Open Skies
A photographic reconnaissance Spitfire is shown at high altitude, banking gently above a broken cloud layer in the distinctive pale blue finish known as PRU blue — a colour developed specifically to make the aircraft invisible against the sky when viewed from below. She is unarmed and alone, stripped of guns and armour to save weight, relying entirely on speed and altitude for survival.
The photographic reconnaissance units of the RAF operated throughout the Second World War, flying unarmed Spitfires over enemy territory at altitudes above 30,000 feet to bring back the aerial photography that guided Allied strategy. It was dangerous, solitary work — a single aircraft, a single pilot, and no means of defence except the ability to outrun and outclimb anything that gave chase.
Sold at the Guild of Aviation Artists Annual Exhibition in 2025.
The research the painting was built on
For this painting, I drew initially on the plans of the spitfire: these can be used directly to draw the aircraft out in perspective. From there, PL965 was my primary source, filling in detail and giving a real picture of the plane up in the sky. Reference to models and other sources provided insight into the correct markings for the plane in this period.
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