Aviation

To date, I’ve only created one aircraft painting, though there are a couple of others on the easel.

The aircraft below is an F22 Raptor and was created for my nephew, Ryan, who now is assigned to a U28. He had sustained injuries from a fall off Pulpit Rock near the Air Force Academy. These injuries were signficant enough that the doctors told him he might not walk again, much less ever fly.

Knowing how hard he’d worked to get into the Academy only to have his dreams crushed, Ryan’s determination helped him overcome the expectations of his commanding officers.

Rapturous Dawn was created to bolster him in those doubting moments. At his graduation, Ryan walk be down to his room where the painting hung. He told me it encouraged him in those moments he doubted, wondering if he’d ever fly.

That alone is joy enough for me: he’s being able to fly and that this painting played a part in his recovery and determination to do so.