Horizon Gallery

Simon sold his first painting in 1978, having just completed his Art ‘A’ level, and has been quietly selling Aviation and Skyscape based work through his private circles ever since as a semi-professional artist. He started working with oil paints when he was 13 and this has become his medium of choice.

As a small boy he was fascinated by all things aeronautical and it was that constant interest that started him sketching aircraft before moving onto expressing himyself in colour. The aviation art market has developed significantly since the late 1970’s, largely thanks to the superb works of Robert Taylor, Gerald Coulson and their peers; the standards created by them set the bar for him and many other artists who are inspired by aviation themes. His own inspiration was also fired by the works of many of the old masters ranging from Caravaggio and Leonardo Da Vinci to Rubens and Turner.

As a keen aerobatic pilot he spends as much time as possible researching aerospace themes directly in his Yak55m and its those flights that help him create his aviation and skyscape compositions. During the process of developing his range and style he has tried to broaden the subject matter to the full splendour of the skyscapes within the atmosphere and to focus on the earth as a subject in its widest sense.

Simon lives in Henley on Thames and established his professional art business in 2007, and has published limited edition Gicleé paper and canvas prints alongside the original paintings.

Id No: SC1001
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Warm Light"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

A spring sunrise illuminates the early morning skyscape. The cloudbase will climb steadily through the day as the lower atmosphere is heated by the sun, the UK sea temperature is never "warm" by global standards but the growing warmth of the seasonal sun drives the awakening day.

Id No: SC1009
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Sunburst"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

At 20,000ft the cloud deck extends above us as cloud and ice particles stream off the tops of the afternoon thunderstorms. A bright sunburst of filtered light illuminates the western horizon with soft warm hues.

This painting was inspired by a flight home from an aerobatic competition in summer 2008 ( flying at lower level) looking up at stacked cumulonimbus within layers of mid altitude clouds painted orange by a partially hidden sun.

Id No: SC1010
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Afterglow"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

Evening light spills across the cloud formations below, from low orbit the reflected hues shape the land, sea and clouds with a rich spectrum of warm colours. Earth's natural albedo deflects 0.367 of its sunlight back into space.

Id No: SC1011
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "A Clear View West"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

From low orbit the cloud deck stretches out to the horizon with the sun starting to dip towards the western horizon. The warm oceans below drive clouds formations hundreds of miles long catching the light from bright white to vibrant reds.

Earth is a pretty, pretty planet and “A Clear View West” is one of a large set of paintings centred on our home world as a subject.

Id No: SC1012
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Above The Storm Frontt"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

Storm systems can generate huge energy as they build over warm water, the cumulonimbus clouds within them can reach far into the stratosphere creating magical skyscapes against a setting sun.

In the painting a front of storm cells is moving northwest across a coastal plain with the sun casting deep shadows beneath the tops of the towering cloud formations.

Id No: SC1002
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Tempest Approaching"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

A night time scene looking across shallow coastal waters as a large thunderstorm approaches under the starlight.

Towering cumulonimbus deposit heavy rain in the gathering wind and the huge pent up electrical charge in the storm starts to earth itself via massive lighting bolts illuminating the scene.

Id No: SC1013
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Atlantic Sunset"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

As we move into night the setting sun highlights weather fronts moving northeast from the equator and reflects back from the Atlantic ocean below.

Id No: SC1006
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "High Last Light"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

From high on the edge of the tropopause the sun slips below the terminator bathing the high level clouds and upper gases of atmosphere in the last light of the day. Within the blue arc we are sustained by a mix of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% "other".

Id No: SC1033
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Rainstorm Approaching The Coast"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

A summer afternoon on the northwest coast of Scotland; a storm system is moving towards the coastline before heading northwest out into the North Atlantic.

The late afternoon sun illuminates the clouds with warm orange and yellow tints.

Id No: SC1034
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "An Evening View"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

The low sun highlights the layers of cumulus clouds drifting low over the sea. Cloud formations create the inspiration for many works of art and, as a pilot, i'm blessed with many memories of the fantastic panorama's from just above the cloudline.

Id No: SC1036
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Storm"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

As the equatorial Atlantic waters heat up as part of steady global warming larger, fiercer and more frequent storms are likely to hit the Caribbean, Central America and the southern and eastern US seaboards.

