The Naked Silo

For the detailed background and wherefores of this build, please refer to this post about my other fencing truck model . Box. Working strictly from memory (mine and my cousin, Bob's) since there are no known photos of my uncle's fencing trucks, the most suitable model kit I found was this 1/24 scale GMC pickup from Revell, which comes with a snow plow and a few other details I wouldn't need for this build. Those horizontally-mounted lights attached to the front of the hood became the vertically-mounted tail lights on the trailer of the Small Pond Puppet Wagon . Parts. I used just about all the parts shown in the picture above, the missing parts belonging to the engine which was built first to eventually find its way into a diorama or something somewhere in the future. The snow plow (also built and painted months ago) will meet the same fate as the engine. Chassis. I started by assembling this, then priming it, then spray painting it black. The weath...

20" x 16", oil on panel, 2016, private collection This painting is a commission I recently completed of Sid Atkinson, who was a tail gunner in World War Two. He survived 30 missions but then died after the war of a heart attack at age 44 (my present age). When his granddaughter asked me to do this and sent me a photo, I knew it would be fun to paint because it had a bit of mystery to it (probably taken before a mission, standing beside his plane in the early morning mist –at least, that's the story I used in my head while painting this!). It was a black and white photo, naturally, and I wanted to only slightly colourize it, maintaining a limited palette while still creating a foreboding-yet-respectful mood. The commissioner and I are both quite happy with it. Sid in pencil stage.