Every now and then you come across a book that is a must have and our own Contributing Editor and America’s Bureau Chief Mike Machat has produce just such a gem.
Mike is a world renowned aviation artist and historian who worked for McDonnell Douglas through the 70s and 80s and later was commissioned by Airbus for a number of paintings.
He also served as a senior, flight-rated member of the Air Force Art Program, contributing 21 original paintings to the national collection.
He has four paintings in the National Air and Space Museum, eight paintings in the Pentagon, and is the only artist to win the coveted Combs Gates History Award from the National Aviation Hall of Fame.
As an aviator, Mike has flown in nearly 250 different types of aircraft, and every type of airliner from the Ford Tri-Motor and Ju-52 to the Constellation and Concorde. He has flown with NASA, the Blue Angels, and the USAF Test Pilot School, and was the first Air Force Artist to fly in the Rockwell B-1B Lancer and Grumman F-14 Tomcat in a U.S. Navy exchange program. An avid glider pilot, Mike has logged more than 2,100 flights in sailplanes.
In short he has the right stuff!
And that what his latest book Painting the Legends is all about – the men and the planes that have shaped aviation.
For the first time, this book takes you inside the world of aviation art showing the process of making major world-class paintings. From working with legendary pilots to flying in unique high-performance aircraft, Mike shows the reader the exciting sequence of researching and producing aviation art.
Mike says this book is a deeply personal story and it shows.
Lavishly illustrated with 60 original paintings and more than 250 photos, the book highlights the careers of 30 renowned pilots and aviation personalities with stories in their own words, including Scott Crossfield, Tex Johnston, Joe Engle, Pete Everest, and Fitz Fulton. Flights in the F-15 Eagle, F-14 Tomcat, Concorde, Blue Angels A-4 and others are shown.
It also covers some of the great classic airliners such as the 707, Connie, the legendary line of DC aircraft as well as the European giant Airbus.
Some of Mike’s paintings were more than a year in the making, while other art-directed commercial projects were completed in mere days, but they’re covered in this 192-page book in ways never-before seen.
From the first rough “back-of-the-napkin” sketch through highly detailed engineering drawings and final art, Mike’s projects are colorfully documented for the reader.
This is an outstanding work and well worth the modest investment.
You can buy the book here
