Darryl Audette: Airborne Art Project
originally posted: http://royalaviationmuseum.com/darryl-audette-airborne-art-project/
“Comradery at 25,000 feet”: Normandy 1944
“Comradery at 25,000 feet” Normandy 1944, came about when I was asked to make something for the upcoming Airborne Art project, but what to make…?
The idea of depicting the “inside” of a B-17 aircraft at the height of battle during WW2 came quickly to mind, as I felt that is where the real human drama took place.
This 1/16 scale shadow-box diorama model combines many various materials from plastics, metals, paper, and several different resins and epoxies, many of which I’ve never used before, as well as using a complete LED theatrical lighting concept to bring life to, and give breath to the scene.
It depicts a quiet moment when life changes on a dime with no warning, a tender event of comradery of humanity at 25,000 feet, in the heat of battle.
Darryl was a practicing dental professional for 29 years working in Winnipeg, Manitoba, now he is a practicing professional theatre and exhibit designer working in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Since the age of 12, he has been building models of all kinds, concentrating on figures, and then on dioramas, especially enclosed shadowbox dioramas, which spark his imagination.
After meeting photographer Yousuf Karsh, and then Grand Master miniature artist Sheperd Paine at the age of 14, both becoming Darryl’s lifelong dearest friends and mentors. The die was cast.
His other interests include travel, his second passionate hobby is photography, also reading, painting, sculpting.
His website is a show case of his past and current work: www.darrylaudette.com
Airborne Art 2017
Back in 2014, our storage areas were bursting at the seams with surplus airplane parts. We asked the art community to bring new life to some unique pieces of “canvas.” A piece of scrap metal, loop antennas, pieces of exhaust—the vintage aircraft parts became one-of-a-kind art.
The finished pieces were donated back to the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada for charitable fundraising.
Our first Airborne Art Project was so successful we invited artists to collaborate with us again. We’re very excited that the pieces are now starting to be unveiled and returned to us here at the museum.
This is our third year of the program and we couldn’t be more excited. The level of participation and quality of the art is amazing and gives the museum a unique fundraising opportunity that no other organization has.
The art is displayed in the museum and auctioned at our Out of the Blue Gala on Saturday, October 21, 2017.
For more information, or if you are an artist and would like to participate next year, please contact:
- Amelia Marshall, Museum Special Projects Administrator
- Amelia.Marshall@RoyalAviationMuseum.com
