10 Most Deadly Things

This quick little watercolor is based on a viral poster that describes the 5 most dangerous things in the military. You've probably already seen it but if not you can find it here. I can relate to the Warrant Officer's "watch this..." one on many levels. Mine is called 10 Most Deadly Things because there are quite a few missing from the list including the RSM's "Back in my day this is how we did it...".

I also really liked the image and thought I'd try it out using watercolors. Its pretty iconic and a bit hackneyed but the composition is sound. I filmed the whole thing and posted it for your viewing pleasure.

Hand Grenades

I have to admit I have a deep-seated fondness for the common hand grenade. Even its name and history evoke a sense of wonder and awe. It was the French in the 1590's who devised the first of these little beauties and dubbed them "pomegranate" or "pomegrenate" from which "grenade" is derived from. If you believe Wiki then its the pomegranate's shape and seeding (or in the case of a grenade, shrapnel) that brought about the naming.

Don't get me wrong, as a means of killing, maiming and otherwise disposing of somebody, the hand grenade is a wicked and cruel device. Its indiscriminate and has a nasty habit of biting its handlers. Still, the boy inside me laughed with glee the first time I tossed a hand grenade some 25 years ago, during my basic training. I've tossed many since (high, low, short and long) and there still resides a sense of awe and respect for the devices. Design wise, they are simple, perfectly ergonomic and almost Apple like in their clean lines. Unlike other soldier tools, the grenade is very un-complicated and for the most part unchanged over the last 100 years: pull pin, throw and 3-5 seconds later, kaboom! As a tool for the infantry, they are indisputable in their value on the battlefield. Alleyways, rooms and holes are all sanitized by first tossing in a grenade. But as mentioned, the hand grenade cannot tell the difference between friend, foe or a small child and its for that reason that soldiers are so restrictive on their use.


Useful, wicked and beautiful. It was these attributes that attracted me to the idea of doing a series on the hand grenade. My intent is to treat each version with a different medium and allow the mediums to empower the attributes. Broken tile and pottery, neon lights and collage are a few ideas pinging around in my head. And they have to be big. Real big.

Splitting Up the Team

April 6, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Shaun was sent off today up north to photograph an ANP (Afghan National Police) graduation ceremony. Not quite enough room for the whole team and in those instances, the photographer goes, (my rules.) For myself I went out to the EME compound to watch the vehicle techs work on LAVs and trucks. The unit SgtMaj greeted me and gave me the grand tour of their new facilities. It’s a pretty huge shop with all the latest gear and its was actually pretty cool to watch the team drop in LAV engines. The techs didn’t really like having me around taking pictures and I had at least 3 different people come up and ask me not to take photos of them or what they were doing. In the past I would take the time to explain I was not media (despite my ID) and that what I was actually doing was trying to create a legacy of their effort. Honestly, I just didn’t feel like going through the effort. They gave me stink-eye and I just kept taking photos in spite of their scowling.

Despite the lack of support from the techs, I have a great plan for a painting about the EME’s effort over here and coming to their shop and getting some detailed pics is a great start. I know typically the war effort is seen as the pointy end of the spear and as a former infantry guy, I also tend to also only see that side of it. This is inaccurate, non-inclusive and does not represent the Canadian war. At least 3 of the 10 paintings I’ve committed to will represent the support elements of the war: EME, cooks, medics ect. It might not be grand or heroic but this place would grind to a halt without these people supporting the mission. They need to be represented and remembered.


Shaun is gone for the night and I expect him back tomorrow sometime. Sending him off on his own isn’t really part of the plan (we’re suppose to support each other) but we need to jump on these opportunities. As predicted, getting based out of KAF has really slowed us down. Its unlikely we’ll be allowed to get back out to the FOBs due to operational demand. Nothing we can do so we’ll continue to mope around this base of 30,000 people and jump on any chance we get to get back outside the wire.

Road Moves

April 4, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Unfortunately we’ve had to move from our FOB in the South Panjwai area back to Kandahar Airfield (KAF). I’ll state that we did this under protest as our goals cannot be attained back in the confines of the main base and to date we’ve received nothing but support and encouragement from the leadership on the FOBs. This was a logistics issue only and after it was explained to us (a couple times) we packed up our belongings and waited for the Combat Logistics Patrol (CLiP) back to KAF.

