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Welcome to our paintings in progress page for
artist Ivan Berryman. This page features the artwork that is being
worked on right now by Ivan, and will soon be available to
purchase. Whenever Ivan can afford the time to supply us with
photos of his work in progress, we will post them on this page.

Ivan
working in his studio, researching for his next painting. On the
wall is his painting of WW1 German Ace Josef Jacobs, now sold.
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Current Work(s) in Progress
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New
'100th Canvas' WIP in progress NOW! Click here for more. |
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As I write
these words, in October 2008, this painting is my very latest – and the 66th
in my World War 1 Aces collection. After so many paintings, it’s always
refreshing to try something a bit different now and then, so I decided to go for
an ultra close-up this time and chose the Pfalz D.III because it has never
featured as the main aircraft in any of my pictures before now.
I looked at
some other paintings of this lovely little aircraft and decided to opt for a
pilot that, as far as I can see, hasn’t been painted before. Von Boenigk
opened his score in July 1917, shooting down a Sopwith Camel and, by the end of
that year, had added another five ‘kills’. He scored seven of his twenty six
victories in the Pfalz D.III, so it seemed a good subject to pick. I sourced
some reliable photographs and found a good one of von Boenigk in this aircraft
(1396/17). It showed a lot of detail and gave some indication of the state of
the aircraft and was especially useful in showing the black ribbon
motif of Jasta 4.
As I
began to draw some rough sketches, it became
clear to me that, if I was going to get in so close to this aircraft, its
distinctive yellow tail would not be in view, but the issue was resolved when I
discovered that his aircraft had a yellow identification panel on the upper
surface of the lower wing, three ribs wide.
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Picture 1.

Using some contemporary
photographs as a guide, I drew the aircraft onto the canvas, but such was the
angle and perspective of the photographs, no undercarriage was visible. I
instead had to make another small drawing and work out exactly where the
undercarriage would appear in my painting. It’s not a difficult process and,
as I always say, if it looks right, it probably is right. Some of you
might have a different opinion! As it turned out, only the furthest wheel was
included in my final composition, but I had to draw the whole thing to work out
where it would be anyway.
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Pictures 2
and 3.

Using
a bit of masking to preserve my drawing, I blocked in the sky tones first, then
began working up a cloudscape. I knew that there wouldn’t be a lot of sky
visible when the main aircraft was painted in, but I tend to paint most of it
anyway to keep the perspective in check.
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Picture 4.

This shows the sky more or less complete and the
masking removed. I have given quite a lot of thought as to where the light will
be coming from because this, in turn, dictates where and how the shadows will
fall across various surfaces. The two distant aircraft are banked at slightly
different angles and the main subject not banked at all, so the light and
shadows will strike all three aircraft differently. Great fun
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Pictures 5 and 6.

Here
I am working on the smallest, most distant aircraft, first blocking in the basic
colour, then adding the ribbon and then some light running along the upper
decking of the fuselage. I have painted in a shadow on the lower wing.
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Picture 7.

Using the same order and technique, I now get
busy on the aircraft in the middle distance. Most Pfalz D.IIIs left the factory
in this silver / grey colour and it was up to the various units and pilots to
add whatever colours and markings they desired. But it is important to remember
that the colour was more grey than silver (Silbergrau) with a small amount of
aluminium powder added to the mix for a more robust finish, so it wasn’t going
to be a matter of these aircraft gleaming brightly in the clear sun.
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Picture 8.

All aircraft were all a bit war-weary and
mud-splattered, so I have added quite a lot of weathering and staining to this
machine, especially around the radiator and gravity tank on the upper wing. I
have given the aircraft a slight sheen and again run a highlight along the upper
fuselage. This one is banked a bit more tightly, so the shadows are a bit
longer. |
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Picture
9.

This is how the painting looks so far. I
haven’t done anything unusual yet, so it’s been plain sailing up until now.
Time to go for the Big One… |
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Picture 10.

The logical place to start for me is the upper
wing and I decided early on that it would be almost burned out white on top and
very dark underneath, leaving just enough tone to show some details and
reflections.
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Picture 11.

This is also a good moment to get the
undercarriage painted in. After all my efforts earlier, it seems a bit of a
shame that this is all we’ll see of it!
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Pictures 12.

