64 of 172

|

The painting is watercolor in a gray wooden frame with a mat finish. A Lockheed Super G Constellation with Lufthansa markings flies toward the viewer in this painting, back in the "Glory Days" of aviation. The "Connie" was the first pressurized airliner and was designed by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation at the 1939 behest of Howard Hughes, a major stockholder in TWA, who wanted a 40 passenger transcontinental airliner. The propellers were so large (~19 ft dia) that the landing gear became quite tall, and a huge single tail would not have gone through the doors of aircraft hangers of the day, thus the lower triple tail came to be. This painting is based on a photo taken of a model also built by the artist.

After retiring from an engineering career in 2009, Joe's attention turned to art, beginning with pencil drawings and then pastel and watercolor paintings. He especially enjoys the beauty and human interest found in everyday New England scenes, as well as the challenge of commission work – the challenge of capturing a client’s idea in an artistic way. Although a relative newcomer to the art world, his engineering and drawing background has proved to be a strength, resulting in several awards in local art shows and acceptance in three recent national exhibits sponsored by the Academic Artists Association and the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts. He is a member of three Connecticut art organizations. He also leads workshops on...