Civil Aviation
Modern civil aviation has its roots in the 1930s, when the postal service of the British Empire made it necessary to build aircraft capable of reducing delivery times compared to sea or land. More or less in the same period, the United States with Boeing and Pan Am created the Pacific routes, towards Hong Kong and the Far East and in Australia QANTAS (Queensland and Northern Territories Aerial Services) followed the same way.
The generations of large flying boats built by Short brothers and Boeing allowed the development of passenger service, cargo, logistics and navigation, creating the basis for the birth of modern commercial aviation, when the expanses of water gave way to land runways and piston engines were replaced by jets.
The pages of this section illustrate the main protagonists of this period of aviation through oil paintings and pencil drawings.
Imbarcadero
Pencil sketch for the painting Imbarcadero - Pencil on paper - 2009
Imbarcadero
A Short Brothers C-Class flying boat is moored somewhere in Sardinia en route to South Africa - Oil on canvas - 60 x 40 cm – 2009
Lockheed Super Constellation
A KLM Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation flies high above the clouds. A new luxury standard in aviation - Oil on canvas - 60 X 40 cm - 2019
Lockheed Constellation
A Delta airlines Lockheed L-049 Constellation flies away from a thunderstorm - Oil on canvas - 120 X 80 cm - 2013
Sikorsky S-57
A Sikorsky S-57 about to arrive in Hong Kong Bay in the 1930s – Pencil on paper – 2010
Short C-Class
A Short C-Class boatplane, en route to South Africa is moored somewhere near Portofino (Italy) – Oil on canvas – 40 X 30 cm - 2012
Dreamscapes part I - yesterday
A Short Calcutta is pictured at sunset high above the clouds - Oil on canvas - 70 X 50 cm - 2011
Dreamscapes part II - today
A Boeing 747 - 400 is pictured at sunset high above the clouds - Oil on canvas - 70 X 50 cm - 2011
Boeing 737 - 800
An American Airlines Boeing 737-800 is climbing high away from a menacious thunderstorm-heavy cumulo-nembus - Oil on canvas - 70 X 50 cm - 2013
Stratocruiser
A Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser is depicted flying high above the clouds. The painting recalls an advertising poster of the period - Oil on canvas - 120 x 80 cm - 2010
Air Atlantique
A DC-3 from Air Atlantique is portrayed flying high above the clouds - Oil on canvas - 1995
Peace above the clouds
A KLM DC-4 is portrayed against a dramatic sunrise - Oil on canvas - 70 x 50 cm - 2000
Peace above the clouds - detail
A KLM DC-4 is portrayed against a dramatic sunrise - Oil on canvas - 70 x 50 cm - 2000
Peace above the clouds-pencil
Pencil sketch for the painting Peace above the clouds - Pencil on paper - 1999
Grace of the Alps
A Swiss Air DC-3 flies over the Alps in preparation for landing somewhere in Switzerland - Oil on canvas - 40 x 30 cm - 2008
Montreal
A United Airlines DC-7 flies amidst a thunderstorm sky. Patches of the canadian countryside and the San Lorenzo river peacefully flowing, are visible below - Oil on canvas - 70 X 50 cm - 2015
United DC-7 - pencil
Pencil sketch for the painting Montreal - Pencil on paper - 2015
Martin M-130
A Martin M-130 flying boat is moored on a maintenance stop. Service crew await passengers bound to Hong Kong, while two kids look a the scene with a mix of curiosity and dreaming - Pencil on paper - 2003
Boeing 747
A gigantic Boeing 747 -100 belonging to Lufthansa airline takes off with a thundering roar - Pencil on paper - 2017
Douglas DC-7
The DC-7, that traces its origins in the ubiquitous DC-3, was the first piston engine-powered airplane capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean no-stop in both eastward and westward routes - Pencil on paper - 2017
Cathay Pacific Airways DC-3
A DC-3 is bound to land in Hong Kong, a fond memory of many trips down there - Pencil on paper - 2017
SARO Princess
A SARO Pricess is flying over mount Fuji, Japan, in 1952, a dream that never came true - Pencil on paper - 2002
Martin M-130
Martin M-130 flying boat “China Clipper” is portrayed flying somewhere over the Pacific Ocean - Pencil on paper - 2010
Boeing Model 247
The Boeing Model 247 was the first all-metal monoplane specifically designed to carry passengers - Pencil on paper - 2001
Short Calcutta
One of the many flying boats designed by the Short Brothers, a Calcutta is depicted here while boarding passengers on a stopover in Egypt, on river Nile - Pencil on paper - 2010
