"ARTIST STEVE HARPER TALKS ABOUT THE FABULOUS 1940's HANGAR DANCE 2009 AT THE RAF MUSEUM COSFORD"

An Artists View of

THE FABULOUS 1940's HANGAR DANCE

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As Music filled the air and the strains of Glenn millers magical music transported us back to to days of the 1940's, the Huge hangar of the RAF Museum Cosford came to life.

I looked up from where I was strategically positioned under the Graceful and yet powerful Lincoln Bomber that I had spent so many hours studying to bring to life on canvas. This was to be the Print we were launching that evening and presenting the No 2 print of "Heritage of Cosford's Finest" as the first print to be issued as the 1st prize in the evening's raffle.

Above Steve (right) with the winner of the print (left)

The wonderful folks from the Museum had kindly provided me with a table to sign mementos of the evening for guests.

It was wonderful to be able to meet folks who collect my art work, to chat with guests to the fabulous evening and share time with the friends.

I find it a terrific honour to be able to speak with the folks who have served or had family and friends that served on or with the incredible aircraft at the RAF Museum Cosford. Their guiding and encouraging words help me to bring the aircraft to life once more on canvas. Their stories, memories and emotions captured by the artists brush and told out for all to share.

The museum is an incredible place. Not like the many static and lifeless exhibits I have seen the world over. This is a museum like no other, full of life, excitement and treasured memories. A place of learning for young and the not so young and yet a place for quiet reflection.

Well what makes it special?

I put pen to paper once more to sign a ticket, it's background taken from one of my paintings of the Spitfire at full throttle over the fields of England titled "England's pride".

Above Steve signed approximately 200 mementos for visitors to the dance

Another three tickets land in front of me to sign I look up and see the friendly face of a good friend I have made from the Cosford Aviation Society. And there we have our answer. What Makes the RAF museum Cosford Special is the people. The fantastically dedicated full time staff, the teams of dedicated craftsmen and women, the amazing volunteers, the veterans, that make this a living museum and a valued part of our heritage that we can all share.

As the music of the fabulous 40's carried us through to the era of Hollywood Glamour we were entertained by the fabulous Rat Pack tribute. Once again Frank, Dean and Sammy thrilled the audience with their legendary voices.

Now it was time for the raffle draw. My congratulations to the lovely couple who won the Print. It was lovely to chat with them and have our photos taken as a special memory of a great evening. My best wishes to you both.

Above Steve signs the back of the print for the lucky winner of the raffle in front of the 500 guests to the dance.

The raffle done there was one last surprise in store. With the Aid of the amazing Peter Bunting with his great sense of fun and with so many thanks to All the folks in The Aerospace Museum Society Cosford, who with Military precision coupled with marvelous humour and a light dash of mischief, helped Peter and Myself to surprise the recipient of the No1 print "Heritage of Cosford's Finest".

I have known Dave Leek, the Chairman of The Aerospace Museum Society Cosford for quite a while now and I'm proud to call him and his lovely family dear friends. His dedication to the preservation of our aviation heritage has inspired me to put brush to canvas, his quick whit and great sense of humour is a charm and his knowledge of aviation history is simply amazing. Having seen how hard he worked to put the evening together along with so many of the incredible folks from both the Society and the Staff, our thanks to them all. Who better to give the Number one Print to in thanks. My best wishes to you Dave.

The Music gently subsided, the dancing dwindled and happy faces made their way to waiting cars.

An incredible night in a truly amazing setting. Simply the best Aviation Museum in the world. A night of good friends and happy memories. A night of Nostalgia, Hollywood glamour and fabulous 40's music and style.

Click on the picture above for details of how to buy your own fabulous copy of the Print Heritage of Cosford's Finest

Perhaps when you next look into the Painting "Heritage of Cosford's Finest" your eye will take you to a clearing in the Cloud as the majestic Lincoln Bomber banks round with a roar of her mighty engines. And as you gaze down through the gap in the clouds you will see the RAF Museum Cosford, with sunlight gently glinting off the impressive hangars where the Strains of the Music of the 40s dance once filled the air.Behind the Lincoln you see the dark clouds of war time, She flies on into a brighter future in a moment in time captured by the artists hand as a tribute to her home and resting place, and the dedication of the people who care for her and the amazing collection of aircraft who sit along side her. Now the Lincoln rest in her majestic glory for all of us to enjoy at her home RAF Museum Cosford, cared for by a special and dedicated team of people that are part of the "Heritage of Cosford's Finest".

