G M McKINLAY, SPITFIRE CRASH AT NEWHAVEN 12/07/1944

Fine art composition

By Marc Heaton

Photo: Illustrative image for the 'G M McKINLAY, SPITFIRE CRASH AT NEWHAVEN 12/07/1944' page

As discussed in the earlier post. The painted composition aims to portray an accurate account of the moments leading up to the young pilot's crash. Due to a lack of visual documentation relative to the incident, l have placed the Spitfire chasing down the V1 heading in from the coast, just near the breakwater. This helps to place the incident directly within Newhaven.

I have painted the composition monochrome because l feel using colour would possibly glorify the event/incident, which was never my intention. I wanted to document the young pilot's bravery and present it as a sort of article within a newspaper, factual and without dramatisation. I hope the painting does the young pilot justice and acts as a reminder of the sacrifice that generation gave during those hard fought years.

This page was added by Marc Heaton on 28/11/2017.
Comments about this page

Superb! I agree entirely with the way you've portrayed this event, monochrome suits the image very well. Thanks for adding this to Our Newhaven.

By Andy Gilbert
On 28/11/2017

Not sure if you require opinions but can I assume that you've never seen the breakwater? I apologize if you are offended but the picture seems a bit simplified and flat. 

By Ron Herriott
On 28/11/2017

Hi Rob. You're right l've never seen the breakwater, l live in Wigan near Manchester. The breakwater within the composition acts to locate the incident, however it's not the main focus relative to to the subject. That is the preserve of the pilot alone, his action on that particular day is where my interest originates and ends. Everything else within the composition acts to compound an awareness of his sacrifice. That may shed light on the apparent flatness of the background and foreground compositional arrangement.

Thanks

Marc Heaton

By Marc Heaton
On 29/11/2017
Add a comment about this page

If you're already a registered user of this site, please login using the form on the left-hand side of this page.