The Sandbag Times Issue No: 29 - March 2017

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The War Poppy Collection Coming across this stunning collection of superb artwork has to be one of the highlights of the year for me so far. Being a little closet fan of war art, poetry, war music etc I was delighted to come across an advert for the War Poppy Collection being displayed at the National Arboretum. I dived into the website and was totally blown away. I could go on all day about this incredible collection but I’d rather the artist tell you in her own words about them. The Sandbag Times has enourmous pleasure in introducing Jacqueline Hurley, War Poppy Artist. Istarted painting The War Poppy Collection in October 2014 following advice from my doctor to find a therapeutic activity to help conquer severe depression, anxiety and panic attacks. My first remembrance painting was inspired while recalling the tragic death of my friend Royal Marine Neil Dunstan whilst he was serving with the Brigade Reconnaissance Force in Afghanistan in 2008. Neil was killed in an IED explosion that destroyed his Jackal vehicle while undertaking a routine patrol with Afghan National Security Forces. The first painting 'We Remember, We Fight On' was painted as a tribute and personal thank you to him. I am often asked by people why I started this collection of paintings and it is wonderful to be able to talk about Neil and help keep the remembrance of him alive through my artwork. It is important for me to thank our troops, veterans and their families, and my artwork has allowed me to reach out to people all over the world who I never would have been able to communicate with otherwise. Visual art can be a powerful means of communication as well as speaking a universal language. My War Poppy Collection paintings are tributes to our heroes in our Armed Forces and a remembrance to our fallen. My paintings use texture and layering as an integral part of my expressionism style, demonstrating that the hidden aspects are as important as those immediately visible; representing the mind and the long term suffering which is often inflicted by war. The red remembrance poppies are juxtaposed against highly textured, gritty impressionistic landscapes. I don't paint faces on my figures. Silhouettes help people connect with the works in a more personal, emotional and sentimental way; encouraging the people I paint for to relate the subjective nature of the paintings and the impressionism which have often been described as poignant and emotive. My painting can become a place you know, a person you love, it could be you. Although the images I paint depict war, I try to bring a sense of peace to my work, this being what we all hope for and what precious lives have been sacrificed for. After only painting the first few paintings in my War Poppy Collection, I made contact with The Royal British Legion who I now have a Commercial Association Agreement with and The Royal Marines Association. Although I wanted to keep the collection of original paintings together, there was an increasing demand for prints of my paintings which were being shared all over social media. It was a fantastic opportunity to help raise funds for these two wonderful charities. At a conference I attended for the Royal British Legion, the former Director General saw my remembrance art and invited me to exhibit my 'Recent Conflicts' work at the Royal Albert Hall for the Festival of Remembrance 2015. This was such a huge honour and the first time my artwork had gone on public display just a year after first starting painting. I met so many lovely people and was able to personally thank a lot of serving personnel and veterans. It was here that I made the decision to commemorate WW1 and WW2 in further paintings in my War Poppy Collection. As soon as I returned home from London I began painting the first of my WW1 paintings. One of my great grandfathers was a Crack Shot during the Great War, another served with the Home Guard and another was a Stretcher Bearer. Thankfully, my great grandfathers who had served on the Western Front all came home at the end of the First World War. My great grandfather William decided he wanted to continue the work he had been doing on the battlefields and trenches so trained as a psychiatric nurse, working with soldiers with what is now known as PTSD. I have received wonderful comments about the remembrance art in my 1914-1918 War Poppy Collection from many people who have been touched by and connected with it. It is continuing to keep remembrance in the forefront of people's minds not just one day a year but every day. Around this time mainstream galleries started to contact me and I feel blessed and honoured that my remembrance art is now reaching a wider audience | 14 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