I next block in the fuselage with some solid
colour and hint at some light and shade to give the fuselage some shape and
form. This will get a lot of modification and fine-tuning as the painting
progresses, but you have to start somewhere. The shadow of the upper wing is
added now, too, and I have again gone for some extreme contrast to bring a bit
of drama to the painting. Although I have painted the outer, silbergrau
section of the wing, I have left the yellow panel for now as I need to see just
how the light falls before I can work out just how yellow this needs to be. |
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Picture 13.

After a lot of rounding and softening and
blending on the fuselage itself, it’s soon time to start adding some of the
markings, making sure that they key in nicely with the curves of the aircraft.
Very often, painting a spiral ribbon on a fuselage completely confuses the eye,
leaving the fuselage looking flat again, despite your best efforts. I think
it’s called compound curves, where the curved shape of, say, a
roundel, is cancelled out by the roundness of the fuselage that it’s painted
on. Again, this is correctable by getting the lighting right so that light,
reflections and shadow keep the form of the subject true to the eye.
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Picture 14.

The top of the Mercedes engine is now added (most
of it was beautifully contained within the lovely slender nose of the D.III) and
then the gun muzzle is painted in. The D.III’s guns were buried into the
fuselage to aid streamlining and only the muzzles were visible externally, just
either side of the engine. This wasn’t popular with its pilots, however, who
could do little or nothing if the guns jammed. The later D.IIIa had the guns
moved forward and mounted externally so that the unfortunate pilot could at
least give them a clout if they jammed!
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Picture 15.

The yellow identification panel on the wing has
now been blocked in and I’m starting to do a bit of weathering on the
fuselage. Also getting some attention at this stage is the fairing between the
fuselage and lower wing.
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Pictures 16.

This is another general progress shot. The end is
in sight! |
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Picture 17.

All sorts of detailing takes place now. The
yellow wing panel is given ribs, details and a lot of staining and scuffing and
a slight reflection of the yellow is dusted into the fuselage, just to pull it
all together. Some of the stenciling and panels are put in and, all the time,
more weathering and wear is added.
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Picture 18.

I have to
admit that I was putting this bit off for as long as I could!
This
is the stenciling on the cockpit side. In any other painting, I could have got
away with a little line of squiggles but on this one, I knew I had to paint
every last letter and number, just as it appeared on the real thing. The pilot,
too, has finally made an appearance. The exact colour of his flying suit is
unknown, but it appears to be quite a light colour in most photographs, whilst
his helmet and goggles strap appear to be either black or very dark brown.
I’ve added a lot of scuff marks around the cockpit opening, too, as it always
got a good kicking on the way in. The cabane struts are now painted in and given
a few knocks and chips as these were made of metal tubing and always look a bit
rough in most photographs.
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Picture 19.

After a host of tiny details and highlights,
rigging wires, turnbuckles, control lines and yet more weathering, this is the
finished item.
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Pictures 20.

Apologies for looking so pleased with myself, but
it’s always nice when a painting is finished – and something of a relief
when you try something new and it works! |
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Just completed........... |
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Caproni
Ca.3 |
Now complete - click
here for the full W.I.P. report

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Canvas preparation |
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All the WW1 originals are produced in oils on
20"x30" canvas, primed with four coats of Gesso primer. The
picture is roughly marked up in pencil, then given another thin coat of
primer to seal it. When dry, each painting is given a lick of retouching
varnish before being photographed using polarised light, ready for
reproduction. The painting is then left to harden before delivery.
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The edge of a completed canvas, showing the primer
layers. |
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Previous Works in Progress: |
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WW1 Aces Hundredth Painting WIP Pfalz DIII Caproni Ca3 Roland DVIa Gotha Friedrich Christianen Paul Baumer Wolfram von Richthofen Major Edward Mannock Hans von Keudell Otto Kissenberth Ivan Smirnov John Jones Billy Bishop Air Gunners Werner Voss Francesco Baracca James McCudden Edward Rickenbacker Trafalgar 1pm Battle of the Nile Breaking the Line Hearts of Oak HMS Vanguard at Portsmouth HMS Vanguard Prelude to Trafalgar Battle of Copenhagen Trafalgar 1st Engagement Trafalgar Aftermath Trafalgar - Bucentaure Royal Sovereign
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