Looking back and looking down!
Sometimes when you’re at great heights, people say “don’t look down”. It can make people queasy to think of falling. Well, when MBNA, the credit card company, was at its height, I was busy painting the view from above.
Charles M. Cawley was the visionary, building one of the largest credit card companies in the world, from the ground up. As the company grew, office buildings sprang up all around the world. Even before some were built, I was painting them, working from architectural plans and renderings.
Looking back at my years with MBNA, I remember looking down a number of times. In order to give people an overview, so to speak, Mr. Cawley challenged me with painting some buildings and complexes from an aerial perspective. He was a leader who believed in attention to detail.
Three paintings come to mind. First, there was the Wilmington, DE, Headquarters office building and its surroundings, including a park, the old historic post office building, and a gazillion tiny little windows on other buildings nearby!
MBNA's Wilmington Headquarters, painting by William R. Beebe
Not too long after that I painted the same complex from a different perspective. Again, lots of little windows!
MBNA's Wilmington Headquarters, painting by William R. Beebe
One of the last aerials I painted was of the Belfast, Maine office. I painted this scene while the main building was still underway. Less complex and more of a landscape, the office site as depicted represents a plan for growth, having vast land to develop when need be. The Belfast office employed people from all around the state.
MBNA's Regional Center in Belfast Maine, painting by William R. Beebe
I thought you might enjoy taking a look back at some of my “looking down” aerial perspective paintings.
Thanks as always for your interest in my art, my photography, and my journal!
“One of the joys of being an artist is having the freedom to follow my passion...”
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Drawing by William R. Beebe