“Storm” is a major hurricane making landfall as seen from low orbit. I sat through a weak hurricane in a beachfront Florida hotel in 1982 and remember the amazing rain, lighting and windspeeds.

I’m sure a direct hit from a major hurricane like this one would have been a sobering experience.

Id No: SC1037
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Morning Glory"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

Looking east across the sea the sun climbs through the early morning cloud deck being blown by the fresh northerly wind.

Low level moist air masses over the water create inspiring refractive conditions when backlit by the sun and its well worth the effort to get up early and watch the sunrise from a cliff top.

Id No: SC1038
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "First Light in the Stratosphere"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

From the highest levels in the stratosphere the first direct rays of the sun pick out the edge of the cloud deck in the troposphere far below and thin noctilucent clouds that mark the mesosphere. Above this there is just the ionosphere before we pass beyond earths atmosphere into unprotected space.

Id No: SC1040
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Sunrise"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

Our local G type star rises over the wide arc of Earth's horizon. This is another blue based image of our home world, this focuses on the steadily increasing daylight illuminating the cloud deck below as the sun climbs from behind the terminator. In fact, as we all know, its the Earth turning rather than the sun moving.

Id No: SC1003
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Home"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

******ORIGINAL SOLD******

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

Earth is a pretty planet by any standard and holds an increasingly significant place in all of our hearts. The painting is of the wide crescent of Earth from 100,000 miles towards the moon. The Earth-rise pictures taken by the latter Apollo missions became the most widely reproduced images of all time.

As the world's astromomers scan hundreds of star systems for possible planets we will continue to wonder about the detailed combination of events and criteria that allows complex life to flourish on Earth. I hope we learn to look after it and minimise the negative impact we appear to be making. 100% of all the life we know of depends on this fragile biosphere.

Id No: SC1004
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Galaxy"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

Astronomers have now discovered million's of galaxies in the observable universe and our own home galaxy is simply immense spanning many hundreds of light years and comprising billion's of star systems across the core and spiral arms.

As landscapes go I think this is as panoramic as you can get. Every part of "Galaxy" is hand painted with much of the detail done with very fine brushes to build up the layers of light from the thousands of stars that are included within the original work.

Id No: SC1005
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Star"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

******ORIGINAL SOLD******

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

Our sun, the nearby G type star, is the key to life ( and everything) in the solar system and we all take it for granted as a fixed and constant light in the sky.

Early religious interpretation placed a perfectly formed unblemished sun near the universal centric earth, In fact the sun is a complex nuclear fusion reactor and has its own indigenous weather driven by its huge temperature gradient and the maelstrom of magnetic fields that drives so much of its coronal behaviour. The sun's surface is often heaving & bubbling with planet sized storms and violent out-gasing of plasma and energy rich particles.

It's influence governs everything about our lives and we are permanently bathed in solar corpuscular radiation and the supersonic solar wind that reaches far beyond the orbit of Neptune to the heliopause.

Id No: SC1007
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Corona"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

The Corona ( from the latin "crown" ) is the plasma atmosphere surrounding the sun above the photosphere and chromosphere. The Corona is 200 times hotter than the Sun's surface and can reaches temperatures well above 2m kelvin.

The mechanisms that drive the corona are not fully understood although we know this ferocious region stretches many millions of miles into space. Early astronomers first noticed that the sun was "on fire" during solar eclipse's and our nearby star has now been under contant observation for over 300yrs.

Id No: SC1008
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Blue Corona"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

This is the second of two paintings of the Sun's corona, this time the image is depicted in blue / ultra violet to show the sun in "cool" colours as the highlighted outgassing is illuminated behind the eclipsed star.

The heat in the plasma of the corona would emit radiation in many wavelenghts including the fierce blue light of the X ray spectrum.

Id No: SC1031
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Sunlit Nebula"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

The best and most spectacular cloudscapes are far away in deep space; huge nebula’s of gas and dust spanning millions of miles stretch far across the galactic “sky” and are illuminated by hundreds of star’s. “Sunlit Nebula” focuses on a flaming section of gas being lit by newly born stars deep within the dense clouds of inter-stellar gas.

Id No: SC1021
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Charlie's Second"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

The Sopwith Pup initially entered service in late 1916 with the RNAS and from January 1917 with the RFC. The Pup quickly established a reputation as a delightful aircraft to fly with excellent handling characteristics and was relatively fast with a good rate of climb despite a mere 80hp from its Le Rhone engine. Reginald Morse Charley flew with 54 Squadron and secured multiple victories flying the Sopwith Pup.

