Oberleutnant
Otto Kissenberth. Continuing this series of World War One Aces
with Oberleutnant Otto Kissenberth, German Ace. When
pilots took off from the respective airfields in the 1914/18 war, they
would rarely know what lay ahead. For Otto Kissenberth, the 12th
October 1916 was to be a baptism of fire. Flying Fokker D.II 540/16, he
scored his first three victories in quick succession, shooting down two
Maurice Farmans and a Breguet V, as shown here. Unusual among fighter
pilots of the time for the simple reason that he wore spectacles,
Kissenberth went on to score an eventual 20 victories and survived the
war, only to be killed whilst mountaineering in 1919. |
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This work from beginning to end. |
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Before Painting Begins
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The first stage of
any painting is to treat the raw canvas. Although most canvas is
supplied primed these days, I prefer to give each canvas further
treatment – in my case a further four coats of Gesso. This
‘thickens’ the canvas and gives it a good ‘tooth’. This may seem
elaborate, but it pays dividends later and actually helps to speed up
the painting process.
Following my
research from a number of reputable books, the painting is marked out on
the canvas in pencil and the drawing then given a final thin wash coat
of white Gesso primer to seal it. This is simply to prevent smudging and
to ensure that the drawing is preserved throughout the painting
procedure.
At
this stage, very little detail is pencilled in. I do not mark out
interplane struts, for instance, nor undercarriage struts, aeleron and
elevator lines. All I need at this stage is the basic silhouette of the
aircraft. Any more than this would be lost during the painting of the
background.
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Background
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Now the sky can be
blocked in. Precise weather and cloud conditions are not always easily
researched, but the approximate altitude at which an aerial combat took
place is quite often entered into the victor’s log. Failing that, it
is often useful to know the ideal operational altitude for the type of
aircraft that is being painted. If the combat was above the cloudbase,
the chances are that a clear blue sky will form the backdrop, together
with some cloudtops and, maybe some glimpses of the ground. On this
particular day, our subject encountered a Breguet V bomber and promptly
despatched it. That is the subject of this painting.
I had to draw the
Breguet from scratch from manufacturer’s drawings because there simply
was no reference from which to work. I needed a rear three-quarter view,
so I had to come up with my own.
Using a range of
brushes, I work up the sky. In this case I have gone for high-lit,
backlit clouds which will throw both aircraft into stark relief against
their background.
Most
of the skyscape is completed now, but it will be revisited toward the
end of the painting process.
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Revealing the Drawing
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To speed the
painting along, I have loosely masked some of the drawing, which is
removed immediately before the paint begins to dry. Any edges are
quickly feathered and the painting set aside to dry.
It
is at this stage, that I will get to work on the next painting, bringing
it to the same stage as this one. At any one time, I might have as many
as four paintings in progress, all in rotation at different stages to
ensure maximum use of my time. I hate waiting around!
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Beginning the Breguet
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With background 85%
complete and the aircraft revealed, work can begin on the foreground
matter. I always paint the most distant objects first, gradually working
my way forward to the nearest. This ensures a natural layering of the
various elements in the composition and aids aerial perspective.
So painting begins
on the Breguet. This is a fiddly job as the aircraft is very spindly.
In
this photograph, the lower wing has been painted in and I am working on
the starboard interplane struts and their shadows. The trolley-like
undercarriage is roughly laid in as is the shadow of the fuselage. This
is why it is so important to establish the lighting direction before you
paint anything, because the shadows have to be applied right from the
start.
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Early Stages of the Breguet
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This is view of the
Breguet about a quarter of the way in. I have covered some of the
painting using paper and masking tape to protect against dirty
fingerprints and dropped brushes. Yes, I’ve learned from my mistakes
over the years!
As
the painting of this aircraft progressed, I realised that I had wrongly
drawn the rear of the engine and changed it quite significantly at the
painting stage – then covered it all up with smoke and flame from the
crippled engine! The addition of the two external fuel tanks, just
beneath the upper wing on either side of the fuselage, only serves to
exaggerate the perils and fragility of early bombers.
