Some images stick in your head from the moment you see them. One of these for me was seeing the awesome power of the burning fuel exiting the engines of a Saturn V rocket during lift-off.
Not a lot of people remember the power and majesty of a Saturn V going from launch pad to space. EACH of the five F-1 engines of the first stage producing 1.5 million pounds of thrust (6.77 MN — more than the combined thrust of the three main engines of the space shuttle). Adding to the power was the image of the interesting way that F-1 engines burned their liquid oxygen and RP-1 rocket fuel (kerosene). This resulted in an eight-foot-high section (2.4 m) exiting the nozzle extension where soot, unburned fuel, and other explosive events occurred before everything ignited into a white-hot flame. That is the image that has stuck with me.
Although slightly impressionist and apparently abstract, the image is actually fairly representational–allowing for some artistic license. Though the painting is only 41 cm x 41 cm (16″ x 16″) on stretched canvas, you can still feel the power of the event. This is one of those paintings I could just stare at for hours.
Most of the underpainting was done with acrylics applied with a knife. Most of the detail work was done with airbrushes shooting E’tac airbrush acrylic paints.
