Lozenge Study on Compound Curves
$700.-
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Acrylic on Hardboard
Airbrush & Hand Brush
SIZE: 10"x8"
Germany's chemical industry was sorely strained in WW I and one of the many items in short supply was paint pigment. Whereas Allied airplanes were apt to be painted, Germany saved resources by using pre-printed camouflage linen fabric to cover her airplanes. The dye used was much more economical and lighter in weight than conventional paint finishes. It didn't provide quite the protection from sunlight as paint, but this was thought to be irrelevant as the service life of the machines was figured to be short.
This pre-printed fabric came in two main designs- a four color and a five color, with in turn two versions of each of these. A set of lighter colors was used for the underside surfaces while a darker and more saturated set was used for top sides. The sizes, shapes and arrangement of the block patterns was standard and arranged in such a fashion to repeat the pattern every few blocks. Though the colored blocks were not true lozenges, the name "lozenge" has stuck and to students of the period, any mention of "lozenge fabric" is immediately understood.
Anyone who has seen reproductions of this fabric flying on reproductuon airplanes can testify to its effectiveness, especially the underside colors. The bottom of the airplane just seems to fade away into nothingness.
Painting this picture was a natural- the female form, airbrush, and antique airplane fabric, all imagined in this little study....oh- and it's the four color pattern, bottom colors........
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