A WORK IN PROGRESS:

"Stiletto"

by

Denver Kissinger

Once the lettering is completed on the tracing paper, it will be transferred onto the canvas beneath the image of the plane.
The word is 35 inches long. The size of the canvas is 44 inches x 30 inches.

The image of the plane was initially laid out on tracing paper, where proportions and details were worked out before transferring the image onto the canvas. The image is approximately 40 inches x 12 inches.

 

I utilize double-primed canvas for the aircraft portraits due to its inherent smoothness. I begin by laying down a coat of the basic primary color of the aircraft and work the details in using traditional brushwork and some air brush. This project presented some unique challenges since Stiletto was not initially painted but left in its natural unpolished aluminum finish. I anticipate it will have taken me about six months to finish once this project is completed, due to the inordinate amount of detail on the aircraft surface, compared to my usual time of one to two months for other paintings.

 

All told the time involved for the wording on the landing gear door took approximately 5 hours. Though the canvas was double-primed to reduce the texture, I still had to re-prime and sand it smooth to accept the small letters. The tool I used was a technical pen, using .03 and .04 tips. The Champion and Pennzoil logos were created using a technical pen and 12/0 brush. The main fuselage area was painted with a mixture of gray and black with details being added later utilizing a combination of traditional brushwork and air brush.

 

FINAL PRODUCT!

 

D. Kissinger

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