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Completed Breguet
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Here is the completed Breguet, its port lower
wing shot to bits and beginning to disintegrate. The forces of airflow
on these ripped fabric wings often caused the wing structure to fail
completely, throwing the stricken aircraft into a terrifying tumbling
plunge toward the ground. Fire only added to the peril as it stripped
away the fabric of the tail, robbing the aircraft of what little control
the pilot still had.
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Ready to begin work on
Kissenberth's D.II
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This is the whole painting at this stage, with
the Breguet beginning its death plunge and Kissenberth’s Fokker D.II
banking victoriously away. Again, this painting is now set aside to dry
while I work up the next one a bit more. It’s worth pausing at any
stage of a painting to study what you have done and just take it in.
Often, you will spot potential problems – or even errors – whilst
doing this. Better now than later!
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D.II Lower Wing
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Work begins on the
Fokker D.II’s lower wing. This is an especially complicated section,
not least because of the camouflage pattern and ribbing. The colours are
a seemingly a random pattern of light grey, nut brown and dark green,
but the wing will have a sheen on it and the ribs have to be evenly
spaced and coincide with the roots of the interplane struts. This takes
a bit of careful planning and must take into account perspective, too.
The planning of how to execute this stage is very important because I
know I’m going to have to do it all again when I paint the upper wing
– which will have to match, and the crosses will have to fit within
five ribs.
Finally,
I add the bracing wires. At this stage, the edges of the wing are left
hard and unrefined. There is a reason for this, which will be revealed
later.
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Close up of wing.
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This is a close-up of one of the wings. Whilst I
was painting it, I kept thinking that something wasn’t quite right. I
checked the line drawings again and the colour profile and plan views
that I was using for reference. The D.II had no ailerons! No elevators
either, the tailplane pivoting in its entirety, much like modern jet
fighters today.
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At work on the lower wing
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This is me doing a bit of ‘tidying up’ before
going on to the next stage. I have roughly painted in the tailplane and
I am using a large brush as a marle stick so that I don’t lean on the
wing that I have just so carefully painted. Time to set it aside again
and give some thought to how I am going to tackle the top wing.
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Adding the upper wing
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The top wing has been painted now without too
much difficulty, using all the same rules and techniques that were
employed on the lower wing. The crosses have been applied before the
final sheen is run along the entire wing to illustrate the curve of the
aerofoil shape.
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Applying the crosses to the
upper wing
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Here, the crosses are being applied – black
with white edging. At one point, the white edging of the crosses of
Kissenberth’s DII appeared very rough and uneven due, it is thought,
to the fact that further painting of the camouflage was carried out at
the Front with little regard for care and accuracy. It might have been
right for me to do the same in my painting, but it would have looked
like lousy painting on my part. I believe it was put right on the real
thing quite soon after, so this depiction is not entirely inaccurate.
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Applying the ribs of the
upper wing
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Now the ribs are being applied to the upper wing
– not too prominently – just enough to give form and show the
structure of the wing.
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Wings unsoftened
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This is a general view of the starboard wings,
showing their camouflage pattern and upper wing crosses. A slight sheen
has been applied, but the edges of the wings are still left rough.
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Softening and trailing edges
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I earlier mentioned that the outlines of the
wings were left sharp and unrendered. There was little point in wasting
time at the earlier stage as not all of the wing ribs were in place. Now
that the rib positions are known, I can begin to pay attention to the
trailing edges where the taut fabric between the ribs gives them a bat
wing effect. The sunlight, which is behind the D.II, will catch some of
these points and help to separate the upper and lower wings.
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Adding the engine and some
weathering
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Now the engine
cowling and propeller are added, together with some detailing and
chipped paint. The upper wing cut-out is rendered and I have begun to
add some weathering to the upper wing. Weathering and wear and tear
makes such a difference to the realism of a painting. Compare the
weathered upper wing with that in stages 13 and 14.
