Leading up to November 11th Veteran's Day, this is my third post showcasing the third painting in this series  dedicated to those fallen Canadian soldiers.  I have been meaning to paint a special series of poppies for a couple of years now.  The seeds of this idea were planted after reading this book "Fifteen Days" by Christie Blatchford:   I have a friend named Brent Ginther who made it back home to his family after being severely injured and losing his friends on one of those fifteen days Christie describes in this book. The bravery of these soldiers is astounding and humbling at the same time.  

Rest in peace Christie, a courageous journalist!  

   I have to explain about the not so great pics, I took them only for myself as I was trying some new materials and techniques and wanted to note what worked and what didn't for future paintings.  Then I decided to share afterwards so they are what they are ha.  Getting the sketch and composition worked out here:

Now for some color!  As you can see in the second pic I came to regret that paint pen as it just bled and made a mess.  A few coats of paint and gesso fixed that issue while painting in the base colors.
Second last pic with the "crazy yellow" is a method to set up one more transparent layer of red after the yellow dries.  Once again I like to paint backlit subjects, it is the common lighting in most of my paintings. 

For the second post to continue the story of how this series has been developed, here are photos of the very beginning of the second painting.  Worked on matching the paint colors for the camo background.  As you can see I painted over the camo to recapture the flowers that would later be the foreground.  I would end up regretting the type of acrylic paint pen I used to compose the drawing.  It bled in spots and was too dark, will choose a more subtle color next time and a different brand as well. Used several layers of clear gesso and paint to finally overpaint the sketch.  For my seascapes, treescapes and wildflowers there is no drawing beforehand, lesson learned!

These pics are mostly about developing the foliage once the base colors of the poppies were painted.  I had used a light yellow as a base but later painted over that with a vivid almost fluorescent color so that it would remain bright enough once I painted the duller color of green in the shadow areas.  I really wanted that foliage to look back lit on a bright day.   

Next steps developed the poppies.  My method is lots of layers while allowing the base layers to shine thru in spots.  Repainting back to white, then yellow and finally three variations of red (a cool, a neutral and a warm red) to bring out the flower details. The final effect makes the poppies really pop against the dull background of the flag and camo.  

It's been a few years since I have painted poppies in a series.  We moved from Ontario to Alberta late last fall but once summer rolled around this year I was thrilled to see those gorgeous red poppies coming up in the garden.  They were not the Flanders Fields type (corn poppies) but the oriental (opium) type which inspired this new series.
Over the last few years I have reconnected with veterans that I served with many years ago as a supply tehnician, as a civilian contractor and in the reserves, all in for 16 years.  That was a long time ago and I treasure those friendships. 
​Over these last few years I have also met soldiers who served on the front lines of the Afghan war, many are my son's ages. This series is dedicated to those fallen heroes who served overseas during this time.  May they rest in peace and never be forgotten.  

I made 5 paintings, this is the story of Lest We Forget 11424 which is a 24 inch by 36 inch acrylic painting on canvas.  You will notice the camouflage background overlaid with the Canadian flag.  My good friend James Gault (Sgt ret) allowed me to borrow these two hats from his kit that he had worn while serving in the middle east.  When the CAF (Canadian Armed Forces) first entered the Afghan war the camo uniforms were the green variations only which funny enough did not work so well against the colors of sand.  Wasn't long before the CAF got that issue taken care of with the new sand variation which is why both types are part of the paintings, I felt it was an important detail to include.  Of course the flag is also an integral part of a soldier's uniform and represents the oath every service member takes while serving their country.  The following photos represent the making of this painting:

Here is a sneak peek of all five of the paintings.  I will be posting the detailed pics that I took as I painted each one in the next few posts as we get closer to Remembrance Day November 11th.