RAF Vickers Wellington 99 Sqn

Description

RAF Vickers Wellington 99 Sqn

I was commissioned to paint this artwork  of an RAF Vickers Wellington 99 Sqn in 2019. The painting was designed to commemorate the life of P/O Thomas Fairhurst (s/n 85673) – and I selected this mission as typical his squadron’s efforts in WW2. Carried out on the night of 6th April 1941, the mission was to attack the German battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau sheltering in Brest harbour with ten aircraft being allocated for the task.  Taking off from RAF Waterbeach at 20:17 the squadron flew directly to the harbour and carried out their attacks, whilst a ‘freshman’ crew flew a diversionary mission elsewhere.

Pilot Officer was tragically killed by night fighters returning from a mission on 9-10th April 1941 – only four days later – crashing in the Ijsselmer near Vegesack. He was aged 21. More information about today’s RAF 99 Sqn, based at RAF Brize Norton can be found here.

This form of painting involves much research; typically 4-5 days worth of tracking down flight logs, details of squadron and personnel records and pouring over maps and aerial photography. I believe that the portrayal of such significant moments in history deserves a  realism and empathy for those whose lives such a painting commemorates.

The print process

From the original painting, a professional and colour-matched scan is made. Next the scan is individually hand-printed – to the exacting, archival standards of modern fine art printing. What’s more, it exceeds the Fine Art Trade Guild’s minimum standards for the production of giclée prints.

I use a printer called Art4Site Ltd., one of the UK’s leading and award-winning specialist fine art printers. Each artwork is printed on the latest Epson SureColor large format printers. These use ten colour, wide gamut UltraChrome HDX light-fast pigment inks ensuring fine art gallery quality. This means, in layman’s terms, you can hang it on your wall and up to seventy five years later, the colours should be as vibrant and faithful to the original as the day they were printed.

A high quality, individually-signed and limited edition print has lasting value

In addition, the artwork is printed on William Turner, 310 gsm paper from Hahnemühle. It’s an acid-free, museum-grade digital fine art paper—the finest available for giclée printing. It offers exceptional print fidelity with a beautiful textured surface and is a natural white, with 100% rag content. With a mean pH value of 7, it has excellent archival qualities.

Lastly, your individually signed, numbered print  measures 16″ x 20″. Every print is supplied with a Certificate of Authenticity, signed by the artist. You’ll receive your print packaged flat in protective packaging.