Mike Newcomer has been in the Graphic Design business for decades.
He has produced paintings of a wide range of aircraft. His emphasis lately has
been on his Airmail Project and has published some great historically accurate
works.
To read more about Mike Newcomer's Airmail Project check out his website at
www.airmailart.com/airmail.html
He has produced paintings of a wide range of aircraft. His emphasis lately has
been on his Airmail Project and has published some great historically accurate
works.
To read more about Mike Newcomer's Airmail Project check out his website at
www.airmailart.com/airmail.html
This history is from Mike Newcomer's Airmail project webpage.
From 1918-1927 the U.S. Postal Service flew it's own aircraft with hired civilian pilots. A
fierce competition between the aerial mail and the railroads (who until this point in time
transported most of the mail) ensued. In the beginning, Second Assistant Postmaster
Otto Preager, wanting to make a name for himself, developed a "fly or be fired" policy
in which the pilots would be forced to operate their rickety, war surplus planes in any
type of weather. The American public called the pilots "heroes". The pilots called
themselves "The Suicide Club"
The transcontinental airmail route was laid out from Long Island, New York to San
Francisco, California. The main route was broken into segments and worked like the
pony express or a fireman’s “bucket brigade”. The route passed over every kind of
terrain in the country including the snow covered Rocky Mountains. But the deadliest
route was the Long Island to Cleveland flight with a refueling stopover at Bellefonte,
Pennsylvania. The danger was due to the unpredictable weather patterns and
changing winds of the Allegheny Mountains. This mountain range contributed to the
highest rate of accidents and deaths on the entire transcontinental route and became
known to the pilots as “The Hell Stretch.”
From 1918-1927 the U.S. Postal Service flew it's own aircraft with hired civilian pilots. A
fierce competition between the aerial mail and the railroads (who until this point in time
transported most of the mail) ensued. In the beginning, Second Assistant Postmaster
Otto Preager, wanting to make a name for himself, developed a "fly or be fired" policy
in which the pilots would be forced to operate their rickety, war surplus planes in any
type of weather. The American public called the pilots "heroes". The pilots called
themselves "The Suicide Club"
The transcontinental airmail route was laid out from Long Island, New York to San
Francisco, California. The main route was broken into segments and worked like the
pony express or a fireman’s “bucket brigade”. The route passed over every kind of
terrain in the country including the snow covered Rocky Mountains. But the deadliest
route was the Long Island to Cleveland flight with a refueling stopover at Bellefonte,
Pennsylvania. The danger was due to the unpredictable weather patterns and
changing winds of the Allegheny Mountains. This mountain range contributed to the
highest rate of accidents and deaths on the entire transcontinental route and became
known to the pilots as “The Hell Stretch.”
Here is Mike telling us the steps from idea to
finished product of one of his paintings
finished product of one of his paintings
The Big Idea
I've been reading a lot about the air mail lately and I seem to be finding it
easy to get ideas from all the little stories from the pilots and incidents
reported. I will be sitting with a book and a sketch pad and the ideas
start to take a visual form. These little thumbnail sketches are literally all
over my house. The order that I do the paintings will depend on the
amount of information I have at the time. I have a lot of sketches that
need more research before I can comfortably get started.
Supermodels
I used to be one of those scale model fanatics who would spend a day
making seat belts out of human hair. Now I just build them good enough
to shoot for artwork. This is an old 1/48 scale DH-4 kit I found on Ebay.
The quality is bad so I'll have to do a ton of research. I always shoot in
sunlight. Artificial light makes the shadows out of whack. I just set up a
scene and move around it with my camera until I get an angle I like. Note
the nut I used to get the shadow for the stump. I tweaked the photo in
PhotoPaint to get it where I wanted it.
Getting Closer
Next I'll do a really rough watercolor sketch just to make sure it will be
worth the effort to continue. These are small. About 10 X 12 on little
cheapy watercolor blocks. I like to do these sketches as it's good speed
practice for me. I like the looseness and the fact that I don't have to get
all worried about details.
Details, Details
Now comes the hard part. Hard but fun. I do a detailed line drawing the
same size it will be painted to finalize details and to make my mistakes in
pencil rather than on the canvas. I will use my models, but more
importantly photos from a multitude of sources. These old planes are
tough simply because of the lack of color photography in that era. When I
am happy with the drawing (which usually doesn't mean all the detail) I
transfer it to a canvas and start to get messy. Actually, doing the painting
takes less time than getting ready.
Ready To Hang
The completed painting is an acrylic on stretched canvas.
"The Sunbury Stump" 20" X 30" Acrylic on canvas
This painting is based on a true story.
I've been reading a lot about the air mail lately and I seem to be finding it
easy to get ideas from all the little stories from the pilots and incidents
reported. I will be sitting with a book and a sketch pad and the ideas
start to take a visual form. These little thumbnail sketches are literally all
over my house. The order that I do the paintings will depend on the
amount of information I have at the time. I have a lot of sketches that
need more research before I can comfortably get started.
Supermodels
I used to be one of those scale model fanatics who would spend a day
making seat belts out of human hair. Now I just build them good enough
to shoot for artwork. This is an old 1/48 scale DH-4 kit I found on Ebay.
The quality is bad so I'll have to do a ton of research. I always shoot in
sunlight. Artificial light makes the shadows out of whack. I just set up a
scene and move around it with my camera until I get an angle I like. Note
the nut I used to get the shadow for the stump. I tweaked the photo in
PhotoPaint to get it where I wanted it.
Getting Closer
Next I'll do a really rough watercolor sketch just to make sure it will be
worth the effort to continue. These are small. About 10 X 12 on little
cheapy watercolor blocks. I like to do these sketches as it's good speed
practice for me. I like the looseness and the fact that I don't have to get
all worried about details.
Details, Details
Now comes the hard part. Hard but fun. I do a detailed line drawing the
same size it will be painted to finalize details and to make my mistakes in
pencil rather than on the canvas. I will use my models, but more
importantly photos from a multitude of sources. These old planes are
tough simply because of the lack of color photography in that era. When I
am happy with the drawing (which usually doesn't mean all the detail) I
transfer it to a canvas and start to get messy. Actually, doing the painting
takes less time than getting ready.
Ready To Hang
The completed painting is an acrylic on stretched canvas.
"The Sunbury Stump" 20" X 30" Acrylic on canvas
This painting is based on a true story.
All Illustrations and text on this page are copyrighted by artist
Mike Newcomer and may not be reproduced without his
consent Copyright © 2005
Mike Newcomer and may not be reproduced without his
consent Copyright © 2005
Here at Ozark Airfield Artworks we offer a large selection art prints. These prints mainly
depict modern and historic aviation along with military, civil and space flight. We also deal
with naval subjects and military armor and infantry works. These prints are from all the top
national and international artists along with some local artists. Many of our prints are
signed by the artist and by famous pilots and veterans. If you are looking for a specific
plane, pilot, artist or subject please contact us.
depict modern and historic aviation along with military, civil and space flight. We also deal
with naval subjects and military armor and infantry works. These prints are from all the top
national and international artists along with some local artists. Many of our prints are
signed by the artist and by famous pilots and veterans. If you are looking for a specific
plane, pilot, artist or subject please contact us.
Copyright © Ozark Airfield Artworks 2005 All Rights Reserved
All sales are subject to availability.
All sales are subject to availability.
All images are copyrighted by the individual artist and may not be reproduced
without their consent.
without their consent.
Artists' Galleries
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |