Desert Watch

This pencil sketch captures a Hawker Hurricane in tropical configuration, framed against the hard light of a desert sun. Cut sharply against a burning sky, the aircraft pushes through the heat haze, purposeful and exposed in an unforgiving landscape.

The contrast of light and shadow reflects the conditions of desert operations: intense heat, vast distances, and constant vigilance. With no darkness to hide within, these missions demanded endurance and resolve, as much as speed or firepower.

An early study for a forthcoming print, Desert Watch reflects on the quieter intensity of aerial warfare, where patience, and resilience defined the long hours beneath an unyielding sun.