Soldiers in the dust PAGE 2 commentary included

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This is progressing very nicely and I enjoy reading the text. Have you ever painted or drawn one of those faces you have described , David. What a haunting image you have portrayed with words.

Combat fatigue is a reality for many of the men, and they do sometimes talk about what the have experienced ( especially over a drink) I am always reluctant to press them and wait for them to speak if they want to. Many will cover it up by talking about the technicalities of their job which, I think, insulates them from some of the horrors. Mortar men and snipers tend to be very calculating, but always proud......in many instances, it is the disciplines of the job that protects them.......and the support of their mates.........I am an outsider who very occasionally gets to glimpse behind the curtain..............I have done a picture of a single soldier called ' Man of Kent' and used a mate of mine as the model. Matt is an early thirties civvie and has been nowhere near combat, so I had to 'distress' him a bit. I think it worked. I may put it up in the gallery at some stage. Thanks for you comments mate Dave B.

I have seen Man of Kent. Striding out of that painting towards you.

The figures are beginning to develop now and you may be able to see now what I mean when I said that I wanted the figures to become less distinct as they recede into the picture. I deliberately made the brush strokes progressively looser as the figures become more distant. This is of course how the human eye works in that it is unable to make out detail at distance and if you attempt to put that detail in you will produce a picture that looks contrived and unreal. I even use a brush that is larger than I am comfortable with to force me to paint in a less detailed way. You may just be able to see the pencil lines connecting the figure which are my reference lines to achieve reasonable perspective. I make no apologies for being a detail man and when painting for the military things need to be researched well or mistakes are made. I was mortified to find out after this picture was presented that I had used a mix of body armour on the figures that would probably not have been seen on Ops. I will at some stage take the picture back and correct the error. But I will need to wait until they return from posting to get the opportunity. This was particularly galling as I had gone to great pains to talk to various NCOs about the mix of weaponry and comms kit. Military folk are particular about their kit (as their lives sometimes depend on it) so it is the least an artist should do but to get it right. There are always variations and personal preference in how a soldier will carry his kit and that sometimes saves my blushes, but some stuff is either right or it is wrong. A note about faces; sometimes when using models it is necessary to change faces subtly to reflect the strain of what these people do. If a man has been in combat for a prolonged period of time, he will subconsciously clench his jaw causing the muscles to fatigue and the mouth to drop open. Coupled with exhaustion, this will produce a certain look. Eyes change as well although it is difficult to capture. I