During the summer
of 1976, Green's natural abilities as a landscape painter fused with his
interest in aviation. While
canoeing one early morning on Eagle Lake in northern Wisconsin, Green
witnessed a low-level B-52 Stratofortress breaking over the
trees and dipping down toward him to fly nap-of-the-earth! - "I've never forgotten that experience, the
thrill and power of the instant that crew flew over a scant hundred feet
above me, it was the turning point of my development as an artist.
From that point on, I always knew my passion and art would be in
the sky and with the aircrews who flew there."
After this
encounter, Green was often found sketching any available aircraft or
flight equipment at hand. At
the age of 16, he sought out employment at the local airport in his
hometown of DeKalb, Illinois, then a former Naval Pilot Training
facility. His exposure to
the day-to-day operations added further to his skills as an artist and
as a fledgling pilot. The
opportunity to help maintain and service all manner of civilian and
transiting military aircraft exposed him to the crews and intricate
machinery and physics involved in his self-imposed discipline.
He often traded his earlier illustrations and paintings for
"stick-time" and would earn his private pilot's license before
his drivers license! To
celebrate his second solo flight he christened the local high school
with a proper low-level buzzing, six times!
- "I recall getting into a lot of trouble with my flight
instructor, Bill Kenney, for that stunt.
Around the third pass I was actually looking up at the schoolyard
flagpole! Of course, school was in session, but I was where any pilot
would always rather be, flying!" |
In addition to many
single engine civilian aircraft, he has piloted hang-gliders,
gyrocopters, completed static-line parachute jumps and participated with
the USAF Art Program as well as a previous charter member of the
American Society of Aviation Artists.
Although he began his college career majoring in computer
science, Green would graduate from Northern Illinois University with a
Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting. Since 1985, he's worked as a
freelance illustrator in Maine and Virginia, basing his work on
first-hand observation gained through many hours spent flying.
Green recently completed an exhibit design at the Eastern West
Virginia Regional Airport (Shepherd Field).
His designs and illustrations gracefully interpreted the region's
rich aviation history and helped the airport authority put it's
priceless heritage on public display.
Illustrating
aviation and military subjects is Green's hallmark, and it has earned
him extensive recognition worldwide as a prominent historical artist.
His original aviation paintings and prints grace the walls of
museums, private collections, the Pentagon and countless military and
government offices across the United States and the globe.
His masterful depiction of extraordinary events in aviation
history are always centered on the human element.
- "Whether it is researching the circumstances of a
mission flown long-ago in hostile skies, often with no witnesses to report, or
a modern-day achievement, it is the fearless manner and un-feted
day-to-day actions of the aircrews which inspire me.
They have always been my personal heroes, and I hope in some
small measure, my work has paid tribute to the great personal sacrifices
they have endured."
Green and his
family reside near a quiet lake in the foothills of northern Virginia. |