Rich Thistle images are used as covers and inside books, magazines and documentary films in Canada, the USA and England. Please CONTACT US if you are interested in using an original Thistle painting as unique cover art or for inclusion in a book, magazine or film project. Rich also accepts commissions to create original art for such projects. Following are examples of published works using Thistle images.

DIANA IN ART Book Compiled By Mem Mehmet 2007 © Cover Painting By Susan Goulet Features the work of over 130 artists, including Rich's painting ONCE UPON A TIME ►	ONCE UPON A TIME By Rich Thistle © image available as a fine-art print original painting available READ Rich's article about the motivation and symbolism in his paiinting.
CANADIAN SOURCES: INVESTIGATED 1914 To Present By Elizabeth Freeman-Shaw & Jan Haskings-Winner © 2008 LONE WOLF AT DAWN By Rich Thistle - used in chapter on Billy Bishop WW1 Ace This Canadian high-school history text book challenges students to examine the facts and the myths in order to formulate their own conclusions about people and events in Canadian history. Emond Montgomery Publications L:td. Toronto ISBN #978-1-55239-225-6 READ Rich's article about Billy Bishop
NICKEL ON THE GRASS Reflections of a U.S. Air Force Pilot By Colonel Phil "Hands" Handley © 2006 Cover painting: RHINO CHARGE By Rich Thistle © Col. Handley presents a series of vignettes capturing his life as an aviator, fighter pilot and leader in a military career spanning 26 years. This is a quote from the book where Phil discusses the cover art... "The painting RHINO CHARGE shown on the cover is from the easel of noted Canadian artist, Rich Thistle. Working from charts, diagrams, pictures, models and innumerable exchanges with the author, he dramatically captured a historically significant instant of aerial combat with stunning accuracy....I will always be grateful to Rich Thistle for the tenacity, dedication and patience he showed in the creation of this painting which hangs proudly over my bar, and shall forever be a treasured possession." image available as a litho print ISBN#0-595-39735-2 order from the author's WEBSITE and Phil will autoghraph your book
THE DIGBY DIARY; A History of RAF Digby in Lincolnshire 1917 - 1953 By John Rennison © Cover painting: DIEPPE DAWN By Rich Thistle © This book provides a detailed history of the Lincolnshire airfield known today as Royal Air Force Station Digby from its earliest days to the immediate post war years. The "Diary" details the historic, humorous, tragic and typical events that characterize the station's history. This fascinating book will appeal to the many who have memories of the time as well as the military, aviation history enthusiast. The station's history has never been chronicled in detail before and the diary format allows the reader to correlate squadron and unit activities with the appropriate dates and many contemporary photographs. image available as a fine-art print ISBN #0 9514047 3 3
THE TUNNEL KING; The True Story of Wally Floody and the Great Escape By Barbara Hehner © 2004 Cover painting for the first printing: IN THE BALANCE By Rich Thistle © “Wally Floody lay on his side, propped up on one elbow. He was in a 2-foot-square space, so cramped he could not turn around. With his knife, he hacked at the wall of yellow sand. Then he heard a hissing sound. He knew what it was and backed up frantically as the roof collapsed… “ The Great Escape was one of the most daring prisoner-of-war breakouts of the Second World War. Yet few Canadians know the heroic story of Wally Floody. Wally was a Canadian fighter pilot, imprisoned in Stalag Luft III, who was a key figure—the Tunnel King—in the carefully planned escape. Shot down over France on his very first combat mission, Wally Floody was captured by German soldiers and spent almost four years in prisoner-of-war camps. Many prisoners felt it was their duty to try to escape, and Wally—who had worked as a miner before the war—knew the best way out was to tunnel underground. Soon he joined a group determined to organize the largest escape ever. Over 600 men, facing the constant threat of discovery by their German guards, took turns doing everything from inventing tools to forging documents to hiding the tons of sand dug out from the tunnels. Packed with fascinating details of life in the camp, such as how the prisoners learned to build their own radios from empty cookie tins or make hockey skates from scrap metal, The Tunnel King is not only an exciting and action-packed story, but a tribute to a courageous Canadian. image available as a litho print Harper Collins Publishers ISBN #0006394779
