Blackhawk in the Sand — Original Pastel on Paper

This is not a recreation. This is a memory.

"Blackhawk in the Sand" captures the exact moment a UH-60 
Blackhawk touches down in a desert brownout — rotor wash 
kicking up walls of sand, visibility near zero, every 
instrument and instinct working overtime to bring the 
aircraft down safely.

The artist knows this moment intimately. Wes Gale flew 
this exact aircraft — the UH-60 Blackhawk — as a Warrant 
Officer pilot during Operations Desert Shield and Desert 
Storm. This landing at Cobra, in the middle of a raging 
sandstorm, is not imagined. It is remembered. Every grain 
of sand, every blade angle, every degree of stress is 
rendered from lived experience.

Created in pastel pencil, the soft medium perfectly 
captures the haze and disorientation of a brownout 
landing — the way the desert swallows everything except 
the aircraft you are fighting to keep alive.

This piece is part of Wes's ongoing journey of healing 
through art. What began as therapy for PTSD has become 
a powerful body of work that honors the aircraft, the 
missions, and the aircrews that shaped his life.

There is only one of this. When it sells it is gone forever.

Details:
- Medium: Pastel pencil on paper
- Dimensions: Approximately 13" x 19"
- Original — one of a kind
- Signed and dated by the artist
- Certificate of Authenticity included
- Ships carefully packaged with tracking and insurance

"The Art of Rediscovering Life"
— Wes Gale, Panther Fine Art, LLC