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Aviation Art Prints  Aviation Artists  Brian Bateman |
[UP] - Ivan Berryman - Robert Taylor - Stan Stokes - Nicolas Trudgian - David Pentland - Philip West - Gerald Coulson - Graeme Lothian - Anthony Saunders - Keith Woodock - Robert Tomlin - Michael Rondot - Brian Bateman - Barry Price - Geoff Lea - Keith Aspinall - John Young - M A Kinnear - Michael Turner - Robin Smith - More Artists - Artist Lists by Title |
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| Brian Bateman |
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His interest began as a child growing up in Dayton, Ohio. His best friend began showing him drawings of airplanes that he drew off of model box tops and that was it. Brian immediately began to draw aircraft and since then has not looked back. He became enthused with model building, dioramas, and research books---anything and everything Brian could get on the subject of WWII.
It helped that Brian lived in an area where aviation was at the forefront, most notably Wright-Patterson AFB and its wonderful museum.
I remember having my father take me there almost once a week for awhile, until I could get my driver's license to go there myself. I would spend countless hours looking at not only the planes, but the paint, rivets, wheel wells; anything you can imagine. I also remember studying and reading everything I could get my hands on regarding military aviation; in particular the Luftwaffe.
Brian also remembers the first time he saw an aviation painting. It was in his junior year in high school; a Robert Taylor painting of The Battle of Britain. How wonderful he thought, to be able to paint scenes such as these and make a living out of it. The dream was cast, but was there a market out there for this small, select subject?
In the late 1980s Brian moved to San Diego California, a state where there are many vintage planes and restoration facilities available, not to mention near-perfect weather all year around.
In 1995 his first aviation painting, Shadow of the Moon, was well received, and Brian went to print with it. The painting continues to be one one his best sellers and a personal favorite. Another favorite is Topaz One, one of his latest releases, as it depicts a personal friend, Bruce Porter, and his Hellcat over Okinawa in late 1945.
Brian started Bateman Galleries the same year, trying to make a well-rounded business out of his love for aviation and for art in general. The gallery has grown over the years to include many facets of his art, and not just aviation. Brian has since released 6 prints on the market and continues to strive to produce quality work at a level where others can enjoy it. His edition sizes remain small, at 250, to increase collectability and to have a better market value.
Brian has opened this web site to expand on his vision of having his art reach more people. The site showcases his many talents and diverse styles, from aviation to military history, to wildlife and the human figure.
I realize that there are many wonderful artists working in the aviation field today: Ferris, Taylor, Trudgian, Grinnell, and Crandall have been some of my personal favorites over the years for many reasons. One of the thrills I have had was meeting Robert Taylor. I remember that not only was he a super talent, but one of the nicest guys I have met. I think a well-rounded sense of one's self is just as important as one's talents.
Please visit and view his many print releases along with his original art for those who are interested in collecting for investment.
Brian is a participant of the CAF - Air Group One in San Diego, and has been privileged to have met many of the subjects in his paintings.
He lives in San Diego with his family and two pets. His wonderful support from all his family, friends, and relatives are an inspiration and sense of stability. |
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| Text for the above items : |
Urban Sunset by Brian Bateman. (P) Urban 'Ben' Drew in his Mustang, with Col Christian in the lead. |
Thunder from the Heavens by Brian Bateman. It was a time of grueling air combat and continuous sorties facing overwhelming odds. A time of wrecked nerves, fatigue, and the constant reality that the end was near for the men and machines of Hitlers Luftwaffe. Nevertheless, men flew into combat time and time again, defending their solemn oath to fight and die for the Fatherland! Thunder from the Heavens depicts the pilots and machines of JG7, the first operational jet fighter group to be formed after the remotely successful EKDO 262. Flying high above the ruins of the Reich in the beauty of an early evening sky, its hard to realize the enormity of destruction to the scorched earth below. Set in early March, 1945, the painting conveys the beauty of these sleek machines of war, contrasting with the peaceful surrounding of the coming spring evening. |
Feeling the Wolves Bite by Brian Bateman. The twelfth of May, 1944. The German countryside is blooming with the coming of spring. Germanys struggle is coming to a crescendo as the Allies continue their assault on the Third Reich. Just above the deceptive peace of the countryside, Gruppenkommandeur Gunther Rall, assigned to JG/11 on the Western Front, is bounced by P-47s of the 56th Fighter Group. Better known as Zemkes Wolf pack, the 56th is the highest scoring USAAF fighter unit of the ETO, accounting for some 665-1/2 aircraft in the air. Rall is outnumbered four to one. Taking evasive action, Rall descends from the clouds toward the treetops, trying everything he knows to pull out and away from the much-too-powerful P-47s. Weaving, twisting and at full throttle, even Rall is no match for the numbers against him. Finally, Ralls 109 is within range and the P-47s eight 50-caliber guns are making deadly strikes--igniting Ralls aircraft and shooting his thumb off at the throttle. Rall has no choice but to pull into a half loop and bail out. To make matters worse, as Rall reaches the ground he is approached by a German farmer with a pitchfork who tries to impale him! After convincing the farmer hes German, Rall stomps off to a local phone and is subsequently taken to a hospital where he would remain until 1944. Feeling the Wolves Bite depicts Gunther Ralls 109G during this encounter. Rall, on fire and wounded, begins to pull into a half loop as he prepares to bail out of his Messerschmitt for the first and only time in his career. |
