Poppy Fields

If I had to define myself these days, it would be as a poet and an artist. Not that I have sold or published any of my poetry for financial gain.  Indeed, I have three volumes of unpublished poetry and now close on 50 finished paintings in watercolour or soft pastels.  One of the paintings even has 3D raised edges as I develop into using other mediums.  The poetry and art goes a long way to offsetting my mental health problems, and I am indebted to MIND Aberystwyth for providing the weekly art class.

This is a monkey (tasks that are there but sought of never get done or take a long time to do) (they sit on your shoulders, often as a burden) that has sat there (in my head) waiting to be completed for about 3 or 4 years. I wrote the poem, and individually developed each of the military figures, including cutting them out and moving them around to get the composition.  The idea is that there is a poem and a linking image.  The left hand soldier is from the Boer War or early and that part of the scene is Africa. The middle soldier is a World War I stretcher bearer and us wearing the corresponding 'SB' armband.  The middle scene being the muddy battlefields of France.  They are clearly identified as British.  Whereas the clarity between nations for a modern soldier is harder to define, so the right hand figure wears a Union Jack on the left arm.  This soldier is saying thank you, to those that care for others.  That could be someone who donates during the annual Poppy Appeal.  The modern soldier scene is set in the Middle East, but the kit is deliberately greener than desert fatigues because our soldiers are trained and called to respond anywhere in the World.  

The theme was there, but I knew that the execution wouldn't be.  Especially seeing how poor an artist I was back in 2011.  Thankfully I had some marvellous watercolour painting lessons, including on how to paint poppies while on holiday on the P&O Ventura cruise ship this year.  The original draft drawing was too crammed.  I had used smaller sized paper and had written the poem too large and too close to the left hand figure.  

A few months ago (before the summer holiday); I redrew the poem (Poppy Fields) and the military figures onto a bigger sheet of better quality watercolour paper.  But alas I still set it aside as a future task given that my art was still developing.  So with the 2015 remembrance week looming, and poppies being a major theme, I decided to crack on with the painting a few weeks back and managed to finish it today. 

The final Stanza of the poem refers to the fact that members of our military still die, and that each death is a return of the 'Poppy Fields'.

(Click on the image to open it full size in order to see all of the scene).

All rights reserved (poem and artwork)

Roger Bennett

2015