Artists, framing company work on Air Force exhibit at Pritzker

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Shantel McKenzie, Stephanie Colbert and Rich Taylor pose with the Naperville resident's photo. Colbert Custom Framing in Naperville put it together for the Midwest Air Force Art Program. Submitted

Updated: February 9, 2012 4:32PM

Kevin Colbert, owner of Colbert Custom Framing in Naperville, has been scurrying all week to deliver 38 framed pieces of art to Chicago’s Pritzker Military Library.

The library, which recently moved to a new and expanded facility at 104 S. Michigan Ave., will launch an art exhibit celebrating the history of the U.S. Air Force on Feb. 14.

The work being framed by Colbert and dozens of his employees includes pieces by local artisans such as Richard Taylor, 66, of Naperville.

Taylor, along with 13 other artists, has spent the last two-year “cycle” producing pro bono work that reflects the history of the Air Force and its various components.

“We have an event known as the Midwest Air Force Art Program that offers an art show every two years, and artists work off and on since the last show to create their work,” said Taylor, who also serves as the co-chairman of the Midwest chapter. “I’ve donated about a dozen pieces over the years, including five I produced for this year’s show.”

Taylor uses mixed media, including painting on top of prints, for his work, which includes crew members servicing an F-15, a night operation with the same aircraft, as well as scenes of a C-130 and two Osprey aircraft. One of the “perks” for artists in the program is the free flights to military locations.

“I was flown to the U.S. Bagram base in Afghanistan back in 2009 where I could see these aircraft as well as the people that interact with them,” Taylor said. “There is a lot of security and controls in place, but this is how the artists get to research or take pictures of the things they’ll create.”

Colbert said the 38 pieces his company is framing range anywhere from 18-by-10 inches to as large as 20-by-50 inches. The pictures cover a range of Air Force history and aeronautic space as well as “a cross representation of individuals” connected with this military branch.

“We have pictures of people that do all sorts of jobs,” Colbert said. “The fact that the new facility is opening makes this a big deal.

“We’ve had a framed piece that today is kept in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., and we’re excited about working with the major artists that have contributed their works this year.”