Hurd's Airmen: page 73

Top: HURD WORKED FAST ON THIS SKETCH TO GET ACTION OF SPECTATORS AND GENERAL IMPRESSION OF AIRMEN LINED UP FOR DECORATIONS. NOTE CAMERAMAN AND NURSES AT LEFT.



Bottom: AERODROME CONTROL TOWER PROVIDED BACKGROUND NOTES FROM HURD'S PAINTINGS

Bottom right: INSIDE CONTROL TOWER HURD MADE SKETCH OF ANXIOUS RADIOMAN AWAITING REPORT


The pictures on this page are quick thumbnail sketches of the U.S. Air Forces from Peter Hurd's notebook. To catch these men in action, he always had this sketchbook with him and notes like these helped him make paintings shown in the preceding pages.

From the first sketch on this page he worked out the portrait of Captain Foster (page 67.) Note how, in finished picture, he added control tower from sketch on the bottom of this page (left). This same sketch came in handy when he did portrait of Lieutenant Spire (page 69) in which he included the windsock.

But when he began his final paintings Hurd, who mixes his colors with fresh egg yolks, found that eggs are rationed in England. Unable to get fresh eggs, Hurd hit on the idea of using dry egg powder, which he got from the Army canteen, and he set to work with some misgivings. The pictures on the preceeding pages prove that his inventive hunch was all right.

Life February 15, 1943

+++as the posts unfold, the page numbers will make a bit more sense. These are great paintings!