Gallipoli: a homecoming

Homecoming
Oil on Canvas
51 x 76 cm

There has been a lot of talk about the Gallipoli campaign this year which is not surprising I suppose, since April 2015 is the 100 year anniversary.

When I began this painting I had not intended for it to be anything to do with war but the First World War took it over. I was unaware that I had been influenced by the general chatter about Gallipoli until it appeared in my work. It showed me just how influenced we are by our environment, even when we don't particularly take notice of it.

So I dedicate this painting to my grandfather Philip who fought with NZ troops against the Germans in WWI. He died of his war wounds sixteen years after the war ended and featured in my childhood as the father my mother spoke of who had died when she was fourteen.

The young man in the picture, a German citizen, is grandfather Philip's namesake and direct descendant.

NZ WWI  troops including grandfather Philip (top right)

Being a mother

Smiling through the clamour
Oil on canvas 45 x 60 cm

It is not easy being a mother, especially when your two  boisterous younger children are eternally in competition,  each demanding 150% of their mother's attention.

It is a gift to be able to keep smiling through the noise and demands, a gift I esteem very highly (not having inherited it myself). Greta has the gift, as you can see. Her lucky children are too small to know how rare it is, but one day they may look back, reflect and appreciate.

Acrylic over oil

You shouldn't paint with acrylic over oil, that is unless you want an effect like this - a flaky looking portrait. Actually it looks better in the flesh than as a photo.

Sophia