Here are a few quotes drawn from the book “The Aviation Art of Keith Ferris”.
“I was told to draw, and keep drawing until I could master complete accuracy. I was not to be in such a rush to paint and render. Once drawing was under control there would be plenty of time to paint“.
“I was reminded that the aviation world was populated with people as well as airplanes and that I must learn anatomy and figure drawing and painting. For this I would have to go to school“.
The aviation art of Keith Ferris
“Never take employment in a job that will not in some way increase your knowledge of the graphic arts field“.
“The artist who expects his work to be reproduced should be familiar with the entire sequence of events of which art is only a part“.
“Pay close attention to the work of other artists and learn from the way they work. One quickly learns to recognize the difference between art that is good and art that is not“.
Front cover of the book “The Man and His Art” by R.G. Smith
« We had no television in those days, so my evenings were spent reading history or drawing, mostly airplanes”.
“[Lieutenant Commander Beaumont] influenced my life as an artist. […] He participated in Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica. Where others saw only white and blue in this frigid area, Beaumont found wonderful color and conveyed same in his art. He added alcohol to his paints to prevent them from freezing as he worked in sub-zero temperatures for 30 minute intervals, retreating to a warmer area before going out again”.
“It was Beaumont who taught me composition, color balance, and how to look at a subject and translate the visual image to paper or canvas”.
“Beaumont emphasized it wasn’t necessary to reproduce an exact replica of a scene as long as the end result achieved dramatic impact”.
“Bob Poole taught me […] how to grey down vivid colors. He also taught me that by blending colors, I could add motion to aircrafts and add subtlety to harsh lines”.
“Understanding light and its effects is obviously critical to an artist […]. For instance, as the descending sun caught the side of a rusty tanker, it created a starkly bright copper tone. We learned that if we didn’t try to emulate that color on paper within 30 minutes, the light would be lost, and the rich copper tone would quickly change to a dingy, lifeless brown”.
“Aspiring artists want to know how to draw and paint, but very few want to take the time to learn”.
“Refrain from ever being satisfied with your work. Never stop rehearsing you craft. Every painting is another step in an endless learning curve. Achievement comes from hard work, discipline, and a constant program of practice and learning”.
“Accuracy requires study and thorough knowledge of your subject. […] Generally, more than 50 percent of the time invested in a painting went into research”.
Back cover of the book “The Man and His Art” by R.G. Smith
“As to planning a picture, my approach usually entailed making several sketches of ideas for the scene I wanted to create before deciding on the final composition”.
“Create the background first, knowing beforehand where you intend to place the aircraft, which should be the last phase of your painting”.
“My criticism of much of aviation art today is that many artists feel they must paint every rivet on an aircraft, or every line on a ship. It often appears as though some artists cut their aircraft from a photograph and paste it on the background”.
“[…] the eye and the brain do most of the work, connecting the dots and lines. In other words, you don’t have to include every detail, just a suggestion of detail”.
“Study the works of artists you admire, or whose style you want to emulate”.
“Some artists only see an airplane as a mechanical object. As a result, their depiction of them is mechanical, stilted portraits of aircraft rather than a picture with character, motion, or some measure of dramatic quality”.
“I’m not a complicated man and it has never taken much in the way of material things to make me happy. Most of my pleasures have come from my family, my career, my hobby, my books, and my friends. The wonderful experiences and opportunities that came my way were frosting on the cake”.
Title: The Man and His Art. R.G. Smith / an Autobiography (with Rosario “Zip” Rausa) Author: R.G. Smith with Rosario “Zip” Rausa Copyright: 1999 by R.G. Smith Edition: Schiffer Publishing Limited ISBN: 0-7643-0755-X
Front cover of the Florence Arthaud’s book: “Cette nuit, la mer est noire”.
Florence Arthaud is the only woman to have won the Route du Rhum transatlantic single-handed yacht race, one of the most prestigious races in the world. She achieved her feat in 1990.
In 2011, as she was navigating alone aboard her sailboat, Florence fell into the water, off the Cap Corse coast. She shares her thoughts with us as she is convinced that in few hours, exhausted, she will lose her life at sea.
The book starts like this: “I went overboard in a fraction of a second. I am in the water. It is night, and pitch black outside. I am alone […]. In a few moments, the sea, my reason for living, will become my grave”.
Back cover of the book: “Cette nuit, la mer est noire”.
Here are few other translated quotes to give you an idea of the intensity of the story:
“I must move my legs to avoid drowning. Swim, swim. Fight against that fear that would like to paralyze me. I will die, that is for sure, but when? In how much time? To which miracle can I hang to? I try not to think”.
“I am fifteen miles off the coast; not a sign of life around me. The fear I am feeling has nothing to do with the one I encounter when I am racing”.
“The only thing now missing would be sharks. I chase away this childish fear of my spirit”.
But due to several little miracles, Florence will finally be saved.
An excellent book about the human will to survive.
Note: Florence Arthaud died four years later in an airplane crash.
Click on the link for other books on the theme “Tragedy at sea” on my blog.