After a 1st "kill" against a balloon on April 5th his second (1st official victory over an aircraft) was against an Albatros D.III early in the evening on April 26th near Premont. He went on to shoot down a further 5 Albatros fighters during 1917 and happily survived the war, he passed away in Yorkshire in 1986.

Id No: SC1022
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Flamer Over The Lines"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

The painting depicts a close fought engagement between an RFC SE5a and a German Fokker Tri-plane. By spring 1918 the scout fighter had become of age and battles raged daily over the front as the Allied and German squadrons fought to maintain air supremacy above the battlefield. Many of the engagements were fought at relatively low level as much of the primary tasking was air to ground reconnaissance and tactical bombing undertaken by the emerging recce/bomber forces.

The losses suffered by both air arms were very high, much has been written about the air war during 1918 and the technical and tactical merits of these aircraft.

By this stage of the war efficient tactics had developed alongside relatively strong and manoeuvrable fighters. Sadly parachutes, pilot armour and self sealing tanks were not part of the fighting reality and significant damage to the aircraft, or wounds to the pilot, were usually fatal.

Id No: SC1019
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Defence Of The Realm"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

The Hurricane I was the backbone of Fighter Command's strength throughout the Battle of Britain and equipped 30 of the RAF Squadron's that took part against 19 that operated Spitfires. It was the first monoplane fighter to join the RAF's front line strength and was the first to achieve 300mph in level flight.

Throughout the war it proved to be hugely adaptable and served successfully in a wide range of combat roles. Whilst it did not fully match the climb, dive or level flight speed of the Spitfire or the ME.109 during the Battle of Britain it was manoeuvrable, very strong and a highly efficient gun platform.

The painting is of a Vic of Hurricane I's in a loose formation high over southern England during summer 1940 reforming after an engagement.

Id No: SC1017
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "If You Dare"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

“If You Dare” ( “gin ye daur” ) is the motto of 603 Squadron, the painting is of 3 of 603’s Spitfires climbing over the coast on a vectored approach to intercept a Luftwaffe raid during early September 1940. 603 Squadron converted from Gloucester Gladiators to Spitfires during 1939 and intercepted and destroyed the first Luftwaffe bomber to raid Britain on October 16th 1939. The squadron moved from Turnhouse to Hornchurch on August 27th 1940 where it remained for the rest of the Battle of Britain.

I’ve positioned the Spitfires to climb up-sun to the south west to intercept the raid, another squadron is in action to the north and a formation of German aircraft can be seen heading towards London.

Id No: SC1018
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Seeking The Dark"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

This is the second of the "final mission" paintings of Lancaster LM490 LS-L of 15 Squadron. The aircraft took off from Mildenhall on March 24th 1944 as part of a large bomber force and made its way to Berlin, the painting picks up LM490 climbing slightly following its bomb release as its moves away from the flak, searchlights and fires.

LM490 was subsequently attacked by a luftwaffe nightfigher and is believed to have exploded near Tetlow which is 16km southwest of Berlin. All the crew were killed in the attack and, after initial burial in Tetlow, now lie in the Berlin 1939-1945 war cemetery.

During the war Bomber Command's losses remained stubbornly high with only a small proportion of heavy bomber crews completing their first operational tours. LM490 was lost with only 11hrs flown.

Id No: SC1027
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Coasting Out - Final Mission 1"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

This is the 1st of two paintings representing the last flight of Avro Lancaster LM490 LS-L of 15 Squadron. The aircraft was delivered to the squadron on March 13th 1944 and was lost just under 2 weeks later during a raid on Berlin.

The Lancaster was the iconic symbol of the RAF’s strategic bombing capability and proved a superb platform for its crews. The loss rate in these missions was consistently high for much of the war and 60% of all crews perished before completing their 1st 30 mission tour.

LM490 took off at 18.48 from Mildenhall on the evening of March 24th 1944 and is seen climbing over the coast towards the slowly darkening eastern horizon highlighted by the setting sun behind it. Its a new aircraft and its paint is still fresh with little sign of the wear and tear seen on older airframes, this aircraft was lost during the night with only 11hrs flown.

Id No: SC1029
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Sunlit Intruder"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

The De-Havilland Mosquito is another of those world-class innovations from the stable of british aircraft design.