Our trip in was via Chinook was fast and efficient: the trip out was via road-move and it was hot, long and bone-rattling. Canada uses ‘people-pods’ to move troops on the ground in southern Afghanistan and its best to describe this mode of transport as odd. We’ve moved about a fair bit in the back of LAVs and TLAVs which are confined but with the hatches open, provide some relief. The people-pod is a sealed, armoured sea-can on the back of a large (24 ton?) truck (Mike B will be sure to correct my truck-ignorance). Basically you’re sealed into a large can on the back of a truck, on convoy from the FOB back to KAF. I can’t give specifics but the ride ranges from 2-6 hrs… Oh, and the air conditioning in the tuna-can was broken and Shaun was having an active bowel day. Yes, it was that kind of trip.

  

Shaun did not enjoy this ride and in all honesty, neither did I. The poor Airforce SSgt beside Shaun REALLY didn’t enjoy the trip but again, that probably had as much to do with the smell coming from Shaun as the boat like motion of the pod. We had a short stop at another FOB and managed to get into KAF late the same day. Our handler Sgt R met us at the depot and got us to our lines which we’re really thankful for as we had no idea where we had landed. The Public Affairs group here runs a tight ship and thanks to people like the good Sgt, we’ve always had somebody here to point us in the right direction when we hit the ground all discombobulated.

We ended out day with a walk on the boardwalk. It’s a bit surreal to be out in a FOB at the start of the day and having chicken strips in a TGI Fridays at its end. Welcome to Afghanistan.

For the Love of Porcelain

April 3, 2011, South Panjwai, Afghanistan

Another beautiful day in Afghanistan. Waking up here is both surreal and grounding: there is calmness in the country-side with the fields turning green and the birds chirping but this is in contrast to the seriousness of the mission. The fact that we’re in the middle of a war zone where IED explosions and the occasional shooting is ever present is a great reality check. Nothing like painting a pretty water-color of a nearby village only to be interrupted by a plume of smoke in the distance from some ordinance being detonated. Surreal and grounding.

Today Shaun went out on a dismounted patrol with some engineers. Again, he took some great photos and was treated very well. He got to experience what many who come to this country as a soldier never experience and I think he was pretty happy for it. While he was outside the wire I was up on the high feature in the FOB watching his progress at a distance. I took the time to work on a modest little landscape-watercolor that will eventually be turned into something more grand in the future. Working on watercolors and sketches here is difficult due to the environment (dust, wind and harsh sun) and the distractions. I try to cram in some work when I can but there is so much to see and do and I can’t sacrifice opportunities to talk and capture photos that will be more useful to me in the long run. We’ve been able to capture a lot of stories here and some of them will be worked into the paintings. Some will not because they are too personal and I’m just not comfortable sharing them (even though the soldiers shared them with us).


One lesson I’ve learned here is that nothing is what it seems and you can’t take anything for granted. I guess that’s a pretty cliché point of view but some of the stories we’ve heard here really cement the cliché. Personal relationships at home, internal conflicts and external recognition are common themes. Probably the funniest story came from a troop that was providing security for Shaun on his dismounted patrol. He was going home soon for his HLTA (mid-tour leave) and was complaining that as soon as he was home, his wife wanted to go camping. Imagine roughing it in a FOB (and outside the FOB) for six months only to go home to more camping. Too funny. As one MCpl mentioned, as soon as he got home he was going to kiss his daughter, his wife and his porcelain toilet (not necessarily in that order). Security, safety, hot water and a comfortable bed to sleep in are not things these people take for granted. Everybody should have to experience what they experience, if only for a week or two.

This might be our last day in the FOB: extenuating circumstances that we have no control over and no, it was not Shaun’s behavior (although he risks much with the SgtMaj.) Whatever happens, we’ve accomplished at lot in the short time we’ve been here and if we never get another chance to get outside the wire, we still have captured everything we needed.


Lastly, I wanted to thank the Arty troop that hosted us in the FOB. Frank, you have an amazing team. Thank you so much for taking care and putting up with our antics (mostly Shaun’s antics ;). Andy, thanks for great stories and banana bread (I’m pretty sure we’re the only embeds to leave a FOB with a care package). Look out for Gille. Buzz, thanks for setting us up and making sure we didn’t blow anything up. Seriously, I didn’t know grenades would come tumbling out of that seacan when I opened it up. Bon Chance my friends.

Going on Patrol

April 2, 2011, South Panjwai Afghanistan.

