Mark Postlethwaite GAvA
Born in Leicestershire, England in 1964 , like many of his friends, Mark
had only one ambition during his school years, and that was to fly fast
jets with the RAF. At the age of 13 he was devastated to discover that
his eyesight was less than perfect and therefore unsuitable for military
flying. This discovery completely knocked him for six and it took him
years to decide what else he wanted to do with his life. Eventually after
leaving school at 16 and working for the Co-op for two years , Mark
managed to get a job in photography, thanks mainly to a portfolio he
had built up whilst working on a free local newspaper. Photography
soon became a good outlet for his inborn creativity and during his 10
years in the business he worked in most aspects of professional
photography in London, Leicester and Nottingham, shooting everything
from cat food to lingerie, " I preferred the latter!" he says.
Mark started to paint aircraft on canvas at the age of 17 as a hobby. A
lifelong interest in flying and aviation history together with his
professional knowledge of light through his career as a photographer,
soon combined to produce work of the highest standards in this
exacting field. In 1987, he became the first ever Artist in residence at the
Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon in what was the first major exhibition
of his work.
At the age of 27, Mark was elected to become the youngest Full Member
of the Guild of Aviation Artists and shortly after, left photography to
make a full time profession in aviation art. His knowledge of his subject
was put to the test only a month after when he competed in and won the
TV quiz show The $64,000 Question answering questions on the Battle
of Britain. His work so impressed the host Bob Monkhouse that he
bought one of Mark's originals there and then.
Around this time, Mark was contacted by the Chairman of 30 Squadron
Association RAF with a view to commissioning him to paint a 75th
anniversary painting for the Squadron. He drove down to their base at
RAF Lyneham and for the first time came into contact with the life that he
had so wanted as a schoolboy. " The first thing that struck me was
why I hadn't considered joining the RAF in a different trade apart from
flying", Mark reflects, " It honestly just never crossed my mind at the
time, it was either flying or nothing".
The subsequent painting was received with great acclaim within the
RAF and soon commissions were rolling in on a regular basis from
various Squadrons including a three year association with the world
famous RAF Aerobatic Team The Red Arrows.
On top of this, and more importantly for Mark, the Squadrons were
offering him the chance to fly with them as part of the research process.
By 1995, he had built up many hours of military flying in types such as
the Hercules, VC10, Gazelle and Tucano in the UK, Germany and
Cyprus. However, his boyhood ambition of flying in a fast jet still
eluded him .
Then, on a grey autumn afternoon in 1996, Mark found himself sitting in
a BAe Hawk of 208 Sqn at RAF Valley in North Wales ready for take off.
An hour later after a thoroughly uncomfortable but exhilarating tail
chase 20,000 ft above Snowdon, his feet touched the ground once more
and he realised that that boyhood ambition had been finally achieved, in
the most unexpected way possible.
He flew again in a Hawk a few months later and then the following year
he topped all of this by spending an hour at low level in a Harrier, "the
most incredible experience of my life" he reflects "finished off with the
famous Harrier bow, when the aircraft hovers above the ground and
dips its nose towards the crowd".
"As a boy I used to marvel at seeing the Harrier perform this trick at
airshows, I never ever dreamed that one day I would be in the cockpit
looking back"
In the following years, Mark has become firmly established as one of
Britain’s leading aviation artists in the world-wide fine art print market
with many of his limited editions now only available on the secondary
market. For example, Mark’s ‘Operation Irma’ print of a Hercules going
into Sarajevo, commissioned by 47 Squadron RAF, sold out within a
few months and raised over £20,000 for Children’s Charities
Since 1986, Mark Postlethwaite has been working on a series of
paintings for the Norwegian Armed Forces. This work has established
him as one of the leading military artists in Norway. He is renowned by
the Norwegians for his ability to capture their special Norwegian light
and his work hangs in many museums up and down the country. He
has done numerous TV and radio interviews over there and has had
many articles written about him in the national press
Worldwide, his originals and prints can be found in many major
museums and collections and his work has been featured many times
on radio and television. A major new book of his work is being prepared
for publishing in the year 2001.
He is basically self taught, and developed a style, when younger, based
on his favourite artists of the time Frank Wootton, Michael Turner and
the Airfix box art genius Roy Cross. Over the years his work has
developed its own style and is now as recognisable as that of his
boyhood idols.