It was initially proposed as a wooden medium bomber at a time when shortages of aluminium was a possible wartime likelihood . The Mosquito found little support from the air ministry but fought its way through official apathy to become an iconic success in the roles of photo reconnaissance, pathfinder, maritime strike, night fighter and fighter-bomber. When it entered service in 1941 it was the fastest operational aircraft in the world.

The Mosquito Mk VI was a fast and heavily armed fighter bomber variant that was operated by a range of british, commonwealth and even american units.

Sunlit intruder is a painting of NS843 N-SB of 464 squadron RAAF set in summer 1944 when it was engaged in strike operations against V1 launch sites in occupied europe.

Id No: SC1032
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Unleashed"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

******ORIGINAL SOLD******

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

“Unleashed” is the test flight of a new Spitfire IX prior to delivery to a front line Squadron. The mark IX was principally developed as an urgent response to the improved BF 109G and the arrival of the Focke-Wulf 190A which was outclassing the Spitfire V. It was achieved by fitting the Merlin 60 to the then current VC airframe. The slightly lengthened cowling was the only visual change to the airframe and the new Mk IX had a top speed of 402mph with a much-improved rate of climb and acceleration.

With 5,609 Mk IX’s built this “interim” model became the most widely supplied version of the Spitfire and helped the RAF re-establish ascendancy over the Luftwaffe for tactical air supremacy.

Id No: SC1039
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Swift-Defender"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

Spitfire I's of 72 Squadron dive to attack a formation of Heinkel 111 bombers during the height of the Battle of Britain. "Swift Defender" has a section of Spitfire's diving out of the sun to pass through the bomber stream before converting the speed back to height for a 2nd pass. The summer sunlight is very bright above the clouds and the bombers are slightly obscured by the glare up-sun.

72 Squadron's emblem & motto is a swift, the unit served at Biggin Hill and Croydon during August and September 1940.

Id No: SC1035
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "The Dawn Greats Red 2"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

******ORIGINAL SOLD******

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

Spitfire I's climb to patrol height with the summer sun rising behind them. This is the Squadron's first patrol of the day early in the Battle of Britian, at this stage of WW II most RAF fighter squadrons still used the vic formation to gather four units of three aircraft together as Squadron strength.

Id No: SC1016
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Tigers at Sunset"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

“Tigers At Sunset” represents the June 1967 far-east deployment of 74 Squadron’s Lightning F6’s to Tengah, Singapore. The F6 is a beautiful aircraft and the two fast climbing jets make a stunning image when set in the deep reds and oranges of an cloudy Asian sunset. The tiger crest on the black tailplane sits well with the Lightning’s clean lines and contrasts strongly against the silver fuselage.

During 1969 the Squadron flew 4 of the Lightnings on a record breaking 2000 mile non-stop flight (with VC10 tanker support) from Tengah to Darwin in Northern Australia.

Id No: SC1014
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Avro Sunset"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

The Avro Vulcan holds a honoured place on the list of the worlds most admired aircraft. The “tin triangle” was the last of the post war british V Bombers and was the most iconic of the three, it entered service in 1957 and had a long and distinguished career adapting to the constantly changing tactical and strategic situation as the cold war progressed.

It was a popular and extremely capable aircraft much loved by its crews, this 1950’s cutting edge technology served us for 30 yrs and was also the only 4 engined strategic bomber to be slow rolled at Farnborough as it was at the 1955 display – you wouldn’t see a B52 do that !

The painting shows Vulcan B2 XM657 descending over the welsh coast through an autumnal evening skyscape. XM657 was the final Vulcan airframe made for the RAF, it was the last of its kind. We have one Vulcan left in the world and its still a huge thrill to watch XH558 display as I did at the World Aerobatic Championships at Silverstone in 2009. You can catch up with progress on XH558 at http://www.vulcantothesky.org/.

Id No: SC1015
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Fleet Defence"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

In 1982 Fleet Air Arm Sea Harrier's proved the potency of this tactical fleet defence fighter during the Falklands campaign despite a potentially superior (Mirage equipped) foe, bad weather and limited resources.

The professionalism of the Harrier force has been well documented by historians, at the time many military pundits felt the Harrier would fair badly against the Argentineans as it was not at the cutting edge of air superiority technology, was relatively slow and had an awesomely high wing loading. The British tactics and the nature of the engagements played to the strengths of the Harriers.