Today Shaun and I headed out with some Infantry folks from Quebec for a mounted patrol. We moved from our FOB out to provide security and support for engineers who were building a paved road north of our position. Paved roads might sound frivolous in a place that struggles to provide clean water but paved roads really deter the planning of IEDs. As much as we westerners think that IEDs are bad for our troops, we are reminded that for every soldiers killed by and IED, 25 Afghans also lose their lives to them. IED’s are a terror weapon and paving the roads is a great project to protect solider and civilian alike.


In the district we are in the Canadians area responsible for patrolling the roads. This task falls on the engineers and infantry with the support of the ANA and ANP. If I were to assess risk in Afghanistan it would start with an administrator sitting in an air conditioned trailer in KAF and end with the engineers and infantry outside the wire, driving or walking the roads. I don’t assign importance as every role supports the end goal but after riding in the LAV out on these rough roads, one develops a certain appreciation for the risk these soldiers are taking. Very gutsy stuff. Shaun did a brilliant job capturing images of the soldiers on the move, during dismounts and when we hit various smaller patrol bases (austere indeed). All in all it was a great day and we captured enough info for at least 3 paintings.

I might start to sound like a broken record but again today we were amazed at the level of cooperation with the soldiers we were attached to. Nothing but love. All the troops we worked with were happy to see us, happy to have us along (although a little amazed that we’d want to go outside the wire) and more than a little interested in what the end results would looks like. Shaun spends a fair amount of time over here getting some of the photos ready to hand back to the soldiers. They focus on their jobs and don’t really get a chance to snap pictures and to boot, Shaun’s photos are better than anything they’ve ever seen. While in the FOB we are attached to the gunners (also from Quebec) for accommodation, care and feeding and they have been exceptionally accommodating. A happy, professional crew who, at over halfway through their tour, are still keen and ready to dole out a world of hurt when called on.

We were informed today that for reasons I can’t go into here, we are ordered back to KAF. Can’t release the details but its quite a bit ahead of our original schedule. Its bittersweet as we’d much rather stay in the FOB than in KAF. We’ll miss this place (and Shaun will waste away with the loss of the flying kitchen) but we have captured a lot of content and I’m confident we’ll get another chance to get outside the wire before heading home.

The Arrival

Getting to Afghanistan is much easier than I thought. All it take is 3 flights and 18hrs of flying over 3 days. Easy-peasy. I even found the experience of flying Ariana (Afghanistan's national airline) not unpleasant: we had great seats, food was decent everything was pretty well organized. I will state one simple fact: the plane was ancient. The crate we flew in/on should, by all account, not be able to fly. But it did and it got us to our destination ahead of time and even cheery... and then you land in Kabul.

The Kabul International Airport looks like its getting some major investment thrown into it. Despite all the new seats and fixtures, its still a bit of a gong-show going through customs. Thankfully Shaun had a friend Dave and his assistant meet us at the airport and take us to their secure villa. CanPro Villa is an oasis in the middle of Kabul. Our host pointed out several places on route where suicide attacks have taken place. He also pointed out where the trauma-pack was in the truck and where safe houses were on route in case we were attacked. This isn't paranoia. Indeed, Dave was attacked inside a market just down the street from his villa back in January this year. A bullet and grenade wound latter and he's showing us how he escaped the attack. There is a grit to this city that is quite humbling. One one side you see abject poverty while on the other, you see Afghan's trying to meek out a living through industry and trade. Its a city in transition. Courage isn't necessarily confined to the act of strapping on a gun and going on patrol: sometimes the very essence of courage is the fact you can start a business in a place where things have a tendency to blow up all the time.

So again Dave, thank you for your hospitality and help.

Commencing Countdown, Engines On...

In just over a month from now Shaun O'Mara and myself will be heading to Afghanistan. We've received our embed approval from the Canadian Forces and ISAF. Our body armor has arrived (thanks MS), helmets and protective eye-wear provided (thank you RH, PK and stores!) and our plane tickets are booked (thanks GL). We've depleted our entire budget on airline tickets so from here on out, we're begging, borrowing and borrowing (without permission). Luckily, there are not a lot of expenses once we're out in the forward operating bases otherwise we'd have to fall back on bake-sales (although that is not entirely out of the question).


As I've stated in other posts, we (Shaun and myself) are very, very fortunate to have generous and supportive friends and family. The Hon LCol of the Royal Westminster Regiment, Karen Baker-MacGrotty has gone out of her way to help us raise funds, awareness and promote our cause. The guys in stores, support from the CO and old friends helping with flights in/out of Kabul all amounts to the start of a successful project. This is the power of the social network.

