fom say $100 up to 4-5000 for prints.

Beautiful art though.

Another fave is Nick Trudgian plus John Shaw.

The list of good artists is short Taylor is still considered the best at least from a price point.

You will also find most pilots love Taylors skies which are beautiful in there own right.

There is a lot of stuff on Ebay from all the big names enjoy looking.

[Four Corners]

[...]Myself, I love the cloudscapes with an aircraft or two in there. Clouds can be very dramatic at full noon and /or sunset. [...]

Pete

I'm also partial to scenes that include clouds and landscapes and the heavens...where nature dominates the picture. Much more than combat scenes. The problem, in my house, is finding anyplace to hang any new art, as Civil War topics take priority.