This magnificent booklet presents some beautiful paintings through which are depicted famous military aircraft ( mostly from the Second World War ) in action.

Aviation book
( … ) Gerald D. Coulson’s first consuming interest was not art, but aircraft. ( … ) Without any real interest in art he began to draw aeroplanes. ( … ) He realised that a well - drawn or painted aircraft is merely an illustration. He wanted, if possible, to give the illusion of flight and movement in an authentic setting, and so began a long study of skies and cloud formations and an appreciation of very subtle tone values and colours. ( ... ) His first attemps at painting with oils were unsatisfactory. ( ... ) The results were so disappointing that he decided to abandon this medium, and resorted to using Gouache. He found that when Gouache was applied to watercolour board with hog brushes an oil technique effect could be achieved and the great majority of his assignments for the advertising agency were accomplished in this medium.
( ... ) Since his aircraft had to be portrayed in a setting which included certain ingredients which could contribute, he developed an interest in landscape painting, and concentrated on perfecting a technique for the accurate interpretation of such important features as foliage, water, mist and so on ; this took many years. Through this lovely booklet, you will be able to enjoy a handful of his artwork, indeed.
( source : COULSON )

Gerald Davison Coulson ( 1926 ) was born in Kenilworth ( England, Great Britain ). He has had a passion for airplanes since he was a young boy. Though this enthusiasm would eventually lead him to create some of the most renowned paintings featuring aircraft, Gerald D. Coulson began his career with an apprenticeship as an aircraft engineer and then worked as a technician for the Royal Air Force and British Airways. Eventually, he combined his love of aircraft with his natural artistic talent by illustrating the service manuals for civil and military aircraft. In 1969, Gerald D. Coulson combined these into a professional fine art career. He founded the Guild of Aviation Artists and has won the Flight International Trophy for outstanding aviation painting four times. The Fine Art Trade Guild has also placed Gerald D. Coulson in the top ten best selling artists 15 times.
As a landscape painter, he is best known known for his detailed depictions of the English countryside, wildlife, and aviation scenes. Using a realist technique influenced by popular British painting of the early 19th century, Gerald Coulson renders subjects from the past including 1900’s automobiles, planes from the Second World War, and early Formula One races. Today, his work can be found in the collections of the Royal Air Force Museums in Hendon, the Cranwell and Staff College, and The National Railway Museum in New York. Coulson lives and works in Cambridgeshire ( England, Great Britain ).
( sources : artnet, www.invaluable.com, QART.COM )