through art galleries across the country as well as being sold by many military giftshops including The Royal Marine's Shop, The RAF Museum Online Store and a number of regimental PRI Shops. Again this is a fantastic opportunity for my artwork to be used to help raise funds for various forces charities. Last Spring, AC Framing Gallery in Centre MK Shopping Centre in Milton Keynes also had a 'Meet the Artist' exhibition of my work. This was a wonderful opportunity to meet so many lovely people who came to say hello and talk to me about my work. A few weeks earlier I had been contacted by Koin Ltd who produce World Challenge Coins asking if I would be interested in licensing some of the paintings in my War Poppy Collection to feature on silver and gold medals commemorating the upcoming 100 Year Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, in support of SSAFA The Armed Forces Charity. I absolutely loved the high quality collectables they produced and discovered that the Managing Director of the company, Ross Davies had served as a Royal Marine and known my friend Neil, who inspired the first painting. The commemoratives were a huge success with thousands of people wanting to continue collecting so a second and third volume were produced. Since the release of the War Poppy Collection commemoratives in July 2016, over £40,000 has been raised for SSAFA. If any readers are interested in these commemoratives, more details can be found at www.warpoppycollection.co.uk During this time I had begun working on my most recent War Poppy Collection 1939-1945. I had grown up in a very close family and my grandparents had often shared memories with me of their lives during WW2. My grandpa Les joined the Royal Navy at the start of WW2 serving as an able seaman. He was later commissioned as a gunnery officer. During the war he served on the aircraft carrier HMS Furious at the time the spitfires were launched to save Malta. He also served for two years on the Arctic convoys to Russia and another two years mine sweeping from Dover. My grandpa often talked of his time in the Royal Navy before he retired as a Commander. It was a very special part of his life and he was extremely proud to have been able to serve his country. My other grandfather, grandad Jack also served during WW2. He was in the Territorials before the war and served with the Royal Engineers at the start of the war, later serving with The Royal Signals in North Africa. Grandad Jack didn't talk about the war very much although he did learn some very rude jokes and rhymes which I won't repeat right now! He had a wonderful sense of humour. My Nanny Doris worked in a parachute factory in London during the war and told me how she made silk knickers with the offcuts of fabric for when my Grandad came home! She also told me of the time she was forces to jump two floors, like Wonderwoman, when the whole side of her flat was bombed. My other Nanny Joy worked as a secretary in Southampton. One day she went off on her bicycle to post the mail and when she returned her office had been bombed and wasn't there on her return. Another story my grandparents told was when my great grandparents, who lived through both world wars, had been asleep in bed during The Blitz when a bomb came through the roof of their home, making a hole right through their house to the ground floor. Amazingly and thankfully didn't explode! It is lovely to be able to share this with you. WW1 and WW2 are part of this country's history and heritage and too much has been sacrificed for the freedom we are blessed with today, for those who lived and fought through these times to be forgotten. I feel it is so important to pass these stories onto our children and grandchildren as they need to understand what generations before them lived through, and that our freedom wasn't free. It has always been very important to me to thank and pay tribute to our servicemen and women who sacrificed so much for the freedom we are blessed with today. I am still currently painting this collection and I know my grandparents would have been very proud of my work and what it represents. I am just sorry that they are no longer here to share their thoughts and ideas with me. I had the huge honour of again being invited by The Royal British Legion to exhibit my latest works in the War Poppy Collection at The Royal Albert Hall for the Festival of Remembrance 2016. My new pieces my were very well received and I met many more wonderful people who helped to raise more funds for the RBL by purchasing prints of the artwork. It amazes me how many people approach me because they recognise my work. It is lovely that people want to talk to me about it and share their own personal experiences and memories of loved ones with me. Jacqueline’s collection can be viewed at the National Memorial Arboretum. Click on the picture below for further details. Also, on our NAAFI Break page, there is the opportunity for one lucky reader to win a signed print of our cover picture ‘Raid of Remembrance’. To enter the competition go to page 27 and have a go. The Sandbag Times would like to thank Jacqueline for her kindness and assistance in the production of this article and for the donation of the prize for this months competition. www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 15 |
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The Sandbag Times Issue No: 29 - March 2017

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