Canadian Aerospace Artists Association Gallery - Gallery

*Bob Aikens*
	"We who do this sort of thing strive for a certain kind of pictorial 'realism' - my aim is to have the viewer believe they could reach in and pick up the illustration as if it were indeed a model." - Bob Aikens Originally a plastic modeler, Bob Aikens continues his life-long appreciation of airplanes by creating digital colour profiles using Photoshop. Modeling habits that focused on accuracy and detail have carried over into his digital work unchanged. Well acquainted with the field of digital aviation art and art history in general, Bob prefers to call himself an illustrator rather than using the term 'artist'. He's self-taught and like most in the digital sphere, he has developed his own distinctive style and methods. As Bob says, "The methods are cumbersome, often excruciating, but I bumble through." The images range in working size from 5000 to 10,000 pixels - larger makes for a lot more work, but allows more room for detail. The images shown in the gallery are compressed. Most of his work stays in digital format, although some are printed. His work has appeared in Kestrel Publications Canadian aviation monographs, and Bob contributes a monthly image to the on-line modeling site Hyperscale. Bob lives in Atlantic Canada and is an active member of IPMS Canada.
https://bobaikens.ca/

	Sabre Mk.6 Print by Bob Aikens Print of a digital image of a Canadair Sabre Mk.6 of 434 Squadron, 434 Squadron, Zweibrucken, 1954. 17 x 11 inches, print of a digital image
	TCA Electra by Bob Aikens Lockheed L-10A Electra Digital image
	Rafale M by Bob Aikens Rafale M of Flotille 12F Digital image
	Embraer 170 by Bob Aikens Air Botswana Embraer 170 Digital image
	CF-188 188938 by Bob Aikens CF-188 Hornet 188938, CFB Cold Lake, 2016 Digital image
	F-86, Detail View by Bob Aikens Close-up view of an F-86 image to show the level of detail. Digital image
	KAI T-50 by Bob Aikens What if? Korean Aerospace Industries T/FA-50 in CAF Livery Digital image
	Spitfire Mk. XVI by Bob Aikens Spitfire Mk. XVI, Group Captain P.S. Turner, 127 Wing RCAF, Evere, Belgium, April 1945. Digital image