Merv Corning

Merv Corning (1926-2006) was a self-taught illustrator and painter. For example, he painted 16 covers for Westways magazine. One was of an antique car on a wooden road in a desert. Another was of a vender’s truck near the beach. In addition to paintings for the Automobile Club of Southern California, he is famous for depicting World War I aviation and NFL stars. He began his illustrating career painting signs and then worked for advertising agencies and department stores while he learned to paint. He painted 43 painting on WWI aviation for a client, and did posters and programs covers for the NFL. He was frequently a judge at art shows. His paintings of outdoor scenes looked real as if the viewer was there. He worked on one painting at a time and considered good painters to be gifted.