Historic Victory by Brian Bateman. (P) Urban Ben Drew in his P-51 Mustang makes his strafing run on the monster German BV-238 flying boat. A one of a kind prototype, the BV-238 was strafed and sunk on Lake Schaal by the three Mustangs led by Drew on 18th September 1944. When it first flew earlier in 1944, the BV-238 was the heaviest aircraft ever to have flown, and was the largest axis aircraft of the war. After being destroyed by the Mustangs, it was the single largest aircraft to have been destroyed in the war. |
Erich Rudorffer by Brian Bateman. (P) The Fw190 of Erich Rudorffer taxiing on a Russian airfield in 1943. |
Devastating Thunder by Brian Bateman. (P) P-47D Thunderbolts, affectionately called 'Razorbacks' flown by Col Steve 'Spiro' Pisanos and his wingman of 334th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, wreaking havoc on a German BR52 supply train over northern France in early 1944. Strafing targets of opportunity was, as Steve put it, exhilarating as hell but also extremely dangerous. Steve said that from his RAF training he learned never to pull up after the run, keeping low so as not to make yourself an easier target. |
Shooting Swallows by Brian Bateman. (P) Ben Drew shot down two Me262s in October of 1944. The painting shows the second Me262 as the main subject with Ben's Detroit Miss peeling off at full speed after he showered the aircraft with the fatal bullets. The shoot down action was so quick in occurring, (31 seconds), that Drew never saw what had actually happened to the pilot, Oblt. Paul Bley, who slipped over the side in time to live to fight again. As fate would have it Oblt. Bley was killed 2 weeks later when his 262 developed trouble while taking off and he plowed into a tractor at the end of the field. |
Her Majesty the Queen by Brian Bateman. April 26, 1943. The Yankee Queen, a sturdy and rugged B-17F, lumbered its way home on a steamy, hot and arid late afternoon. She was coming in to land, almost miraculously, as if being held up by Gods own hand. The Yankee Queen had been in on the bombing raid of the German airfield at Grosseto, Italy. A hot, long day with nothing but dust and heat and nerves all jumbled together in the souls of ten young airmen. The raid had not been an easy one. As they approached the airfield, they were discouraged to find that the target was covered by cloud. This was a bomber formations worst fear. If there was a chance to complete the mission they had to go around again at the same altitude and airspeed to approach the target, this time giving the German flak gunners on the ground much more time to gauge the bomber stream for their deadly 88mm guns. On second approach the target was clear, and going in on the bomb run the German gunners were deadly accurate. Yankee Queens right wingman took a direct flak hit in the bomb bay - the plane disintegrated with parts hitting the Queen - the tremendous force of the blast nearly knocking them out of the sky! The number three engine was hit by flak after the bombing run, severing the oil line with the prop having to be feathered. Number two engine, oil line severed, had oil draining from the engine so quickly that the prop could not be feathered. The prop windmills, making handling the crippled B-17 very difficult. Finally able to flatten out the prop before the engine siezed, the Queen, vibrating and falling out of formation, was now easy prey for the Luftwaffe fighters that hovered above waiting for a kill. Once out of the safety of the formation, the B-17s guns were now down to ten from what the strength of the box once had. Sitting ducks. Slow and losing altitude, the pilot gave the standby for bail out- but the signal never came. The pilot and co-pilot, fighting the bucking 17, are able to keep her under enough control to maintain flight. The crew stood ready at their stations, scanning, searching for that 109 or 190 to come at them from out of the sun and finish them off - they never came. Lady luck so far was with the Queen as she struggled and lumbered for any altitude she could muster. The crew threw out anything that had any weight as they reached the African coast, in order to keep her high enough to get over the mountains that lay ahead. But it was not enough as the Queen did not have it in her to get over the top - they would have to go through the valley and the surrounding mountains. Finally, the base! Home! The Queen struggles for every inch, groping, smoking, and vibrating as she reaches for the ground. Ever so slowly she touches down. The crew, hot, tired, and exhausted, realizes that this was their closest call to date. Nerves on end and wet with sweat; the crew emerges into the early African evening, thankful to be home and once again on the ground. Total flying time for this mission was 7 hours and 30 minutes. |
Shooting Swallows by Brian Bateman. (P) Ben Drew shot down two Me262s in October of 1944. The painting shows the second Me262 as the main subject with Ben's Detroit Miss peeling off at full speed after he showered the aircraft with the fatal bullets. The shoot down action was so quick in occurring, (31 seconds), that Drew never saw what had actually happened to the pilot, Oblt. Paul Bley, who slipped over the side in time to live to fight again. As fate would have it Oblt. Bley was killed 2 weeks later when his 262 developed trouble while taking off and he plowed into a tractor at the end of the field. |
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