Sioux City teen’s art flies high

A Sioux City teenager has high-flying aspirations for her artwork which is often on display some 30-thousand feet in the air. When an Iowa Air National Guard officer visited Sioux City East High last year, he wanted to recruit a student to paint pictures on the noses of the squadron’s F-16 fighter jets. He enlisted Rebecca Brandt to carry on a tradition popularized during World War Two. The 19-year-old has since graduated and found herself with the unusual part-time job of decorating warbirds with her brush. Brandt says the task isn’t as easy as it may sound.Brandt is not interested in a military career but thinks nose art is a good way to serve her country.Brandt has painted nine National Guard jets so far with characters ranging from Snoopy to the Grim Reaper.