Over the last two years, I have devoted a great deal of time to learning how to use artificial intelligence alongside more traditional digital painting and image-editing skills.

The work you see under the name Past Wings and Future Skies is not produced by simply entering a few words into an AI program and accepting the first image it creates. Each piece is developed through a mixture of AI-generated material, digital painting, research, correction and careful editing.

I principally work across three programs: Adobe Photoshop Beta, Adobe Firefly and Gemini. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. One may create a convincing atmosphere, another may handle a particular detail more successfully, while Photoshop allows me to bring everything together and make the necessary corrections.

I switch between these programs, combining the best opportunities each offers to produce the strongest possible finished result.

My Bruce Lee approach

Those of you who are around my age will undoubtedly have heard of Bruce Lee. I have read all his books about martial arts and his philosophy of life.

What has always stayed with me is his refusal to be confined to a single style. He studied different disciplines, retained what was useful and developed his own approach.

That is very much how I see my work with AI and digital artwork. I do not rely entirely upon one program or one method. I take the strongest elements from the available tools and combine them with my own ideas, aviation knowledge, memories, and developing digital painting skills.

AI is now available to almost anyone, but the results vary enormously. We all see examples ranging from genuinely impressive work to images filled with obvious mistakes and impossible details. Creating a picture is relatively easy; producing something believable, atmospheric and respectful of aviation history requires considerably more work.

Accuracy matters

I would never describe myself as an expert. I am still learning, and I expect that process to continue.

The aviation community contains people with an extraordinary depth of knowledge, so feedback is extremely valuable. My BOAC VC10 artwork, for example, was corrected several times following advice from retired pilots, engineers and airport workers.

Their experience helped me improve details that might otherwise have been missed. I greatly appreciate people taking the time to offer informed and constructive feedback.

A single post can be seen by more than one million people within a month. As you can imagine, that creates a considerable amount of feedback—some complimentary, some critical and much of it genuinely useful.

My aim is not to claim that every picture is perfect. It is to listen, learn, correct mistakes and make each new piece better than the last.

A lifetime of aviation

My interest in aviation goes back more than half a century. The first aircraft registration I recorded was a British Caledonian BAC One-Eleven landing at London Gatwick on 4 November 1973.

Aviation has remained part of my life ever since.

Many of my ideas come from memories, old airlines and liveries, conversations with people who worked in aviation, and thoughts about aircraft or scenes that might have existed. I often write these ideas in a notebook before bringing them to life.

Past Wings and Future Skies is my personal creative venture, separate from Airspotters. It gives me the freedom to explore historic aviation, classic airlines, imagined “what if” scenes and the stories that connect people with aircraft.

I will be 68 in December 2026. I decided that getting older was no reason to stop learning, so I chose to challenge myself and master something completely new. This combination of AI, digital painting and aviation artwork is where that journey has taken me.

The BOAC VC10 tribute

My latest release is an exclusive tribute to the magnificent BOAC VC10, depicting this unmistakable British airliner on a rain-soaked airport apron in classic BOAC Cunard colours.

The downloadable artwork has been successfully tested and is suitable for printing at up to 30 × 20 inches. It is available for £7.47 per download for personal use.

Thank you for reading, for following my work, and for supporting this new chapter in my aviation journey. Every purchase, comment and piece of constructive advice helps me continue learning and creating.

Malcolm
Past Wings and Future Skies