By NICOLE VALICEK
A LOCAL artist has taken her work to extreme new heights – literally.
Altona Meadows artist Karin Zeller was surprised beyond her wildest dreams when Czech Air Force Gripen pilot, Milan Nykodym unexpectantly contacted her to seek permission to use one of her images.
Mr Nykodym did not want to put the image in a gallery, or display it in his home, no – he wanted to feature a tiger drawn by Ms Zeller on the tail of a Czech Airforce Gripen fighter jet.
The jet and tiger artwork was then entered at this year’s NATO Tiger Meet in Norway which was held between the 17 and 28 June where it won second prize in the best painted aircraft category.
“I was over the moon. I couldn’t have imagined anything as cool as that in my wildest dreams,” Ms Zeller said.
“This is probably one of the most exciting things that has happened to me in a long time.”
After getting Karin’s permission to use the Tiger the Czech Airforce’s 211th Tactical Squadron kept their use of her artwork on their Saab JAS-39C Gripen fighter jet a closely guarded secret in the months before the Tiger Meet.
“I wanted to tell everyone, of course. Certainly it is a real honour to have my art on an aircraft, in such a prestigious event,” she said.
Ms Keller painted the Tiger in 1990 as an assignment for one of her art courses.
“It has certainly been popular since I posted in on deviantArt six years ago. It has taken on a life of its own, cropping up online in interesting places.”
Karin’s Tiger will also appear on diaries and journal covers which will be sold in shops worldwide.
