I’ve wanted to paint poppies for a while now, and I finally unpacked my painting supplies, (it was a long month without them!) so I figured it was the perfect time to try it! And it happens to be Remembrance Day in a few days too, so this is extra-good timing.  I painted this for my dad: (Can you see the hidden paper plane in the sky? I thought that would be an interesting touch!) I used a big, circle piece of mat board as my canvas and acrylics as my paint of choice. My dad’s dad died in World War II, so I think he will extra-appreciate this painting. Here is a write up about my grandfather and his aircrew that went down on Feb 20 1944: http://www.aircrewremembered.com/raf1944/2/bowenjack.html

He was Pilot 2. It’s so crazy to see how young most of these men were when they made such a huge sacrifice! My Grandfather was only 26 and his wife had just had her second child, my dad,  a few months before- he didn’t even get to meet his new baby! Poppies are one of the prettiest flowers, in my opinion, but sometimes they look so sad. They needed a paper airplane to cheer them up: My lil brudda is just finishing up his basic training right now… and I can’t help but think about what other teenaged boys seem to be doing with their lives. I understand that not everyone feels they should be in the military, but it’s just been crazy to read all these stories about young men who volunteered to do huge things with their lives and gave up so much just so they could help others. It’s a lot different than prestiging in Call of Duty.  So nuts.

I got around to making a 3 part series on how to paint this painting- and I have had a lot of good feedback from you guys! I have seen people who have NEVER painted, creating masterpieces! So try those out here.

UPDATE: Crazy story- After I posted this 2 years ago, I was contacted by someone who was claiming to be a relative, who found me because I had linked the aircrew remembrance society, who in turn added my painting to their memorial page. He saw that I was Clifford’s granddaughter and contacted me, and indeed it was my dad’s long lost cousin! Since then I have been blessed to have been able to connect with amazing relatives I didn’t know existed!!! HOW COOL IS THAT?!

I will end this post with my fave Remembrance day quote:

Our battlefields, safe in the keeping

Of Nature’s kind, fostering care,

Are blooming, our heroes are sleeping,

And peace broods perennial there. ~ John H. Jewett