Our focus over the next couple of weeks is to improve our French language skills, ensure our kit list is completed and begin preliminary work on the themes we want to capture. That last part is important because, although we don't want to land on the ground with too many preconceptions, we do want to build up content around some general themes. This gives us some direction instead of the "waiting for it to fall on us" approach to the creative process.

With that said, I'd like to hear what themes are important to you. Soldiers, ex soldiers and the general public alike. Everybody has established some mental images of how they view the conflict and how they view the soldiers. I'd like to hear about some of those themes so please post below.

Starting Small

All my bigger projects start out small. I usually do a couple thumb-nails and/or smallish watercolors of the subject before committing to the larger piece. Its a great way to figure out how I'll build it, what I'll use and how everything will come together. Its not to say that its all so planned that there is no spontaneity. Just the opposite. I find that by doing the smaller pieces I am able to better organize my intent and that when I start on the larger piece, I'm more focused and open to 'playing in the paint' or experimenting now that I have direction. The direction or intent is the focal point and the methodology is just a means to that end. That 'means' is pretty bloody important and its where I normally succeed when my intent fails. That is very frustrating for me. I've heard many times that where my subject might fail, the skill at applying the paint is very successful. Or 'pretty painting, ugly subject'. To that end, I struggle to simplify my intent, to give it clear purpose without pretense and without the preaching. The applying of paint to the board is the easiest part.

Most of my smaller pieces are committed to my travel sketchbooks. These are the standard Moleskine art books and I find they do quite well. I take these with me wherever I go and I aways take the time to find something to paint. Its with these I intend to document my eventual trip to Afghanistan and with these sketchbooks and a camera, I plan to build up enough of a subject base to furnish the larger projects.

Painting #1: Preparing for Shura

The background for this painting is provided by several sources. A friend from my regiment, Andrew Richards, recently came home from a tour in Afghanistan. One of the photo's he was nice enough to give me is of him and some PPCI and EOD folks blowing an IED they found north of Haji Baba, which is the outskirts of Nakhoney, Panjwai. This makes up the right side of the painting. The main picture is of an elder who organized shura's for the Canadians in another district (redacted). Shura's are sit down meeting that village elders have to conduct business, trade and manage village affairs. They are also one of the main means of conveying ideas and proposals from reconstruction teams and/or area commanders to the village.

This painting is not on canvas but instead I've decided to use board. These next 10 painting will all be on 22"x42" Canadian Maple. As you can see, I start with a red background, much the same way painters have done for the last 200 years. It gives a rich base and provides a glow to the paintings that I really like. It makes the painting pop.

Although its hard to see, I also construct my painting with a 3rd dimension. The village elder is on a separate board that is raised 1/2" off the main board. This gives depth (literally) and an interesting juxtaposition that makes you look twice. I started this little trick when I was in school and I decided a while back I was going to re-visit it for this series of paintings. I find it also helps to create smaller watercolors of the project as a proof of concept. It really helps me conceptualize the final project and come to grips with how I will approach it. Below is a water color of the elder I did in my sketchbook some months back.

Adding the details is critical. It's the difference between a half-realized concept and a fully fleshed out story. The real test is knowing when to stop, when to back away and stop painting: To know when you're done. Although this is my first full size painting in 10 years, the mussel memory is there and I find that working the paint into the painting becomes easier with each brush-stroke. That said, I still have a ways to go before I'm even close to regaining all the skills I use to have...

Christopher B

Painting to Afghanistan

This is the first of 10 paintings about my friends who have served. The Canadian Reserves has a long tradition of serving in peace keeping missions, wars and conflicts all over the world.

I've decided to document, through paint, my friends and regimental fellows who have served in these conflicts. These are individuals who join the reserves and volunteer to leave their civilian jobs, school and family in order to serve their country, prove their skills, make money and/or to support their regimental brothers and sisters. In Canada, reservists are not called up or forced to go overseas to serve a tour of duty. Canadian reservists have to volunteer for duty. They conduct work-up training, serve a tour and then come home, back to their civilian lives. These tours might be as long at 18 months including the work up training.

I don't intend this to be a commentary on the necessity of war, nor do I intent to politicize the debate on our current engagements throughout the world. What I intend is to document the history of my friends and former regimental family who have decided to go to war. To capture them in their element, to provide context to their stories and give meaning to my own contribution. That said, it would be disingenuous for me to suggest I am unbiased. I also served in a reserve infantry unit for over 20 years.

This blog will document the creation of these paintings, the creative process and final product. I welcome both constructive and critical feedback.

Christopher B