He works exclusively in acrylic on canvas and is probably one of UK's
foremost exponents of this modern paint. An easy medium to learn but a
very difficult medium to master, Mark's acrylic paintings are nearly
always mistaken for oil paintings due to the richness and thickness of
paint he uses. He is in high demand from art societies to give
demonstrations of his handling of this tricky medium and his larger
originals now usually sell for £3000+.
"Although there are many and varied reasons for using acrylics rather
than oils, the principal benefit is that within minutes of finishing the
painting the paint is completely dry" " As most of my professional
work has very tight deadlines, especially the Norwegian works, I know
that I can roll up a canvas and put it in my bag and board an aircraft for
Norway within literally minutes of completing the finishing touches"
"This is just impossible with oils".
He has a vast library of books and models and is also the co-founder of
a WW2 internet photo library, which was launched in August 2000. (He
used his extensive knowledge to write all of the thousands of captions
therein). The library also contains a lot of his and other artist's WW2
paintings and the whole thing is specifically designed to become a high
tech source of information for today's generation to learn about the
sacrifices of their 1940's contemporaries.
The fast jet flying, apart from being great fun, also has a very real use.
"It is absolutely vital for any military artist to be able to visualise well and
accurately". "Obviously, most things we paint we cannot do from life
and with aviation even more so. Therefore we have to instinctively
know what is right. This takes years of experience and research
especially with painting air combat. Having flown a few tail chases
(mock dogfights) with the RAF, one gets subconsciously a very
accurate idea of the size, attitudes and positioning of aircraft in
combat." "This would be very difficult to achieve accurately without the
flying experience"
"I also try to paint what you actually see when you're flying. When in
tight formation with another fighter, you only get an impression of panel
lines and rivets, you don't sit there counting the whole lot of them. The
main thing you do notice ironically is the pilot moving around. Most of
us aviation artists tend to paint him behind a mass of reflection but in
reality you really can see the colour of his eyes!"
"I've also noticed how difficult it is to positively identify aircraft with
national markings even at reasonably close distances. When you're
flying you tend to see other aircraft as light and shade and this is what I
try to show in my work" "I certainly have great admiration and respect
for all veteran pilots who had to make split second decisions as to who
to shoot at in the heat of battle, I'm not at all surprised that mistakes
were sometimes made"
Quite apart from this, Mark has found further reason to admire his
boyhood heroes, "Flying in (simulated) combat at speed must be one of
the most exhausting things I've ever done" Mark says,"When you
consider that the young men of Fighter Command went up four or five
times a day and literally flew for their lives in this exhausting aerial arena
, I would suggest that they were fitter both mentally and physically than
most of our overpaid sportsmen of today". " In many ways I now hold
them in even greater esteem than I did when I was a schoolboy and I
still can't get over the fact that I'm now able to meet and hear the stories
first hand of all of my boyhood heroes"
Mark is definitely an artist with a mission which goes beyond painting
pretty pictures to hang above the fireplace.
"Every painting I do, I try to research and portray as accurately and as
fairly as possible. I have seen over the years how people try to alter our
perception of history through 'evangelical revisionism'. What they seem
to conveniently forget is that you cannot judge the past by today's
standards. Everything must be taken in context to the time that it took
place in. With my work, I'm trying to show and record exactly what
happened so that future generations will have a visual record to
stimulate their interest and understanding. I am very aware that they
won't get the chance, as I have, to talk to the veterans of WW2."
" One of my favourite projects was one commissioned by the
Norwegians to show the events around 'Black Friday' 9th February
1945. On this day, only a few months from the end of WW2, we lost 9
Beaufighters and one Mustang in a single air battle over western
Norway. In return the Germans lost 5 Fw190s. In total, 16 airmen died in
this one battle which has long since been lost to the history books.
Through the series of paintings that we produced, many more people
both in Norway and England are now aware of the events of that day
and the surviving pilots are now at last getting a bit more of the
recognition they deserve."
Although Mark is known exclusively for his aviation work, he can turn
his hand to other subjects with equally impressive results. It is little
known for example that he has produced many maritime paintings for
the Norwegian Coastal Artillery, including retirement gifts for the Naval
Chiefs of Staff, (a more critical audience would be difficult to find!)