WAR ON OUR DOORSTEP The Unknown Campaign on North America's West Coast By Brendan Coyle © 2002 Cover painting: VICTORY OVER KISKA By Rich Thistle © "Brendan Coyle has done a magnificent job in this comprehensive review of the war on the West Coast. No other single volume has so neatly tied together the myriad stories of how the war affected people in British Columbia, California Oregon, Washington, and Alaska." -Jim Delgado, Executive Director, Vancouver Maritime Museum- The realities of war dawned on North America on a June morning in 1942, when chief gunner Saboru Hayashi took dead aim on British Columbia's Estevan Point lighthouse and wireless station. Sixty years later, the fascinating events of that era and their impact on both the Canadian and American psyche remain virtually unknown to much of the world. After conducting decades of research and interviews with veterans of the conflict, author Brendan Coyle reveals the campaign that included three attacks on the West Coast, an air raid on Oregon, and the harsh battles fought in Alaska. Coyle's captivating 240 page account includes over 110 photographs and maps that document the era and events. image available as a fine-art print PublisheD by Heritage House, Canada ISBN#1-894384-46-6
A HERO TO ME Diana Bishop, granddaughter of Canadian William Avery "Billy" Bishop, the most decorated Allied fighter pilot in the First World War, explores her family's war legacy. Original WW1 paintings used in the film by Rich Thistle © Produced by Ballinran Productions & Cilla Productions for Global Television & TV Ontario. © 2003 A Hero to Me Productions Inc. VIDEO / DVD (48 minutes)
A TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE; Canada's Airshow Team Heritage By Dan Dempsey © 2002 FLYING THE FLAG by Rich Thistle © - used inside the book Hundreds of Canadians kindly shared their experiences, photographs and artwork to this ambitious project. Publisher / Distributor & Direct Sales: Dan Dempsey First edition SOLD OUT Second Edition 2008, with additional content & images Purchase From High Flight Enterprises Ltd.
VALIANT YOUNG MEN; HEROES OF FLIGHT By Bryce D. Gibby © 2006 FINAL VICTORY & ENCOUNTER WITH A LEGEND by Rich Thistle © - used inside the book An exciting comparison of three well known pioneers of aviation; Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker and Captain James Hall. Publisher: Perlycross Publishers ISBN #0-9741743-2-7 FINAL VICTORY available as a litho print ENCOUNTER WITH A LEGEND available as a litho print
CANADA REMEMBERS Medallion Set Royal Canadian Mint Unveiled in Ottawa Apr. 1994 Commemorating Canada's participation in WWII WE FLEW WITH THE HEROIC FEW By Rich Thistle was depicted on one of the six medallions featuring the work of Canadian war artists and aviation artists Alex Colville, Orville Fisher, Harold Beament, Will Ogilvie & Don Connolly. WE FLEW WITH THE HEROIC FEW  is available as a litho print
TORONTO AVIATION & AIRCRAFT SHOW program cover & offical show poster image / original painting HIS & HERS By Rich Thistle © (Murphy Rebel) image available as a fine-art print	AIRFORCE MAGAZINE cover / original painting PURSUIT OF THE LUCIANA By Rich Thistle © (CF Aurora) image available as a fine-art print
AVIATION HISTORY MAGAZINE cover/original painting TOUGH & READY THE MEMPHIS BELLE By Rich Thistle © (Memphis Belle - B17) image available as a litho print	AVIATION HISTORY MAGAZINE cover/original painting BLACK LYNX VICTORY By Rich Thistle © (Brewster Buffalo)
AIRFORCE MAGAZINE cover/original painting WHERE THERE'S SMOKE By Rich Thistle © (Canadair CL 215) image available as a fine-art print	AVIATION HISTORY MAGAZINE cover/original painting FINAL VICTORY By Rich Thistle © (Fokker Dr1 Manfred VonRichthofen) image available as a litho print
AIRFORCE MAGAZINE cover/original painting HORNETS OVER THE GULF Rich Thistle © (CF 18A Hornet) image available as a litho print	AIRFORCE MAGAZINE cover/original painting Rich Thistle © (Hurricanes 401 Sqn. RCAF) image available as a litho print