A Note of Thanks

My thanks to the many collectors of my work. Our family of Collectors is world wide from New York to France and back to England. Without you and your fabulous words of encouragement, marvelous emails and letters I quite simply could not do what I do. My sincere and heart felt thanks to you. It was great to meet quite a few of you at the Dance at the RAF Museum Cosford, please keep in touch, my best wishes to you.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in the Amazing dance at the RAF Museum Cosford. It has been a very special and treasured time to have made so many friends, shared laughter and great times. I am truly in awe of the work you all do in preserving the heritage of our aviation past. Thanks again for the warm welcome when we first put up the exhibition. Thank you to all the Members of The Aerospace Museum Society Cosford and for your friendship that I treasure.

A couple of special Thank you's to all the full time team of folks .Thanks to Peter Bunting, a Great sense of humour, big heart and someone I could listen too for hours, plus he has an amazing way of hanging paintings, and surprising a certain Chairman, thanks Peter.

Michelle a big thank you for all the Pr, paper clippings and press stuff and a warm welcome when I arrived.

To the wonderful folks in the restaurant, for a warm smile, a great cuppa and wonderful cakes (I may never fit in that uniform again! wow!)

I saved this one for last. A BIG Thank you to Dave Leek. Dedicated to his friends, dedicated in his work as Chairman of the Aerospace Museum Society Cosford. A great friend and an ambassador for all that is special about preserving our aviation heritage. (And he puts up with my daft sense of humour! Now that really needs thanks!)

A big thank you to all the folks in the press for so kindly supporting the exhibition and the Dance on the 10th of October.

A few special mentions

Thank you to Jamie Rowland and the Sutton Coldfield News for your wonderful articles and photos, a great Newspaper .

A big thank you to the Telford Journal for all your coverage of the Exhibition, photos and fantastic articles.

Thank you to Ken Ellis of "Fly Past" Magazine for so kindly putting details of the exhibition in the Opps board section, a big thank you Ken.

Thank you to Best of British Magazine for a great colour article and your kind support.

Sorry if I have missed anyone out but please accept my sincere thanks for your articles, great photos and support.

One Last Big thank you.

Yes this one is for you, the visitors to our web site, the many visitors to the exhibition and the Guests to the Dance and RAF Museum Cosford and our collectors. My sincere and heartfelt thanks. It's both humbling and an honour to be able to share my works of art with you. Your support is very much valued and when I get the chance to meet people who enjoy my work at events like the Dance or signings and exhibitions it certainly makes me realise how lucky I am to be able to share my gift with you and indeed to have made so many friends through my work.

My thanks and very best wishes to you all

Don't forget to book early for Next years RAF Museum Cosford 1940's Dance! its your chance to support the valued work of the Aerospace Museum Society Cosford and have a fabulous evening to look forward to.

See You there.

Steve.

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Want to Buy a Print or Collectors Mug of the fabulous "Heritage of Cosford's Finest" simply click on the link below to go to our online store.

Click on the picture above for details of how to buy your own fabulous copy of the Print Heritage of Cosford's Finest

Want to visit the Exhibition of Steve's work

Following fantastic success, the Exhibition will now run into the New Year 2010!

at the RAF Museum Cosford

THE EXHIBITION RUNS UNTIL END OF JANUARY 2010! Your Last Chance to See this Fabulous Exhibition!

The Exhibition which was set up on the 11th August 2009, and was supposed to run until the end of October 2009, Following fantastic success and many visitors has been extended to run into the New year 2010 so that more visitors can enjoy the Collection of works of aviation Art by Noted Artist Steve Harper for a while longer.

Among the list of paintings on display for the public to view are two new paintings, "Concorde" and the other being a very special tribute painting of Cosford's own "Lincoln Bomber".

The Lincoln Bomber Painting, which has just been released as prints on the 10th October 2009, is a tribute to those who give so much time and dedication restoring the amazing aircraft which form such a vital part of our aviation history at the Cosford Museum.

The Steve Harper Exhibition of works of art from "the Harper Design Collection" opened on 11th August and will run until the end of January 2010. The Exhibition complimented the fabulous 1940's Charity Dance (which was a sell out) held at the RAF Museum Cosford on 10th October 2009.

Steve donated a very special Artists reserve print which was raffled as first prize on the Charity Dance evening to raise funds and awareness of the work of the volunteers of the "Cosford Aerospace Museum Society". The original is on show for visitors to enjoy as part of this very special exhibition until the end of October.

Above Steve with the Print Raffled for the fabulous work of the Cosford Aviation Society.

Steve was at the Dance to sign tickets which have been designed round the Spitfire Painting "England's Pride" (also on display at the exhibition) as collectable mementos of the evening for guests, chat with aviation enthusiasts and present the lucky winner of the raffle with the highly collectable print titled "Heritage of Cosford's Finest".

