T-Shirt Design, (Super Mouse).
Digital, CAD cut graphics.
08/07/2006
Super Mouse nose art and Graphics.
In between work for the Illustrations for the Haunted Skies book project, I recently decided to spend a little time getting a few T-shirt designs printed up based upon some of my previous ‘nose-art’ work from 2003.
I decided to have the ‘Super Mouse’ artwork printed upon three coloured T-shirts consisting of Black, White, & Khaki. I first completed a new set of graphics in Adobe Illustrator 10 based on my original artwork.
The original ‘Super Mouse’ nose artwork adorned B-17 serial # 4338642 OR piloted by Pilot and nose-artist David Hettema and stationed at Bassingbourn, England in 1944.
David Hettema was one of eight children who grew up enjoying childhood in the Pasadena, California area. As a young man, he studied to become an artist and cartoonist. After graduating from high school, he attended Biola University for a semester, and then went to work at the Cal Shipyards in Long Beach, which were busy building Victory transport ships. In the summer of 1942, he volunteered for pilot training, and reported for basic training in Santa Ana, California, in February, 1943. He then reported to Ryan Field in Hemet, where he received primary training in the Ryan PT-22. After receiving advanced flight training in the BT-13, and then the multi-engine AT-17, he graduated on December 5, 1943, as a second lieutenant. Remembering tradition, he gave a dollar bill to the first GI that saluted him. In January, 1944, he reported to Roswell, New Mexicofor B-17 training, learning from B-17 pilots who had completed their 25 missions over Europe or Africa. He met his crew in Salt Lake City, and the crew headed for Sioux City, Iowa for crew training. Upon completion of their training, the crew flew a B-17 across the Atlantic to England, and reported to the 91st Bomb Group at Bassingbourn. He flew his first of 35 missions on July 24, 1944. He received the Air medal with four oak leaf clusters and the Group Presidential Citation medal.
I contacted David in 2003 to ask permission if I could reproduce his original artwork from 1944. David was kind enough to give me that permission and I have completed a series of digital Illustrations and graphics based on his original artwork, since then my own artwork has been featured in Computer Arts magazine and I have corresponded with students in Australia with questions concerning the ‘Super Mouse’ artwork. Has an artist I can only hope that my own efforts are a befitting tribute to the memory of the crew of ‘Super Mouse’ and the creative talents of such people as David Hettema.