Exclusive Fine Art Prints , Signed and Numbered by John Wiseman

Please note, indicated prices are for unframed prints. We do offer expert custom framing services. Contact us for additional information.Original paintings are available when not indicated as being in private collection.-- all inquiries welcome .To view larger size images and to order, click on desired images below

Paintings of WWII aircraft seem a wild deviation from my usual work. Yet as a kid I spent countless hours drawing military aircraft and battle scenes and constructing scale models of the numerous types deployed in WWI and WWII. So in a way, I consider those juvenile efforts to be the roots of my artistic career. In the mean time, I have spent the last four decades and more, painting and studying Canadian birds and local landscapes and architecture. But during the interim my fascination with the history of the two Great Wars has never waned. I have built a sizeable reference library with a special interest in military aircraft and their deployment in all the various theaters of war. The reality is that these paintings have been brewing in the back of my mind for years and the inspiration finally mushroomed during my most recent work session.

Today, the loss of a single soldier makes national headlines. We seem far removed from times when dozens of planes and many hundreds of air crew could be lost in a single night’s mission in the flak and fighter infested skies over Europe. From Bomber Command alone, there were over 100,000 casualties and among them were some 10,659 Canadians. For every 100 bomber crew members, 45 were killed, 6 seriously wounded and 18 became prisoners of war. In one night’s infamous raids over Germany, Bomber Command lost more men than Fighter Command lost during the whole duration of the Battle of Britain. During the hectic period of 1943-44, Bomber Command lost 6000 air crew to accidents alone. There was simply no safe theatre in war time.
It is all too easy to forget, the sacrifices, trials and tribulations of the young men who repeatedly faced such dire odds.