On Sat 14th June 1919, John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown took off from St.Johns, Newfoundland, in their bid to be the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a single flight by air. Sixteen hours later, on Sun 15th June 1919, they crash-landed their twin-engined Vickers Vimy aircraft on Derrygimla bog, near Clifden, Connemara, Ireland.
This print celebrates the centenary of the famous Transatlantic Crossing by Alcock and Brown - two very brave men.
As part of my research for the creation of the print, I read Brendan Lynch's wonderful book "Yesterday we were in America" which captures the story of the successful crossing by Alcock and Brown, and the arduous nature of the journey. The book is well worth reading - very enjoyable.
I also bought and put together a scale model of the Vickers Vimy aircraft, in order to better understand the aircraft, and how to depict the scene in the print.
The print depicts the moment during the final stages of the 16 hour flight when they spotted the islands of Eeshal and Turbot. A few minutes later they landed their Vickers Vimy at Derrygimla blanket bog, near the Marconi radio station. The nearest town is the picturesque Connemara town of Clifden.
The print is an A3 image size on Fabriano paper, and is in an edition of 30 prints. The print has a watercolour chine colle background on Chinese Rice Paper, with 3 layers of screenprint.
#alcockandbrown100
Location: Clifden
