I have just completed a new ink pen drawing of ‘Whiskey 13’, a watch tower at the disused RAF Upper Heyford site. I feel the black and white look of the drawing suits the subject and the ink pens were good for capturing the battered surfaces. I used a variety of techniques on this piece and enjoyed the process.
I find the structures at the site to be quite haunting and yet rather beautiful in a way. It wasn’t just a case of describing the appearance of these structures but trying to capture the atmosphere of the site which is full of history. You can find the drawing and others in the series on the ‘War Remains’ page of this website.
HAS 7
I have been working on and off on a new pencil drawing for a few months now and have eventually got round to finishing it. It features one of the shelters at RAF Upper Heyford, a disused airbase in Oxfordshire. The building is known by the USAF as a ‘TAB-V (Theater Air Base Vulnerability Evaluation Exercise) Shelter’ but at Upper Heyford they referred to it as a ‘HAS’ (Hardened Aircraft Shelter). They were used to house combat ready jets during the Cold War.
I visited the site near the end of 2019 and it was a fascinating place to experience. I have quite a few research photos of the area which I’ve dipped into for inspiration on recent work. Some of the buildings on the site had been repurposed as storage buildings for local businesses whereas other structures are derelict and in poor repair.
My drawing, ‘HAS 7’, can be found in the ‘War Remains’ section of this website.