I
used to wonder what a lot of the white marks were that appeared all over
these fabric covered aircraft. I knew that it wasn’t chipped paint on
fabric. Maybe it was dried mud? I mentioned this to an old RAF friend of
mine who knew one or two World War 1 pilots when they were alive. He
thought about this for a moment, then said that he remembered his old
RFC friend, Hamish, commenting that the aircraft were always smothered
in bird droppings and that it stripped the paint from the fabric! I had
my answer.
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Fuselage
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With the wings more or less complete and having
been left to dry, my attention now turns to the fuselage, a simple
structure of box construction. Unlike many camouflage patterns,
Kissenberth’s aircraft featured a pattern on the fuselage top decking
that bore no link with that painted on the sides. In other words, the
pattern did not wrap around the aircraft. Much weathering is again added
where mud and oil stains have streaked the fabric of the fuselage and
worn paint is especially evident around the cockpit and pilot’s step.
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Control wire ports
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More detailing is added at this stage in
readiness for the final push to the end. Here, the ports for the rudder
and tailplane control wires are painted in, together with the rudder
post and tailplane pivot and just a hint of the tail skid.
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Fuselage details
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Some general tidying up takes place at this
stage. I would be going back over every inch of the painting at every
stage, keying everything together, making sure that the lighting and
shadows make sense and correcting small details. Once again, the
painting is set aside to dry now.
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Rudder insignia
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The rudder national insignia is now applied,
using an off-white for the edging, as this side of the aircraft is in
shadow. There is no need, at this stage, to be concerned about ribbing
or staining. This will all be done when the rest of the rudder is
painted and all the elements keyed together.
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Cockpit
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Now work begins on the cockpit, which will be
pretty dark inside, bearing in mind the direction of the light and the
cramped conditions. The leather padding around the cockpit has been
started and I have left a mark where the pilot’s hands will be on the
stick.
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Adding the pilot and gun
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More progress on the cockpit area is evident here
with the gun breach added and the pilot himself now squeezed into the
cramped space. It is unfortunate that I am unable to show, in this
painting, that Otto Kissenberth wore spectacles, which was unusual for a
pilot – especially an ace – in those days. The mid-upper wing tank
has been added now, too, and some ‘toning down’ of the raised
cockpit decking has made it sit a little better with the rest of the
aircraft.
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Control wires
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The final stages of the rudder and tail assembly
are now tackled, including all the control wires and other details. The
ribs of the rudder and some mud and staining add to the finished effect,
together with a highlight on the top of the rudder where the sun has
caught it.
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Signature
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The all-important
signature and year of completion is always the last thing to be applied.
There is something symbolic about it, something final. It means that I
have finished the painting, that I have lived with it for a couple of
days and that I am satisfied that I have done the best job I can. The
painting will be left to harden off for a while before a coat of
Retouching varnish is applied.
Artists
will know that different paints, different consistencies and different
methods of application leave a painting patchy, reflecting light in
different ways. The varnish not only protects the painting for the next
part of its journey, but also brings all these different surfaces
together for photography, ready to be put into print. At the photography
stage, polarised light will ensure no reflections and no uneveness,
hopefully resulting in the perfect fine art print…But that’s not my
job!
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Completed painting
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And here it is, the finished item. With such a
dominant aircraft occupying the full height of the canvas, I elected to
keep the background relatively simple. It is so easy to over-paint or
over-compose and lose the real reason why the painting was begun in the
first place: This is just one of a possible 60-plus paintings that I am
working through featuring the aces and aircraft of the First World War.
It is essential that the main subject be given room to breathe in the
composition.
(Note
that the publisher's logo is shown on the image for display in the
internet - it is NOT on the actual painting)
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Artist, completed painting
and some technical info.
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A final pose for
the camera with the finished canvas.
Technical
Information:
Canvas size:
20”x30”
Primer:
Windsor & Newton Gesso
Paints:
Windsor & Newton Oils
Other agents:
English distilled turpentine, Liquin
Brushes:
Daler-Rowney Bristlewhites, Dalon 77 & 99s
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