"Painting the sea is almost as challenging as painting the sky and I
thoroughly enjoy both" Mark says, " I certainly plan to produce more
maritime paintings in the future and I'm very grateful to the Norwegians
for forcing me to diversify!"
The principal element in all of Mark's work is handling of light. Having
spent 10 years in photography, he developed an enormous appreciation
of the positioning, colouring and diffusion of light sources. This is
clearly evident in his paintings.
"I love studying light and its associated tricks and nuances. As a
photographer, when you have to make a plate of cat food look
interesting, you realise that the only answer lies in the lighting! You
soon learn that you can add colour, texture and mood all through the
careful manipulation of light. When it comes to painting, the same rules
apply and, historical accuracy permitting, the artist should use every
trick he can to suggest the mood of the moment."
Mark is without doubt a man who is happy with life. He can't imagine a
better way of working for a living, "I even gave up photographing
lingerie catalogues to paint aircraft, a move my football teammates still
can't quite grasp!"
He lives in Leicestershire with his Polish wife of three years who he met
in a million to one 'Brief Encounter' on a train one day in 1995. "It's a
long story but I knew on the day that she happened to sit next to me on
that crowded train that she was the one for me". After two years of
travelling to and fro, considerable expense and a lot of stress on both
sides they decided to get married, his wife giving up a promising career
in conducting to come and live in England.
They now travel extensively, especially to Poland and Norway from
where Mark continues to receive work . " Two years ago, we were taken
up into the Arctic Circle whilst researching paintings for the Norwegian
Armed Forces. We spent a week in the Bødø and Tromso area where
we enjoyed the indescribable beauty of that area in the midnight sun. It
is certainly a place that I want to return to and maybe produce some
landscape paintings as the scenery and light is simply beautiful. "
As for long term ambitions, Mark has simply this. " I want to live a happy
and good life and professionally be the very best in anything that I do."
Those who have met this remarkable young artist have no cause to
doubt that he will achieve his aims.
You can find a large selection of Mark's work here a Ozark Airfield
Artworks.
Born in Leicestershire, England in 1964 , like many of his friends, Mark
had only one ambition during his school years, and that was to fly fast
jets with the RAF. At the age of 13 he was devastated to discover that
his eyesight was less than perfect and therefore unsuitable for military
flying. This discovery completely knocked him for six and it took him
years to decide what else he wanted to do with his life. Eventually after
leaving school at 16 and working for the Co-op for two years , Mark
managed to get a job in photography, thanks mainly to a portfolio he
had built up whilst working on a free local newspaper. Photography
soon became a good outlet for his inborn creativity and during his 10
years in the business he worked in most aspects of professional
photography in London, Leicester and Nottingham, shooting everything
from cat food to lingerie, " I preferred the latter!" he says.
Mark started to paint aircraft on canvas at the age of 17 as a hobby. A
lifelong interest in flying and aviation history together with his
professional knowledge of light through his career as a photographer,
soon combined to produce work of the highest standards in this
exacting field. In 1987, he became the first ever Artist in residence at the
Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon in what was the first major exhibition
of his work.
At the age of 27, Mark was elected to become the youngest Full Member
of the Guild of Aviation Artists and shortly after, left photography to
make a full time profession in aviation art. His knowledge of his subject
was put to the test only a month after when he competed in and won the
TV quiz show The $64,000 Question answering questions on the Battle
of Britain. His work so impressed the host Bob Monkhouse that he
bought one of Mark's originals there and then.
Around this time, Mark was contacted by the Chairman of 30 Squadron
Association RAF with a view to commissioning him to paint a 75th
anniversary painting for the Squadron. He drove down to their base at
RAF Lyneham and for the first time came into contact with the life that he
had so wanted as a schoolboy. " The first thing that struck me was
why I hadn't considered joining the RAF in a different trade apart from
flying", Mark reflects, " It honestly just never crossed my mind at the
time, it was either flying or nothing".
The subsequent painting was received with great acclaim within the
RAF and soon commissions were rolling in on a regular basis from
various Squadrons including a three year association with the world
famous RAF Aerobatic Team The Red Arrows.
