Nicolas Trudgian paintings

As promised I've put together a nice entry about Nicolas Trudgian and his paintings.

After graduating from Falmouth College of Art in Cornwall where he specialisied in technical illustration and paintings of machines and vehicles for industry, Nicolas trudgian pursued a career as a professional illustrator but soon turned to fine art and in particular, military aviation art and Steam engines. After three years of formal training in this area of painting he became a teacher of the subject and after several years of teaching he turned to painting full time.

In the summer 1985 Nick moved away from Cornwall to join an energetic new design studio in Wiltshire. Here he painted detailed artwork for many major companies including Rolls Royce, General Motors, Volvo Trucks, Alfa Romeo and, to his delight, the aviation and defence industries.

He is a fine landscape artist and paints in the time honored tradition which shows in his aviation art. You only have to study his work briefly to see his paintings have tremendous impact and detail. He is particularly adept within military aviation art and this is where his most popular paintings can be found.

His crisp style of realism, attention to detail, compositional skills and bright use of colours have found favour with collectors all over the world and demand for his original work has soared in recent years.

In a recent independent poll Nicolas Trudgian was ranked in the top three military aviation artists in the world. Today the popularity and quality of his limited edition military aviation art is so widely recognized that he has built a following of loyal collectors from all around the world

Here are some of my favourite Nicolas Trudgian paintings



Victory Over Gold

Frustrated by the absence of Luftwaffe aircraft over the Normandy beaches on D-Day, Allied fighter pilots were spoiling for a fight. When a dozen JU88s appeared over Gold Beach on the following morning, June 7, 1944, the patrolling Spitfires of 401 Squadron wasted no time in getting into the fray




Kursk - Clash of Steel

In July 1943 two huge armies clashed on the rolling steppes around the town of Kursk, 300 miles south of Moscow.
The Germans had launched Operation 'Citadel' to try and regain the initiative on the Eastern Front. It was to be an encounter of epic proportions - the largest tank battle in history



Head to Head

A spitfire despatching the enemy Me109 aircraft to notch up his second victory of the day. 602's tally amounted to 13 aircraft destroyed without loss.



Invasion Force

Almost every major invasion that took place in Europe in World War II began with para drops, and in almost every case the C-47 was the aircraft that delivered these elite fighting troops. Few C-47 pilots had more combat experience than Sid Harwell, seen flying his Dakota in this typical action scene, dropping airborne troops into occupied Europe soon after D-Day. No matter what resistance he encountered, the good C-47 pilot put his aircraft right over the Dropping Zone, every time.

Recommended military aviation art online retailers

If your in the UK, USA or Canada then I'd recommend Cornwall's best military art gallery

Tags: Nicolas Trudgian, military aviation art

Nicolas Trudgian "Winter Wolves"

I'll be posting more about Nicolas Trudgian in the future and he certainly has my vote for artist most likely to succeed Robert Taylor.




In the meantime checkout Winter Wolves which captures the FW190s of JG-26 at full tilt, as they power across the spectacular winter landscape in the Ardennes. Flying at tree-top height to avoid radar detection, the Luftwaffe pilots hurtle above German tanks and trucks lumbering towards the battlefront. The early morning glow glistens in the crisp morning snow bringing an air of serenity to a poignant and historic scene.

I'll be putting up a list of recommended UK and US dealers very soon so make sure you check back.

Tags: nicolas trudgian, winter wolves, military aviation art

Company of heroes by Robert Taylor

I came across a fantastic painting ( see below ) called "Company of heroes" by Robert Taylor and was quite literally amazed. I've always been a big fan of Roberts work but had somehow managed to miss this one.



It shows B-17's of the 34th Bomb Group returning to base after another gruelling daylight raid.

Queenie, first home to Mendlesaham today, has come to a standstill, the co-pilot already briefing the crew chief on the state of the aircraft. Meanwhile the last man home makes
his final approach, streaming vapour from a badly overheating engine.

The level of detail, character and atmosphere in the painting is just amazing and worthy of any collection.

New found appreciation for WWII fighter pilots

Coming back from our holidays in Ireland this month I was very lucky to be able to fly in the cockpit with the pilots. It was a real buzz I can tell you and I feel very priveliged to have had such an enlightening experience, especially in this post 9/11 era.

It was about half way through the hour or so flight and after the co-pilot had gone through what all the controls were that I realised just how much control both the pilots and traffic control had over the aircraft. They had GPS, three artificial horizons ( two digital and one traditional) aswell as countless gauges and readings for every element of the plane. One of the devices even detected and communicated with any other plane in a 12 mile radius and told the pilots whether to climb or descend, Amazing!

This really gave me a new found appreciation for WWII fighter and bomber pilots and just how much skill it took to fly the planes let alone survive a dogfight with the enemy. With no GPS, collission detection or digital readouts must have a meant a extremely high level of concentration was needed to survive in the skies.

Found a nice military art blog

This military art blog fromVincent Wai makes an excellent read and features some nice paintings and works in progress. Its good to see a military artist embracing blogging like this.

Vincent hopes to produce some military aviation art in the near future so make sure you bookmark his blog.