Airforce is both an abstraction and a representation of my father and his service in the 8th Air Force during World War II. Lots of subject matter was used to create this egg tempera – on-site sketches, preliminary paintings, and obscure references to other famous paintings. The painting is structurally based on real terrain at State Gamelands near Hawk Mountain. The milkweed stems echo the upright lances in Velasquez’s “The Surrender at Breda.” The floss from the milkweed was used in flotation devices during World War II since it is naturally buoyant and water repellant. This connection led me to further develop the final painting devoted to my father, and the 8th Air Force.