Signing Event 4th September 2009

Steve enjoyed attending a Signing event held on the 4th September 2009 between 11am and 3pm where visitors to the museum were able to meet and chat with him about the Exhibition . It was also great to see members of the press also attended the Signing event for photo shoots and interviews. The Signing event was held in the Main Entrance Building close to the Exhibition. Visitors were able to have photo cards and official programs from the RAF Museum Cosford, signed by Steve as a memento of their day out.

Steve says "Its always great to meet our regular collectors and quite a few new ones. Its also great to chat with folks and answer questions about the exhibition. I had a great time, and I hope you did too. My thanks to all of you who came along, and thanks also for the wonderful comments and lovely e-mail's we have received. My very best wishes to you all."

1940's Hangar Dance a sell out!

Tickets for the 1940's evening Dance are now fully sold with nearly 550 tickets being sold out in aid of Cosford Aviation Museum Society.

About The Painting titled "Heritage of Cosford's Finest". .

Click on the picture above for details of how to buy your own fabulous copy of the Print Heritage of Cosford's Finest

When you arrive at the Exhibition take a good look at the Painting . A full description is mounted by the side of the painting to guide you through the story.

Steve Depicted the Lincoln flying over the RAF Museum Cosford which can bee seen through a break in the cloud below the graceful and yet powerful aircraft.

The Lincoln Bomber was heavily based on the Lancaster Bomber made famous by its roll during World War 2 as the famous aircraft of the "Dam Busters". The Beautiful and rare example of the Lincoln in the painting is now on display for all to enjoy at the RAF Museum Cosford, and requires continuous on going maintenance. It has just undergone another round of preservation to bring it back to its former Glory.

Artist Steve Harper says:

"My roll as an artist is to tell a story and capture a moment in time. Its wonderful to meet people who served and worked on the iconic aircraft now on display at one of the finest museums in the country and to listen to their stories so that I can bring their aircraft to life on Canvas for visitors to the exhibition to enjoy.

Many of these people now volunteer to work on these historic aircraft in their spare time alongside the dedicated full time team at Cosford, so that we can enjoy them at our leisure.

It's a great privilege to capture the power and grace of these majestic aircraft as I put brush to canvas, to honour their commitment and dedication in preserving these historic aircraft for our nation and future generations.

I look forward to meeting visitors to the Exhibition and the signing event. My best wishes to you all for a fabulous visit to the RAF Museum Cosford"

About the Artist : Steve Harper

Steve is an established artist whose work has been centered around Motorsport and aviation themes.

Steve's Art work is Collected World wide by an ever increasing number of Collectors from America, Canada, France, and not forgetting a growing number of enthusiasts from the UK.

His work has featured in a number of Magazines Radio and TV.

Steve is better known for his artistic involvement in the glamorous world of Motorsport. His ability to capture the atmosphere of the world's most spectacular cars, drivers and motor racing and Aviation scenes are making his paintings increasingly more collectable.

Born in England in the mid 1960's, Steve worked in engineering and as a commercial Deep Sea diver before becoming a full time dedicated artist. His passion for Art developed from an early age.

Now he is able to share his talent with an increasing number of collectors of his works of art, from those new to art, to the more Serious Collectors. Steve lives and works as a full time professional artist in the West Midlands of England.

Steve says: "In the works of art I create, I try to convey the combining of the moment and the emotion. It becomes not just a scene but is far more than that, drawing the viewer into the painting so that for the briefest of moments the viewer becomes immersed in the story that the painting tells. With each brush stoke the artist paints a little of his own soul into the painting bringing the scene to life for all to enjoy . A moment in time captured on canvas."

How to reserve your copy of the print "Heritage of Cosford's Finest".

The print was launched on 10th October 2009 to coincide with the Dance evening at the RAF Museum Cosford.

To reserve your copy of the print Click on the Picture Below

Click on the picture above for details of how to buy your own fabulous copy of the Print Heritage of Cosford's Finest

phone us on

(UK) 0121 384 3724

or e-mail us at

SEE STEVE'S ART WORK ON EXHIBITION

Following fantastic success, the Exhibition will now run into the New Year 2010!

at the RAF Museum Cosford

The Exhibition which was set up on the 11th August 2009, and was supposed to run until the end of October 2009, Following fantastic success and many visitors has been extended to run into the New year 2010 so that more visitors can enjoy the Collection of works of aviation Art by Noted Artist Steve Harper for a while longer.

You will find the exhibition in the Main Entrance on your right hand side.

Entrance to the Museum is FREE

(there is a car parking fee of £3.00)

We look forward to seeing you there.

Steve will be attending the exhibition on certain days. If you would like to meet him there please drop us an e-mail for dates he will be attending.

www.rafmuseum.org.uk

Museum Entrance is FREE! with a modest car parking charge of £ 3.00 for a full day. Its a fabulous day out for all to enjoy one of the Finest Aviation Museums in the Country