Starting Line

Starting Line by Russell Smith

Giclee prints on paper...$175.00
Edition size of 250
Image area: 24" x 11"
S/N by Artist 

Giclee prints on canvas...$350.00
Edition size of 20
Canvas size: 28" x 13"
S/N by Artist 

Special Medal of Honor Edition giclee prints on canvas...$553.00
Edition size of 20
Canvas size: 50" x 23.5"
S/N by Artist 

More often than not, Russell has an idea or is given a commission to paint a specific event or person. Those types of projects begin with the subject around which such issues as composition, lighting and color are subsequently constructed. Starting Line, however, is one of those ideas where the cart proceeded the horse. According to Russell:

Rather than crafting a scene around a historical event, person or aircraft as I usually do, on this one I could picture the scene in my head before I actually worked out the specifics- a dusty airfield, a profile of 1 main aircraft with others lined up behind, engines running, copious amounts of dust blowing around and late afternoon sun backlighting the entire scene and making the dust in the air really glow and giving the whole piece lots of atmosphere. Now I just had to decided what aircraft to put in it. Originally I had thought of using Nieuport 28s for the scene, but then I realized that it needed something a little beefier. A SPAD was much more suitable. I had been discussing Rickenbacker's SPAD S'4523 (#1) with someone recently, and since I was, at that point, long overdue in depicting that particular machine, I decided to go with it.

  Most depictions of S'4523 show it in it's late configuration - shortened exhaust stacks, red/white/blue (front to back) rudder, and patched bullet holes. The problem was, though, that S'4523 was only in this configuration late in the war, while Rickenbacker and the 94th were based at Rembercourt. Rembercourt was known for its mud, which effectively eliminated the idea of the dust kicking up. Prior to Rembercourt, however, the 94th was based at Saints. Unlike the muddy conditions at Rembercourt, the summer spent at Saints was marked by drier conditions. There would be no inaccuracy in depicting the dust there, so that would be the perfect setting for the painting.

As for the configuration of S'4523 while at Saints - it carried the standard length exhaust, no bullet patches (at least not in August of 1918) and the original blue/white/red French rudder.