Untitled by Fiona Phipps

Very atmospheric Fiona, great work.

A sombre , evocative picture Fiona.

Very atmospheric, Fiona, the colours work well. (Thought perhaps you'd been away on holiday!)

It immediately made me think about the WW1 battlefields, Fiona, even without a title. Well done, so atmospheric!

Poignant Fiona

This definitely conveys the atmosphere of the battlefield Fiona, very poignant.

Nice colours...Fiona

My husband enjoys military history Fiona. Extremely evocative. The colours are wonderful and I especially like the barbed wire.

You have caught the look of devastation very well here Fiona. What a waste of lives and resources, I saw a report on tv earlier where a man said local farmers and still finding unexploaded bomba and shells regularly.

Cheerful breeze in background, expressive and dynamic!

Very telling Fiona, the starkness and colours say it all, a great tribute not only to the fallen but also those who fought there and came through but lived with the memories ever after . I come from an army family and we have all been in the Infantry, one of my Granfathers fought at the Somme but he came through it and the war. Again nicely done Fiona and we will remember them.

The Somme memorial service on tv had me in tears today Fiona. Your painting is very good and doesn't need a title really.

Well captured Fiona, an expressive piece and indeed a poignant moment in history.

On behalf of the many, thank you for your thoughts and sentiments everyone.

Malcolm, one of my most treasured possesions is a first world war service medal for Sgt. Duncan Ferguson of the Black Watch who enlisted on the 14th July 1915 and was killed in action one year later on the 14th July 1916 in the battle for High Wood, Somme. I have no connection to this brave man but the medal was given to me as a birthday present which is the 14th July. I remember him on my birthday, on the 11th Nov and on anniversaries such as today......in fact I remember him every time I dust his framed medal, he sits on my desk.lol He will be remembered for as long as I draw breath. My Grandfather was in the Sherwood Foresters, was wounded and came home....one of the lucky ones like yours. Thank you

Louise, you would have to be made of stone not to experience some sort of emotion, not all the water in this painting came from my water jar!! Thank you.

So moving and a wonderful tribute on such a memorable day x x

What a comeback Fiona! You have captured the emotion beautifully, what a subject to try and do but what a success. It hardly bears thinking about, I bet most of us have a connection in some way or another. My uncle is in an unmarked grave, aged 16, my dad's oldest brother. We visited the Menin Gate and saw his name, it was very emotional. I love the way you've portrayed this.

Full of emotion Fiona, poignant and beautiful.

I love the colours and rough atmosphere Fiona Diana

A very worthwhile project to come back to Fiona. This reflects a feeling of pain to me and is a great memorial from you.

Thank you Donna, very kind of you. Marjorie....16...so sad. I wonder how many 16 year olds of today would be willing to sacrifice their youth and life for their country and freedom? I don't think you would be mowed down by the stampede....thanks to the likes of your uncle they won't have to. Thanks very much Satu and Diana....it feels wrong somehow to be receiving comments on this, thanks again.

Appreciate your thoughts and feelings Michael. Glad you enjoyed the book.

This is very powerful Fiona. Great stuff.

It's actually rather strange as I also went AWOL for three weeks lack of inspiration also thus the changeover to oils which have given me a new lease . This is indeed a great tribute to the fallen and its an excellent piece of work

Can only echo the previous comments Fiona....very well done....

Superb

Many thanks Henry, Sylvia, Gudrun and Dermot. Dermot, I seem to have lost total interest in painting at the moment, even looking on POL. The more I think about it the worse it gets!!lol I'm sure the fog will clear when it's ready. I like what you're doing with oils by the way.

Loaded with poignancy and evoking a feel of sombreness and senselessness. Superbly apt for the subject, Fiona.

Like Mia , I thought of long ago battlefields Fiona. Thought provoking.

A dramatic painting Fiona. My grandfather fought in the Battle of the Somme, but never spoke about it. This painting speaks volumes.

Seok, Sarah, Ellen thank you for remembering the lost and fallen. Almost every family of the time must have lost someone dear and even if they returned from this kind of hell, did they ever escape it? Probably not, who then were the fortunate ones.

Hope the fog clears soon Fiona. Everyone misses your input. I found the combination of the countryside and the military interesting with some thought provoking scenes such as Wigtown Airfield. Old, unused airfields have an eerie, sad and yet appealing nature at http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/RAFWigtown

it says all that needs to be said Fiona, congratulations on producing such a thought provoking piece.

Fiona you have done this just right, and with just two or three colours. To my eye this is the best of the bunch. Keep pushing your style is growing. No skulls, no bodies, no gore. But you have got the horrible episode all in you painting. Well done.

So do I Michael, if I go a couple of days without painting something, it's uncomfortable but THREE WEEKS!!! It's uncanny that disused airfields have this kind of presence don't they, I've walked on the Wigtown one several times, part of it is swallowed up by the RSPB Crook of Baldoon reserve. It's ghostly reputation goes back even further than WW11, on the edge of the airfield is what's left of Baldoon Castle, supposedly haunted by the bride of Baldoon.....google it.....Sir Walter Scott used this story for his book, 'The Bride of lammermuir'. Thank you Russell, thinking about the Somme and other battlefields of the first world war, this kind of image always appears in my head....the complete desolation, and of course that's why we have the poppy as the symbol of remembrance. All the movement of earth through shelling and digging prompted the long dormant seeds of the field poppy to germinate. Thank you John, I used cad orange and sepia along with ink, I was hoping that just these two colours would give it a little atomsphere.

Poor Janet Dunbar. A tortured soul. Don't you torture yourself for too long Fiona. I fortell that your torture, and ours, will cease within the next seven days.

Lol!! I do hope so Michael...perhaps a pen & wash of Baldoon castle??? Or what's left of it anyway!lol

Lovely!

Almost missed this one Fiona, as others have said this is a real reminder of the desolation, a great painting

Many thanks David!

The feelings you say you're experiencing regarding painting are exactly what I went through the thoughts of painting left me cold and I lost total interest ; I think it's beacause when we constantly paint , draw or create the batteries run low and we need to recharge . I gave up trying and did not lift or think about painting for three solid weeks , then one day the sun cast a shadow from a pot plant in the back garden and I thought " what an interesting shape and I knew that's it I'm back " I hope you're up and running soon as I miss seeing your lovely work .

Dermot thank you for your understanding and encouragement, I'm sure most painters have a lean phase....I have at least a couple a year!lol I'll be fine, like you I will see or feel something that will trigger it off. Usually swapping medium does the trick but even the thought of that hasn't ignited the sprark. I'm going to try pastels I think, I tried them about thirty years ago and didn't take to them but I'm going to give them a go. I might find them far too difficult and go back to the easy option of watercolour....NOT!!!lol Thank you for taking the time to comment....appreciate your input.