Hurricane Skies

This piece began with my fascination for the Hawker Hurricane and its bold, angular form. I wanted to reimagine those lines in a way that felt both abstract and full of motion, giving the aircraft a sense of life and presence without relying on strict realism.

The Hurricane depicted here is LF363, an aircraft from the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Its long history and continued service as a flying tribute added a meaningful layer of inspiration to the work. The composition also draws influence from a photograph by Tom Carlill of Carlill Photography, whose imagery often captures aircraft with remarkable atmosphere and emotion.

The landscape below the Hurricane features the Santa Catalina Mountains on the north side of Tucson, Arizona. The moment that sparked this piece was a late afternoon when the sun touched the clouds with gentle pink light. In the artwork, I chose to heighten and shift those colors, creating a sky filled with stronger contrast and a more dramatic presence.

I was especially drawn to the soft, fog-like layer near the bottom of the scene. It hints at an early morning departure, with LF363 climbing out of Tucson and beginning an eastbound turn. This subtle sense of story invites the viewer to imagine what comes next, long after the aircraft has left the frame.