Good afternoon to you. Today I have one new caricature to add to my collection. This art work is one I have been wanting to do for awhile. I had her sitting on the drawing table for longer then I should have. But paying gigs take priority so I kept pushing her back. Sounds good right….. well truth be know I hate lettering and I cheat every chance I get. This time I, for some reason, just had a hard time with the lettering. So I kept putting it off….. anyway I finally found a few good close up views and recreated the nose art. Here is another air racer, and one of my favorites to boot. For some reason this little racer just screams Golden Age of Air Racing. “Czech Mate” is heavily modified Yak-11. First conceived by Bob Yancey who was a race veteran, flying his F4U Corsair, the Yak took shape. Yancey started with the basic 700 hp trainer and proceeded to apply good old American hot rod mentality to the project. He traded up in the engine department by fitting a massive 2,200 hp P&W R2800-CB-10 to the airframe. Replaced the fabric covered fuselage, which would never hold up to race speeds, and added a racing canopy. The aircraft preformed well under the name “Perestroika” and soon found her way into the gold races. The aircraft changed hands a few times and was acquired by John and Marcia Moore who named her “Czech Mate”. They added a few mods, namely a taller tail, and today Czech Mate is a solid contender at the Reno Championships. I hope you enjoy.

Remember all prints are available in 2 sizes 12×17 and 8.5×11. Prices are very reasonable. I also do commission works. So if you see anything you like please don’t hesitate to email me.

Hey to all….. Today we add a few new caricatures. One I have had in mind for a few years but never got around to and one to honor a great pilot and one to complete my USA medium bomber collection. First up we have the famous Martin B-26 “Flak Bait” This aircraft flew more missions then any other US bomber (and for that matter any bomber) during WWII. Currently Flak Bait is on display that the National Air and Space Museum. Okay well at least the fuselage is on display. Lets hope someday they put this great bomber back together and display her as she should be seen, complete and whole. The big boys of the Eighth AF and the 17’s and 24’s seem to get all the press but the boys that flew the lower level missions hop scotching across occupied France following the front line troops should be given there due.

Next up I venture back to where this whole caricature art started. Back in the day I started doing these caricatures after the ill fated Reno Air Races in 2001. Yep just a day or so after 9-11, I traveled up to the races for my first planned 4 day attendance. Usually I was there just on the weekend. Well as we all know the FAA grounded all aircraft for several days….. including the racers which washed out the event. I did attend one or two days photographing the racers and hoping they would get a special reprieve to race. After, I wanted to do something different. I had done a few fine art pencil drawings of the racers, but felt there needed to be something unique. So I started doing the caricatures. Well now I return to the air racing scene. One of the most reliable racers to graced the circuit is Frank Sanders Sea Fury T Mk.20 “Dreadnought“. She is a beautiful beast with a very unique sound. Wonderfully crafted, Mr. Sanders fitted a Pratt & Whitney R-4360 to this racer and created a great. She won The National Championship in her first outing, a rare feat, under the skilled hands of Neil Anderson in 1983 with a speed of 425.242. Each and every year ‘Dreadnought’ finds her way into the gold finals and always finishes well. She is one of the best and a fine tribute to a great air racing family.

One name is synonymous, with air racing. He has been at just about every air race since Reno started. Under his watchful eye every unlimited race was started, and many in-flight emergencies were skillfully handled to a successful conclusion. His “Gentleman you have a race” was music to the ears of race fans everywhere. Oh and lets not forget his amazing air show performances in the Shrike Aero Commander and his striking P-51D. Yep Mr. Robert A. “Bob” Hoover. To honor this wonderfully kind and gracious man I have added his famous P-51D, know to many as “Old Yeller”, to my air racers.. She has been seen in several paint schemes, Evergreen and Rockwell International. I took nostalgic trip through the many pictures I took while attending air shows and races and found several from the 1985 Reno National Championships. So I have done my best to recreate that scheme. I hope you enjoy.

So what’s next. Well seeing as I am doing the air racer theme, I should finish up a few I have been playing with for a few months. Stiletto, and Czech Mate. Two of my favorite racers. They just need some fine tuning and last bit of details. I also have a B-29 waiting for paint, a new Sea Fury caricature (thought I would revisit some of my earlier art and spruce it up a bit), and something slightly different. If any air racing fans out there want to see their favorite racer, just email me and let me know what your looking for. Enjoy the new art and see you soon.

Hello everyone. Today we add a couple of new art works. First up is a caricature that was commissioned by a customer. He is a big fan of L. A. County Fire Department helicopters. He requested a Bell 412 in those markings. Here we have one of the Bell 412’s operated by the L.A. County Fire Dept. This is Air 18. This particular caricature was a very time consuming art work. There is allot of detail in this one. Working helos seem to have lots of stuff hanging of them, lights, mirrors, hoists, antenna, etc. I really like the way this one came out. Even thought it took longer then usual the extra detail is well worth it. Hope you enjoy it.

Next up is a fun little caricature I have wanted to do for some time. As an aviation fan growing up I was always a fan of the SR-71. The Blackbird. That high speed bat out of hell aircraft that was seeming mysterious. Speed was super fast. Sleek and exciting to think about it’s true performance numbers. I had the opportunity to see the Blackbird at a few air shows in the late 70’s and 80’s. Awesome aircraft. So when I started doing caricatures the Blackbird was a obvious choose. It is a unique aircraft to caricaturize. Long and sleek and simple, and just one color. So when you try and do a caricature…. lets just say interesting. I think I got it pretty good, finally. It was a caricature I played with for a long time. This SR-71 s/n 64-17976 was first flown in 1967. She flew missions during the Vietnam War, and later in the Middle East. Currently she is enjoying her retirement at the USAF Museum at Wright Patterson AFB.

Anyway that’s it for today. Next, we hope to have a B-26 (Flak Bait??), B-29, Enola Gay, Dreadnought, the air racing Seafury and something special.