Two Dudes in a Trench

I think I'm going to put this into 'Surreal' because, all war is surreal. It could also go in 'Macabre & Horror' for much the same reason. The first of my promised series of 'War is Hell' paintings. I'm exploring particularly the period of World War I to the current day. Images are not all from photos. This one in particular is just from my imagination. Mostly inspired by my own experience digging foxholes and trenches, of which I did a few, all with a small shovel called an entrenching tool. Not that I fought in one, do people even do that any more? But after you've been digging a trench with a toy sized shovel for 12 hours in 100 degree weather, it still feels a bit like hell on earth. Although a bit satisfying to have finished, I must say. Makes digging graves for the cats when they die seem easy by comparison.

This is a bit raw. I left it that way partly because I want a bit of a raw, harried look to the whole series, to sort of bring the viewer in to the way soldiers feel and see when they're exhausted and sleep deprived, and also, just because it's the first one. I'll probably do a couple more detailed as I get into it. Just testing the waters now, the next one'll probably be quick too. Want to get a look down before I put more work into them.

Oil on canvas, 30x40", 2011.