"On Second Look... It Ain't That Bad!"

Chino's Focke-Wulf...

One of the really cool things about the Planes of Fame in Chino, California is that they have some awfully unique aircraft and many of them are actually flyable like this German FW-190. The plane was practically deconstructed when I sketched this, so I assumed it wasn't gonna be flying on the day I was attending the air show. Many of the panels were opened or taken off for maintenance and I thought all those square panels would make a pretty cool drawing, but I ran out of gas on that hot summer day and only got this far.

I didn't show it originally because I was quite frustrated with the effort. It didn't go where I expected it to go,  but looking over this sketch and, some others that are floating around in that "blog vacuum, " I decided that it really wasn't all that bad.

Copyright 2014/Ben Bensen III

"Three Girls,Three Sketches..."

Three Girls, Three Sketches, Three Styles...

Another one of those sketches from a local Starbucks that I haven't posted since it has been drawn. All of the "models" were all busy multi-tasking, so I had to keep it quick. I prefer the one on the right though the drawing looks pretty static, she sat still long enough for me to capture her.

The one in the middle was very quick since she was at the coffee bar waiting for her libation. I like that I captured something... in about a minute.

And, the drawing to the left is one that I labored over because she sat across from me for over an hour. You can't tell by my drawing, but she was quite beautiful with big, dark eyes, raven hair, high cheek bones, and a very definitive jaw line. She was also very pregnant. Three times within that hour she came over to me and asked that I watch over her table full of electronic devices.

On the third request, I teasingly replied," Oh, that's enough, don'tcha think?"

Copyright 2014/Ben Bensen III

"Sketches From The ASAA Forum"

One is Keith, one is Peggy, one is Mike and the other...

One morning, at the ASAA seminar, we had three or four presenters and speakers. They were all incredible talking about their art, professionalism, business practices, and lifestyles, but the most interesting, and long winded, was the veteran WWII pilot and career Air Force man, Steve Pisanos.

Wikipedia writes...

He was born in November 10, 1919 as Spiros Pisanos (Greek: Σπύρος Πίσανος)) του Νικολάου και της Αθηνάς) is a USAF Colonel (retired) who served successfully as a fighter pilot with the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Air Force (USAF) 4th Fighter Group in World War II, having been credited with 10 victories and thus considered an ace.^[1] By the end of his career in 1974, he received 33 decorations and distinctions. He is author of the book The Flying Greek, published in April 2008, where he has meticulously recorded all of his personal adventures and detailed war fighting experiences. The book is commented by his friends and renowned USAF aviators Gabby Gabreski and Charles Yeager.

To say this man had a colorful life is to totally underestimate his contributions to our democratic view of the world. What an ambassador for America and all we fought for and stand for. He spoke for almost an hour, with much humility and humor, and he spoke like you'd expect a Greek to speak...

With his hands!

I originally attempted to sketch his large, expressive hands, but he moved them so much telling his story, that I gave up and just decided to put the pen down and enjoy.

Copyright 2014/ Ben Bensen III