During high school I happened upon John Gillespie Magee’s poem “High Flight”. It so moved me that I was brought to tears. They weren’t tears of sadness, but tears of joy. I resonated with Magee’s words and the sensation he must have felt as a 19-year-old American Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot in 1941. Imagine – flying, soaring above the clouds; something very few people had experienced at that time.

For some reason, the poem resurfaced in my memory and I chose to do my 2008 Exhibition at Pippin-Meikle Fine Art based on that poem. I selected passages that moved me and created emotionally-charged paintings reflecting my emotion, translating words to color and movement.

Enjoy! Link to Exhibition.

Spitfire MK Vb – John Gillespie Magee Jr. flew in WWII.