On top of this, and more importantly for Mark, the Squadrons were
offering him the chance to fly with them as part of the research process.
By 1995, he had built up many hours of military flying in types such as
the Hercules, VC10, Gazelle and Tucano in the UK, Germany and
Cyprus. However, his boyhood ambition of flying in a fast jet still
eluded him .
Then, on a grey autumn afternoon in 1996, Mark found himself sitting in
a BAe Hawk of 208 Sqn at RAF Valley in North Wales ready for take off.
An hour later after a thoroughly uncomfortable but exhilarating tail
chase 20,000 ft above Snowdon, his feet touched the ground once more
and he realised that that boyhood ambition had been finally achieved, in
the most unexpected way possible.
He flew again in a Hawk a few months later and then the following year
he topped all of this by spending an hour at low level in a Harrier, "the
most incredible experience of my life" he reflects "finished off with the
famous Harrier bow, when the aircraft hovers above the ground and
dips its nose towards the crowd".
"As a boy I used to marvel at seeing the Harrier perform this trick at
airshows, I never ever dreamed that one day I would be in the cockpit
looking back"
In the following years, Mark has become firmly established as one of
Britain’s leading aviation artists in the world-wide fine art print market
with many of his limited editions now only available on the secondary
market. For example, Mark’s ‘Operation Irma’ print of a Hercules going
into Sarajevo, commissioned by 47 Squadron RAF, sold out within a
few months and raised over £20,000 for Children’s Charities
Since 1986, Mark Postlethwaite has been working on a series of
paintings for the Norwegian Armed Forces. This work has established
him as one of the leading military artists in Norway. He is renowned by
the Norwegians for his ability to capture their special Norwegian light
and his work hangs in many museums up and down the country. He
has done numerous TV and radio interviews over there and has had
many articles written about him in the national press
Worldwide, his originals and prints can be found in many major
museums and collections and his work has been featured many times
on radio and television. A major new book of his work is being prepared
for publishing in the year 2001.
He is basically self taught, and developed a style, when younger, based
on his favourite artists of the time Frank Wootton, Michael Turner and
the Airfix box art genius Roy Cross. Over the years his work has
developed its own style and is now as recognisable as that of his
boyhood idols.
He works exclusively in acrylic on canvas and is probably one of UK's
foremost exponents of this modern paint. An easy medium to learn but a
very difficult medium to master, Mark's acrylic paintings are nearly
always mistaken for oil paintings due to the richness and thickness of
paint he uses. He is in high demand from art societies to give
demonstrations of his handling of this tricky medium and his larger
originals now usually sell for £3000+.
"Although there are many and varied reasons for using acrylics rather
than oils, the principal benefit is that within minutes of finishing the
painting the paint is completely dry" " As most of my professional
work has very tight deadlines, especially the Norwegian works, I know
that I can roll up a canvas and put it in my bag and board an aircraft for
Norway within literally minutes of completing the finishing touches"
"This is just impossible with oils".
He has a vast library of books and models and is also the co-founder of
a WW2 internet photo library, which was launched in August 2000. (He
used his extensive knowledge to write all of the thousands of captions
therein). The library also contains a lot of his and other artist's WW2
paintings and the whole thing is specifically designed to become a high
tech source of information for today's generation to learn about the
sacrifices of their 1940's contemporaries.
The fast jet flying, apart from being great fun, also has a very real use.
"It is absolutely vital for any military artist to be able to visualise well and
accurately". "Obviously, most things we paint we cannot do from life
and with aviation even more so. Therefore we have to instinctively
know what is right. This takes years of experience and research
especially with painting air combat. Having flown a few tail chases
(mock dogfights) with the RAF, one gets subconsciously a very
accurate idea of the size, attitudes and positioning of aircraft in
combat." "This would be very difficult to achieve accurately without the
flying experience"
"I also try to paint what you actually see when you're flying. When in
tight formation with another fighter, you only get an impression of panel
lines and rivets, you don't sit there counting the whole lot of them. The
main thing you do notice ironically is the pilot moving around. Most of
us aviation artists tend to paint him behind a mass of reflection but in
reality you really can see the colour of his eyes!"
