Sarah BURBRIDGE

Now living near Bognor Regis, England, Sarah Burbridge is a full time professional artist:

"It is a fascinating occupation as I get to meet or correspond with many submariners who all have fascinating stories of the sea to tell.  Some are WW2 veterans, others more at home on the nuclear subs.  I try to learn the history of every submarine I paint.  Also, I attempt to capture some of the submariner’s character within the painting itself. "

Her paintings have been on public show across Britain, Germany and America and have also been published in international magazines and book dust-jackets.   Most of her time, however, is happily spent working on commissions for enthusiasts or submariners themselves.  

John PETTIT

During WW2 John Pettitt spent his childhood living in and around RAF and USAF Air Bases that included both fighters and bombers.  This created for John a huge interest in aviation both early and modern, aspects from which he drew his inspiration for his paintings.  Although primarily an aviation artist, John also painted maritime topics too - submarines being a particular favourite.

He was mainly self-taught with brief peiods at Art colleges.  He has exhibited in Athens, New York and Melbourne, Australia and the UK.

His work can be seen in many air and navy bases and museums in the UK and abroad.  John has also painted 3 works on commission depicting 617 Squadron "Dam Busters", prints of these works were signed by 10 members of 617 squadron crew.  

John sadly passed away in September 2014 but he will live on through his artwork - many of which are still available for purchase.

John MEEKS

We were very sad to learn that John Meeks passed away in November 2008. We extend our deepest sympathies to his wife Heather and his family. Unfortunately none of John Meeks artwork is now available.

Born in England, John Meeks resided near Vancouver, Canada.

Primarily an Aviation Artist, he was accepted into the American Society of Aviation Artists in 1999 and exhibited in shows and exhibitions in both Canada and the USA on a regular basis in that genre. He had canvases in collections in Canada, the US, Europe and the UK.

He decided to “come out” after discovering the SubArt.net website…. finally admitting that he also had a lifelong interest in (sub)marine subjects! After submitting one U-Boat painting he was both delighted and surprised at the interest and the quick sale that resulted!  He even admitted to receiving more satisfaction from his marine works than his aviation pieces! 

Living on the North American West Coast, it is possibly natural that he had a strong interest in the Pacific theatre of World War II, and he was deeply fascinated by the large Japanese I-Boats and their participation in that conflict. He was also committed to try to emphasize the human (or, perhaps, ‘inhuman’ …. ?) aspects of “life in a tin can” rather than simply portraying the boats themselves.

A keen enthusiast of the French Impressionists, he found that he leant a little more each day towards their styles and techniques.

Jim Christley was on active duty  in the US Navy from 1962 to 1982, retiring as a Senior Chief Electrician.  During this time he served aboard diesel electric, nuclear fast attack and ballistic missile submarines.  After retiring from the Navy he worked in the field of submarine noise reduction as an engineering consultant.  

In 1999 he started a third career as an artist.  Studying with such notable marine artists as Louis Bonomarte, Gerald Levey and Robert Spring he started displaying his work in southeastern Connecticut in 2000.  

Throughout his Naval and engineering career to the present he has researched, studied and written about submarine technical history.  His writing and art have appeared in several books and magazines and his paintings are in many private and corporate collections.  At present his art is displayed at galleries in Essex an Mystic Connecticut.  His home and studio are in Lisbon , Connecticut .

Portrait of artist by his daughter

His vast knowledge in this topic has led to enjoy a working relationship with many Polish sea and military publishers spanning many years.   His favourite painting technique is watercolour and guache, but he also  uses acrylic and oil on occasions.  As well as painting submarines, sailing ships, famous warships, great sea battles, civil ships etc he also paints military vehicles.

To see some of Grzegorz Nawrocki's other paintings please visit the artist's Polish webiste:
http://grzegorz-nawrocki.com/

He works primarily in acrylic and his paintings are included in many corporate, military and private collections including the United States Coast Guard Academy and the wardrooms of many Navy and Coast Guard Vessels.  For many years he painted submarine portraits for the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics, Groton, CT, USA.

He is a member of his local art society in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and also the Bayswater Road Artists Association in London.  His artwork has been sold in many various parts of the world.

Michael Rock works mainly in oils, but he also produces pencil drawings as well.  He is always willing to undertake commissions when requested.

Commander J. Carl Hartsfield has painted various works in acrylic and watercolor over the past ten years. Although never formally trained, he has had artwork accepted into the Navy Art Collection. Commander Hartsfield is currently the captain of the nuclear submarine USS NEWPORT NEWS (SSN-750). Previously he has served on fast attack submarines USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) and USS Parche (SSN-683).

