Sold at auction in aid of the army benevolent fund

Super watercolour David. His clothing (not too sure of the correct army term for it!) is so well painted. The background is very effective as well.

You have certainly carried out you mission with the effect. Hope you raised a good amount. They truly deserve support.

Wonderful painting, bet it raised a lot.

About £750 I believe. I often turnout these auction items to give back a little to people who give so much. Watercolour is particularly good for this kind of subject as soldiers are so gloriously creased and knocked about after duty. The creasing and folds in the cloth are produced by the simple expedient of wet application of the base colour and whilst still wet blotting with a piece of screwed up kitchen towel. This leaves areas of light and dark that look exactly like creases. The camouflage is random but it is as well that the real thing is used as a pattern if it is to look right . I have a million photos and some old kit given to me at various army bases that I use for this purpose. I have some mates who are into firearms and I use them as models in the uniform as well. I prefer images in natural sunlight and will take photos in the garden.....God knows what the neighbours think.

All your army paintings are really superb and portray the life of our armed forces. I am not surprised to learn that many of them hang in pride of place in the messes and headquarters of these brave men. I am sure they are really appreciated by all who see them.

I am going to say the same as for the others; superb.

Thanks for your kind comments everyone. This has encouraged me to post a series of pictures with explanation of the process I go through to produce an oil painting and may be of interest to some of you.( see soldiers in the dust) I love to work for our armed forces and they love the recognition and support of us, the civilian population. I don't do this as a living and don't charge our forces for my work. It's a huge privilege to have my stuff hanging in bases all over the country.