Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Wreckage


A while back, I purchased a WWII era model airplane, a Lockheed P-38 Lightning. I've been out to airfields before and worked up paintings from what I saw, but I wanted to experiment and do something different, taking it to the next level. So I took my model airplane and put it in a beach setting for a more imaginative interpretation. I added the small figure sitting under the propeller to give the aircraft a sense of scale and add to the peaceful mood of the sunset over the horizon. And the quiet color harmony of the piece adds to that as well. Often, I've admired old paintings of shipwrecks, and this is my own modern take on the old subject (but obviously with a plane). It's called "Wreckage" 18 x 24 inches, oil on canvas.

18 comments:

David Lobenberg said...

tony: I've got to dig into my 1975 photo file! I took photos of a small ocean liner beached out in the water lying on its side with the sandy beach in the foreground and some people sleeping on it! It's truely surreal. The photo was in several gallery shows way back when. Hey, if you like it, you may want to use it as reference for another neat painting like this one that you posted.

tonypetersart said...

Hey David,

Send it my way, I'd love to see that pic, sounds awesome!

Anonymous said...

Cool painting, Tony. It's not often you see a P-38 depicted like this.

william wray said...

I find this one both compelling and amusing, but more importnat, I think it's hints at an intresting direction I hope you decide to explore.

BoneDaddy said...

I like those dismal earthy tones you injected into the ground and plane. Something man-made returns to the earth and all that.

tonypetersart said...

Thanks Alexandre, I was definitely going for something unorthidox.

tonypetersart said...

Bill,

I like that combination of awe, grandure, and humor. But that it is a compelling image is what excites me the most.

tonypetersart said...

Hey BG,

Have you seen the paintings of Hubert Robert? I love his painted Roman ruins and how the ancient architecture he depicted seems to be growing out of the earth.

tonypetersart said...

Hey David,

Thanks for sending that pic of the beached ship, that was totally surreal! Wish I could have been there to see it for myself.

wayne said...

hi tony, there's certainly a wry sense of humour I see here. That figure musing upon the coastal close of day could just as easily be the pilot: dreaming, remembrancing, chewing on a blade of grass while his propellor blades savor the sand. Looks like he's managed to land his beloved Lockheed at least half-grazefully upon a dune, even if it crabbed a little on the touch down!
I like the 'timeless togetherness' here.
cheers, wr

Anonymous said...

Tony, as you know, I'm not a great painter like you, but I am an artist -- a performing artist, so in a sense I have a bit of credibility in that I know something about art. What I like about this painting is that it reminds me of the war era when my husband was in the Marines in Viet Nam. The theme that it generates to me is man's survival after something so devastating as a plane crash. In viewing the wreckage (I love the title, by the way), I note that the plane is still pretty much in tact, as well as the pilot, who is obviously elated to be alive, although the mountainous heap poses a lesser problem, that of finding a way to reconnect with society.

Anonymous said...
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tonypetersart said...

Hi Wayne,

Thanks for your comment! Glad you can appreciate the piece.

tonypetersart said...

Thanks bmcgee, and enjoy your new painting!

A Reason to Paint said...

Tony I love this work and reading something of the process makes it all the more interesting.

tonypetersart said...

Hey A.R.T.P.

Glad you love it! Allot of planning went into this little piece. It took nearly as much time and effort as the actual execution of the painting.

Anonymous said...

That's really amazing...

Thank you..
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Plastic Card said...

Excellent panting. Why not you should extend it and do experiment to taking this on the nest level.