What is quickly done is quickly seen and would not bear the test of careful examination.
Jacques-Louis David
1748 – 1825
MILITARY
I've collected "toy", then model soldiers and drawn pictures of soldiers as long as I can remember.
I don't know why as there was no history of military service in my immediate family so maybe it was just being a boy growing up in post-war Britain.
My obsession in the early 1960s was the American Civil War (it was the centenary with lots of media exposure and new toys), but the discovery of "proper" wargaming by adults in 1965 showed me the Napoleonic era was so much more varied and colourful.
Once I managed to sell oil paintings successfully as landscapes I was keen to try military subjects in oil, but it was a niche market and I never really had time or energy to market myself properly until my retirement aim of being a professional artist threw up opportunities.
A presence online through News groups and Forums and wargaming gatherings saw me focus, in addition, on 18th century military uniforms and conflicts and allowed me to mix with like-minded enthusiasts many of whom decided to buy and commission my work.
While my own expertise is mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries, I have painted scenes as diverse as the British forces in Afghanistan in the mid-noughties (influenced by my own visit to the Iraq conflict zone with my Government work in 2006) back to Hastings 1066, and the taking of Rome by Ostrogoths. So historic period is not a barrier, and military paintings can be merely one or two soldiers as a vignette through to portraits of military leaders, a regiment on parade, or a raging battle scene with smoke, casualties and martial atmosphere.
Equally a painting can be devised to suit any space - a rectangular area over a sofa, that awkward upright spot at the bottom of the stairs, the niche between the display cabinets, or a classic panorama as a statement painting over the door to your wargaming room!
As I've said under the Drawings and Hussarette Themes, my approach is painstaking involving a lot of research, live models whenever possible, realistic props and extensive trial and error with sketches and mockups to get a result that meets the client's approval. Despite that the prices are very reasonable for the amount of effort involved, and the long lasting result in oil or acrylic is worth it. Please ask me for an estimate when we've discussed your requirements.
I'm also grateful to Colin Ashton for his patronage and constant encouragement for my military work. He has about twenty of my paintings now and is commissioning more. I've had the extreme pleasure and pain of having to curtail his enthusiasm at times - whenever shown my latest work he's said "I'll buy that!".
Oakridge Lynch
Nr Stroud
Gloucestershire
GL6 7NZ
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