"I've also noticed how difficult it is to positively identify aircraft with
national markings even at reasonably close distances. When you're
flying you tend to see other aircraft as light and shade and this is what I
try to show in my work" "I certainly have great admiration and respect
for all veteran pilots who had to make split second decisions as to who
to shoot at in the heat of battle, I'm not at all surprised that mistakes
were sometimes made"
Quite apart from this, Mark has found further reason to admire his
boyhood heroes, "Flying in (simulated) combat at speed must be one of
the most exhausting things I've ever done" Mark says,"When you
consider that the young men of Fighter Command went up four or five
times a day and literally flew for their lives in this exhausting aerial arena
, I would suggest that they were fitter both mentally and physically than
most of our overpaid sportsmen of today". " In many ways I now hold
them in even greater esteem than I did when I was a schoolboy and I
still can't get over the fact that I'm now able to meet and hear the stories
first hand of all of my boyhood heroes"
Mark is definitely an artist with a mission which goes beyond painting
pretty pictures to hang above the fireplace.
"Every painting I do, I try to research and portray as accurately and as
fairly as possible. I have seen over the years how people try to alter our
perception of history through 'evangelical revisionism'. What they seem
to conveniently forget is that you cannot judge the past by today's
standards. Everything must be taken in context to the time that it took
place in. With my work, I'm trying to show and record exactly what
happened so that future generations will have a visual record to
stimulate their interest and understanding. I am very aware that they
won't get the chance, as I have, to talk to the veterans of WW2."
" One of my favourite projects was one commissioned by the
Norwegians to show the events around 'Black Friday' 9th February
1945. On this day, only a few months from the end of WW2, we lost 9
Beaufighters and one Mustang in a single air battle over western
Norway. In return the Germans lost 5 Fw190s. In total, 16 airmen died in
this one battle which has long since been lost to the history books.
Through the series of paintings that we produced, many more people
both in Norway and England are now aware of the events of that day
and the surviving pilots are now at last getting a bit more of the
recognition they deserve."
Although Mark is known exclusively for his aviation work, he can turn
his hand to other subjects with equally impressive results. It is little
known for example that he has produced many maritime paintings for
the Norwegian Coastal Artillery, including retirement gifts for the Naval
Chiefs of Staff, (a more critical audience would be difficult to find!)
"Painting the sea is almost as challenging as painting the sky and I
thoroughly enjoy both" Mark says, " I certainly plan to produce more
maritime paintings in the future and I'm very grateful to the Norwegians
for forcing me to diversify!"
The principal element in all of Mark's work is handling of light. Having
spent 10 years in photography, he developed an enormous appreciation
of the positioning, colouring and diffusion of light sources. This is
clearly evident in his paintings.
"I love studying light and its associated tricks and nuances. As a
photographer, when you have to make a plate of cat food look
interesting, you realise that the only answer lies in the lighting! You
soon learn that you can add colour, texture and mood all through the
careful manipulation of light. When it comes to painting, the same rules
apply and, historical accuracy permitting, the artist should use every
trick he can to suggest the mood of the moment."
Mark is without doubt a man who is happy with life. He can't imagine a
better way of working for a living, "I even gave up photographing
lingerie catalogues to paint aircraft, a move my football teammates still
can't quite grasp!"
He lives in Leicestershire with his Polish wife of three years who he met
in a million to one 'Brief Encounter' on a train one day in 1995. "It's a
long story but I knew on the day that she happened to sit next to me on
that crowded train that she was the one for me". After two years of
travelling to and fro, considerable expense and a lot of stress on both
sides they decided to get married, his wife giving up a promising career
in conducting to come and live in England.
They now travel extensively, especially to Poland and Norway from
where Mark continues to receive work . " Two years ago, we were taken
up into the Arctic Circle whilst researching paintings for the Norwegian
Armed Forces. We spent a week in the Bødø and Tromso area where
we enjoyed the indescribable beauty of that area in the midnight sun. It
is certainly a place that I want to return to and maybe produce some
landscape paintings as the scenery and light is simply beautiful. "
As for long term ambitions, Mark has simply this. " I want to live a happy
and good life and professionally be the very best in anything that I do."
Those who have met this remarkable young artist have no cause to
doubt that he will achieve his aims.
You can find a large selection of Mark's work here a Ozark Airfield
Artworks.
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.
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