"Fleet Defence" depicts 2 FRS.1's of 801 NAS pursuing attacking A4's close to the task force.

Id No: SC1030
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Rolling Scissors"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

The Tornado F3 is the air defence variant of the very successful GR1 strike aircraft and was introduced as the stop gap between the retirement of the Lighting F6 / Phantom FGR2 and the introduction of the Typhoon.

The initial F2 version ( manual swing wing with concrete radar ) was quickly superceded by the F3 version and 152 F3’s were ordered in 1986. Whist no-one could claim the Tornado F3 was a world class dog-fighter in fairness it was designed as a cold war interceptor and was optimized for that role. The Tornado F3 force has now been largely replaced by Typhoon units although 12 are still in operational use as of early 2010. Its still a potent mach 2 weapons platform.

23 Squadron operated the Tornado F3 from the late 1980’s until 1994 when the Squadron disbanded as part of defence cuts.

The inspiration for the painting was a very clear afternoon on the north coast of Norfolk watching some low and mid level interception practice between Tornado crews, I’ve placed three aircraft in a turning fight with ZE835 in re-heat in a climbing port turn to engage the other two.

Id No: SC1020
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Typhoon For Two"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

In 1988 a consortium of 4 countries agreed to collaborate on the European Fighter Aircraft project (EFA) and that has now resulted in Typhoon deliveries to 4 RAF squadrons. Both single and dual seat configurations are aesthetically attractive and the RAF Typhoon will, I'm sure, inspire many paintings over what will be a long operational career.

The Typhoon seems to have that unique design mix of looking exactly “right” and from all accounts flies as well as it looks. As a pilot I'd love to fly in it and as an artist I'm enjoying painting it. I've chosen the much-photographed ZJ802 of 17 Squadron as my first Typhoon subject and placed it in a high-banked starboard turn above a cloud
deck bathed in the late afternoon sun. 17 Squadron were the first unit to receive the Typhoon and ZJ802 was one of the first aircraft to be delivered.

This painting won the 2008 GAVA Arthur Gibson award.

Id No: SC1023
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Climbing F2"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

The English Electric Lightning was a phenomenal symbol of extreme fighter design during the post war years. The F2 was perhaps the prettiest , and most popular, of the early versions and boasted an improved flight envelope with a fully variable re-heat and an automatic flight control system.

In this painting a 19 Squadron Mk 2 is climbing steeply far above the summer cloud deck with strong sunlight reflecting off the unpainted upper surfaces.

Id No: SC1028
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Ribbons Of Light"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

This is my second Typhoon painting ( “Typhoon for two” won the GAVA Arthur Gibson award in 2008 ) and this time I’ve focused on the super-attractive single seat FGR4 model.

The FGR4 version is the upgraded specification for multi-role operations including reconnaissance and ground attack as well as air superiority. This aircraft is ZJ946 of 17 Squadron which is the RAF’s operational evaluation unit, I’ve placed the Typhoon descending between layers of heavy clouds illuminated by strong sunlight.

There is a quality about the Typhoon which draws you to it as an artist, I’ve seen it displayed twice, looked at numerous video’s and I’m already planning painting 3.

Id No: SC1024
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Scout"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

Far from a fleet survey cruiser, a lone reconnaissance pilot has touched down in a SABIC II on a raised plateau on a remote moon and is placing an automated sensor pack along with a federation marker flag. The night-time wind is dropping although dust still streams around his feet and over the cliff edge.

He pauses to watch the star-rise behind a nearby gas giant and another of the inner moons. This explorer is many hundreds of light years from home, earth is undetectable in a spiral arm somewhere in the plane of the galaxy.

This is a study of wonder and, very possibly, profound lonleiness as the single human presence alone in such a panorama at the edge of the galaxy.

Id No: SC1025
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Sensor Sweep"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

A pair of Sabic II long range fleet escorts skim the upper atmosphere of a gaseous planet. Initial detailed exploration of planets will be undertaken once a fleet cruiser enters an unexplored star system for the first time.

Sabic II's are fast, tough and configured with significant sensor array's. They are capable of extended unsupported missions away from the fleet.

