Concept Sketches 5 of 6: Canada’s Proud military reference

My great-grandfather and my grandfather were in WW1 & WW2 respectively. They both returned but were not the same. My great-grandfather had lost his leg and was given a wooden one that he hid his paper money in.

Arthur Henry March Sr.

My grandfather was one of the men who stormed the beach on D-Day, and was in the same unit as ‘Scotty’ from Star Trek. I would spend a lot of time talking with him about his war years in Europe, but he never really got into any depth about his experiences. This frustrated my curious mind as a kid, but as an adult I fully understand why.

Arthur March

These two men were constantly over my shoulder while I was working on this piece, and were definitely the inspiration behind the two world war soldiers portrayed in the final image.

I’d like to give a big thank you to my cousin, Warrant Officer Bill Norman (ret’d), for all his efforts and help with this project.
Bill was stationed in Europe when I was a young boy, and I couldn’t wait to hear his stories when he’d come and visit us in Toronto. His storytelling always had my imagination in overdrive. He was the first person I contacted when I started this project, and he provided me with loads of visual and historical reference material which I leaned heavily on for accuracy. Thanks for all the help and great memories Bill! Very much appreciated.

If you read the notes on the first sketch page here you’ll see my paint colour recipes for the uniforms, but you’ll also find some very interesting facts on the Royal Newfoundland Regiment’s ‘Blue Puttees’.

Please remember to buy a poppy.
Our world owes a lot to our men and women who fought for us, and a poppy is such a small but powerful token of respect and gratitude reminding us to never forget.
You can see the final painting here.

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