Fred Casillas shows his artwork. He painted his name on the Super Hornet on the right, and Shawn Delaware’s name on the Hornet. Photo by Joe Feliciano

Another Rembrandt in the making?

By Bill Bartkus
NAVAIR Depot North Island

CORONADO, Calif. – Alfredo Casillas is a sheet metal worker who enjoys painting. “Not painting aircraft,” he said, “but painting murals and such.”

Casillas, who works with the NAVAIR Depot North Island F/A-18 Program here, answered an interesting email from Walt Loftus, deputy F/A-18 Program manager. Loftus asked if any artisan within the Hornet Program could paint a special Hornet logo on a newly constructed visitor’s display wall in the hangar.

“I answered the email when I read it,” Casillas said, “and immediately went to work once I was given the OK.”

Loftus gave Casillas a logo that originally had been designed for a shirt. He sketched the image on the wall and then painstakingly painted the final logo. After two weeks, the job was complete.

A mean looking black and yellow hornet is centered between a F/A-18 Hornet on the left and a F/A-18 Super Hornet on the right. Casillas painted the wording beneath the gray aircraft in red, white and blue. He even painted his name on the cockpit of the Super Hornet and Shawn Delaware’s, the F/A-18 Program manager, on the Hornet.

Casillas said that he has been working for the Depot for 10 months and has always had an interest in art. He attends San Diego City College.

Loftus was so impressed with Casillas’ work that he has commissioned the artist to replicate his work on a wall for the F/A-18 Center Barrel Plus Program.

NAVAIR provides cost-wise readiness and dominant maritime combat power to make a great Navy and Marine Corps team better.