Id No: SC1026
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Return Of The Fleet"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

Having secured from faster than light speed, two FNS star cruisers lead the fleet towards earth orbit. A screen of SABIC fleet fighters escort the cruisers towards home port. The SABIC is a 4 engined single seat craft configured for extreme manoeuvrability and self sufficiency, it can operate in near space, orbit and in the upper atmospheres of most planet types.

Cruiser class vessels range far and wide on exploratory and security missions. Fast, well armed and capable they guard the inter-system shipping lanes for the off-world colonies.

Id No: SC1041
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Fallen"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

During the Battle of Britain a total of 446 RAF Fighter Command Aircrew lost their lives and 357 Spitfire's were shot down in combat.

The Spitfire emerged as the enduring symbol of victory during the summer of 1940 and "Fallen" enlists that symbol to honour and remember those 446 brave young men who fell during the battle.

I painted it between the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britian ( 2010 ) and the 75th anniversary of the 1st flight of the Spitfire ( 2011 ). "Fallen" has been selected for the 2011 Guild of Aviation Artists annual exhibition at the Mall Galleries during July.

Id No: SC1042
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "High Arctic Dawn"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

Some of the most dramatic sunrises and sunsets occur at the poles. This painting depicts a vividly lit dawn scene high above the still dark ice sheet as an anti-cyclonic system drifts across a medium level altitude platform.

I wanted to convey the light from a buring star piecing the cold upper air and warming the clouds with vibrant hues pushing back the ice cold blue and black of an artic night.

Id No: SC1043
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Sunlight Through the Moist Air"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

Warm moist air, heated by convection, lifts to form layers of cloud formations blown by the steady SW breeze.

The painting places us just above some low level stratus looking westwards as the sun starts to set behind deeper rain bearing nimbostratus, above us higher altocumulus frames the scene.

The different angles to the sun, and cloud density, allows the vivid comparisons of colour and reflected light.

Id No: SC1044
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Ballistic"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

I've produced several paintings of the English Electric Lightning. This painting depicts a Lightning F6 climbing vertically from its RAF base. Even 50yrs after its operational introduction very few military designs can match the eye-watering climb performance of 50,000 ft per minute.

If asked to confirm outbound heading the pilot could simply answer "vertical".

This painting was completed and sold in the mid 1990's after being exhibited at a Guild of Aviation Artists exhibition.

Id No: SC1045
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Towards the Valleys"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

This is an RAF Tornado GR1 from 617 Squadron running in at high speed over the welsh coast as it commences a low level transit route to the east. The Panavia Tornado has proved to be a powerful and successful design since it was first flown in 1974. There have been several varients used by the three sponsoring governments (UK, germany, Italy) alongside its main export customer Saudi Arabia.

It's seen action in the Gulf War, Iraq, Afganistan and most recently Libya. 617 is one of the most famous bomber/strike squadrons in the world following the famous dambuster raid in 1943.

The current Tornado GR4/4A version is now the mainstay of the RAF Strike force and 617 still operate the type. This painting was completed in the early 1990's and sold without an associated print run.

Id No: SC1046
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Hurry Home Honey"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

The great air battles of 1944 created many combat legends and the Mustangs from the 357th Fighter Group featured in a number of them. Robert "Bud" Anderson's P51D "Hurry home honey" is featured in this painting escorting a damaged B17G back towards the coast after a daylight raid into western Germany.

The P51D was the most familar variant of this campaign winning fighter that was hugely instrumental in securing the air-superiority that allowed allied aerial domination during 1944/45.

This painting was completed in 1988 and no prints were created from it.

Id No: SC1047
Artist: Simon Cattlin
Title: "Called For Duty"
Medium: Original Oil on Canvas

Limited edition prints
Giclee print on 330gsm somerset fine art paper.
Edition size 195

Giclee print on 340gsm cotton canvas stretched onto a rigid frame, individually finished and varnished.
Edition size 95

During the 1982 Falklands War the Sea Harriers of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm built a legend around this small, subsonic fleet defence fighter. Tactics, skill and strategy combined to produce a world class air warfare performance as it took on the Mirage and A4 equipped Argentinian airforce, attacked their ground troops as well as defending the fleet and the landing Britsh forces.

"Called for duty" depicts a pair of 801 NAS Sea Harrier on a combat air patrol forward of the fleet climbing to mid-level altitude in a cold, grey southern ocean skyscape.

"Called for duty" was completed and sold in 1986, it was my first published work with 2000 lithographic prints being produced by the Circuit Gallery at Biggin Hill.