Pilot Mural Completed and Clearcoated

As I had mentioned in previous posts, the mural for the WW2 Pilot was near completion. It is now finished and you can see the final shots above. It is a true challenge dealing with historical artwork, and an even greater challenge working with a living piece of history. I don't mean challenge in a negative way, but one that describes the amount of dedication and diligence to see the job through to the end despite any changes or issues the client has with the work. In this instance, we are talking about the specifics of flight gear and attire that are nearly 70 years old, and the specifics of aviation from the same era. In more than a few instances I was asked to change or better describe the details I was painting.
For example, the "Finger Four" formation, has a very specific look, and reason for the positions in which the aircraft fly, this detail was hashed out in a few different sketches, and then changed on the fly in the painting stage. At one point, adding red coloring to the rear fins to indicate the planes were the "Tuskegee Airmen", another great story that the client had included and wanted to have reflected in the artwork.
So many other fine tuned details were worked through and learned about during the duration of this painting, and I feel blessed to be able to share this with a living WW2 era pilot.
I have begun the first stages of the second mural project for this particular pilot and will be posting about that soon. Thanks for stopping in.