I rarely paint the P51 Mustang and I’m not sure quite why; she is an absolute beauty. Besides which, there are the myriad flamboyant schemes to choose from. I often feel these reflect so well the optimistic extrovert nature of many of those determined pilots and are crying out to be painted.
This is quite a small painting for me and I ‘squeezed it in’ it whilst waiting for some information to come through on a larger commission. It pictures the Mustang letting down through a small ‘friendly’ hole in the overcast. I have often seen it described in books how the heavy cloud and overcast common in North Western Europe caused many pilots great anxiety; Often having to lose height in areas where they might well be over high ground. After a long escort mission lasting sometimes up to eight hours, I imagine that small hole like this, would look very welcome to those tired returning pilots.
I chose this one for a specific reason, in that I managed to get a signed copy of James Goodsons ‘Tumult in the clouds” ; one of my favourite books; I must have read it five or six times and often revisit it like an old friend. The thing I like about it in particular is that it describes a number of Goodsons comrades, as well as telling his own extraordinary story. I often think that men like Ralph Hofer and Vic France will be remembered so much more as individuals, because of the detailed descriptions contained in this book.
Goodson also chose to live out his last days in a the small pretty town of Sandwich; no more than five miles from where I live now and where I went to school. If only I had known at the time that James Goodson, Bob Stanford Tuck and ‘Laddie’ Lucas were so close at hand……I think I might have become a bit of a pest.
Oil paint on board 24x13 inches.
SOLD