Postcard from a painting by David Shepherd of an Aden Airways Douglas DC3 (C47 Skytrain) pictured at Ghuraf, Hadhramout.

"After my training, I began painting English landscapes, aviation subjects, steam trains, portraits and all the other things that I am possibly not known for, but my career really took off at Heathrow Airport when I was painting aircraft portraits from life. The RAF noticed these pictures and they invited me to travel all over the world with them as their guest, commissioning various aviation subjects. The catalyst in my career came in 1960 when they flew me down to Aden. I painted a painting called ‘Slave Island’ which, when showing it to the Commander-in-Chief, resulted in 48 commissions from, it seemed, everyone in that part of the world. However, they then offered to fly me down to Nairobi where the RAF were based in those days. They had saved £25 and they said, ‘We’d like a painting but we don’t want aeroplanes because we fly those all day. Do you do animals?’ Up to that time I had not even painted a rabbit, but I said ‘I’ll have a try’. That very first wildlife painting of a rhino chasing an aeroplane off a runway in Kenya changed my life and the rest is history." David Shepherd.

The David Shepherd painting of Aden Airways DC3 at Ghuraf

Photograph of the Ghuraf Airstrip. Compare to the painting above.