Michel currently  lives and works in Paris (since 1972) although originally from Brittany. He spent his youth in Brest, overlooking the French naval harbour.  Many members of his family were in the Marine Nationale and his father (born in 1920) was a sailor during the Second World War, serving mainly on the battleship Dunkerque - a survivor of the battle of Mers-el-Kebir in July 1940.  He has painted since his youth, following in his father's footsteps who was also an amateur artist.  Having spent sometime in the Caribbean, and married to a wife from Martinique, his subjects include tropical landscapes as well as Parisian scenes, seascapes and portraits.  Four years ago he discovered the French marine artist Marin-Marie and consequently  has concentrated on painting ships since then. His preferred media are watercolour, gouache and acrylic. Only since the beginning of 2007 has he discovered the joy of painting submarines! 

Paul Nisbet is from Charleston, SC, growing up in and on the ocean, beaches, rivers and tidal creeks of South Carolina’s lowcountry.   He is the son of Naval parents, a veteran of the US Air Force, and now sailing captain on Lake Ontario.  Before moving to South Carolina as a youth, he and his family lived primarily in Cyprus and Guam. 

Paul’s paintings reflect a combination of his deep attachment to the ocean, his military heritage, and the architecture, 
scenery and rich history of his Charleston roots.  He works mainly in watercolors.

His home and studio are now in Rochester, NY, where Paul paints for the love of it and for commission.  
He regularly travels throughout the southeastern United States, gathering subject matter from the deep maritime history 
of both the Confederate and Union forces.  His work is displayed in private and corporate collections.

Vicktor STEPANSKY

“I would like to paint every day as a professional ”

Viktor lives in the Czech Republic and is a Creative Manager in his “day job”. However, his passion is painting, which he does whenever he has a moment spare. He loves painting submarines.

He particularly enjoys creating atmospheric submarine paintings with a slightly surreal edge to them – something that would be impossible to photogragh.

Viktor has had many of his paintings reproduced in magazines and journals.

Andrew COLLINS

Photo coming soon

Andrew was born in the early 1980s and raised in Melbourne, Australia. 

He developed a strong interest in art from an early age.

He has sold many sketches and has had some of his artwork published in local magazines. One of his other great loves is history and he is glad to have been able to combine this with his art. 

He hopes you enjoy his paintings as much as he enjoyed painting them.

Sejar BEKIROW

Since being a child Sejar has always been interested in naval history. 

Each ship is like a person to Sejar and has its own individual story to tell:  birth, career and  death.

He is fascinated in world shipping in general but in particular, German naval history during World War II.   Almost the entire German fleet was destroyed and many people killed .

Sejar's work has been published in one of Germany's most popular military magazines, DMZ.

Mark KARVON

As a kid in the suburbs of Chicago, I always was interested in the mechanical creations of man. The forms those machines took were captivating to me - the pointed nose of a fighter jet; the exposed driving wheels of a mighty steam engine, the streamlined shape of a submarine. And the stories of the incredible experiences of the men who operated those machines are the stuff of legends and sometimes nightmares.

At Purdue University I studied Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineering.

One day a man came into the restaurant where I was a waitor for lunch. He was the famous marine artist, Charles Vickery. We developed a rapport and soon he would always ask to sit at my table when he came in for lunch or dinner. At his request I shared some of my drawings with him; that led to an invitation to his studio. We soon became friends and I began to visit his studio on a regular basis. Our friendship developed into him teaching me about oil painting. I remember the early days. I would excitedly bring my latest (very amateurish) painting to the studio. He would look it over and only have words of gentle encouragement and kindly suggestions about technique or where to add little touch of color or a highlight. He was a wonderful teacher. I never felt uncomfortable showing him my creations and he always took the time to view them. We remained good friends until he passed away in 1998.

Some years went by and I decided to explore the digital medium a little more in depth. What I discovered changed my artistic life. I found the advancement in computing power and graphics abilities had made possible amazing digital art. In 2006 I made the switch to the digital medium. These days, all my work is painted digitally. It is my passion to bring to life those machines of man that still fascinate me to this day. I am blurring the line between digital and traditional media. I want my paintings to speak to the viewer the feeling I get from these subjects. Hopefully some of that comes through.

My work is collected and has been endorsed by veterans from World War II to the present day. I produce many pieces for commercial clients. My work hangs in museums, military bases, The Pentagon, schools, memorials and private collections worldwide. I am an artist member of the International Association of Astronomica Artists (IAAA).

Don O'BRIEN I.S.M.P

Frank LOURIGAN

Frank was born in a small country town just after the war and remembers the effects of the war on the community and also how much it influenced the shaping of his life. He recalls much of his art as a child often included war scenes as he was fascinated by the machines of war and the engineering that was used to build them. However his father was very sports orientated which Frank was not and preferred to pass his time sketching but his father insisted he stop. When his father died while he was a teenager he was then thrown into survival mode and knew that he could never attempt the risky business of trying to become a full time artist. So he did the next best thing and decided to incorporate art in with his work. This was achieved by doing an engineering course at university however during that time he had a break from his studies when he was conscripted into the Army during the Vietnam War. After the Army he got work with the electricity board in a drawing office. Even though it was very structured and formal style of drawing it gave him a lot of satisfaction to be getting paid while he was doing something he loved. He then became a serious art investor which enabled him to meet with many good artists. His desire to become an artist never waned and says art was in his blood the day his was born. However it wasn’t till he was in his fifties that he decided to do formal art classes and it was during that period he knew he still had the artist flare. While not a full time artist it is his dream that will one day change. Frank lives in Australia.

DANNY R. MOSS

Dan is a self-taught artist who was influenced by his grandfather, L. P. Burnham and the 18th century Italian
artist/engraver,  F. Bartolozzi.   His distinct style was further developed during his twenty-three year naval career while serving on extended submerged deployments aboard nuclear submarines.

He is a multi-faceted artist who not only endeavors to express himself in his pen and ink art, but also finds gratification in colored pencil, alabaster stone sculptures and miniature wood carvings.

He has won numerous awards, including Best of Show, for both his pen and ink and wood sculpting.  Many of his works are in private collections and his wood sculptures of submarines are displayed in three military museums.

Dan is a 1982 graduate of the University of Albuquerque (Cum Laude) and the 1988 MBA Program at the College of Santa Fe.

Since retiring from the Navy in 1978, Dan has found greater time and opportunities to pursue his varied artistic interests.  He currently resides with his wife Layne in Phoenix, Arizona.

Throughout 2016 and beyond Dan is very busy helping to organise a submarine memorial in Phoenix, Arizona. More information can be viewed at arizonasilentservicememorial.org where donations or purchase memorial pavers can be made..

WILLIAM GARDOSKI

I have drawn and painted most of my life, but never seriously until I lost my right leg due to a vascular issue in 1992. I then found the time to focus, and I could begin a serious foray into art. I use only oils because of the ability to blend on the canvas, the longer drying time to work, and the ability to cover one’s mistakes and make changes to the painting. I paint very thin, and you could call my work “illustration in oils” rather than traditional oil painting.

I do not paint wildlife, animals, flowers or people.

My goal is to document historical objects, events, nostalgia, and showcase the wonderful things man has made. Buildings, ships, trains, planes, automobiles and submarines. My main interests are military, marine, aviation, and rail art, with a landscape or car painting lurking in the background. I enjoy mechanical subjects because they must be as close to perfect as possible. I take care in perspective and shadows/shading, and overall shape. The subject MUST be accurate. Amazing thing, as much as I hated math in school, I use all manner of math in my paintings. Vanishing points, perspective, geometry and such. Go figure!

Using a very limited pallet, and, except for very large areas, all the work is completed using very small brushes, ranging in size from 0 to 000 brushes. I also use my fingers and thumb to blend colors. I mix all my greens, grays and darks, and any other color I may need with these colors. Regardless of the size of the painting, they all involve between 90 and 100 hours to complete, and as I work wet on dry. The painting may hang at the end of my studio, for weeks, while I study it, checking for shading, shadows and perspective

I have won many awards, and competitions, have work in national catalogs, have done international and domestic commissions, and sold prints and original’s worldwide.  I am a past juried member of The American Society of Aviation Artists. My F-4 Phantom painting was juried in 2002 to hang in the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola Florida for a year, the Western Idaho Fair purchased a painting in 2000, the Meridian library commissioned a painting that hangs today in the lobby, and the City of Meridian purchased a painting of the old creamery. I have three of my cruise ship paintings hanging on those very ships, in public view.

I thrive on detail and accuracy in my work, and the greatest compliment is “That looks like a Photograph”.

Please enjoy viewing my efforts. I ACCEPT COMMISSIONS - please contact me via SubArt