Wren at Dusk

Wren at Dusk
8 x 12 Oil/Panel

I have been working on this one for a while, trying to get the landscape to fit well with the wren.

I was just signing it this morning as I listened to the BBC Radio 4 PM programme, and there was a report on a ceremony in France to bury the last of the unknown Australian soldiers from the First World War. Relatives read out letters received from some of the soldiers and they were so moving, bringing tears to my eyes and I couldn't see to sign my painting.

As I looked at my painting of a bird in a tranquil landscape, I couldn't help but be aware of the sharp contrast in my life to those who go to war to enable me to stay at home in the safety of my studio and paint birds and landscapes. It would be good to be able to give something back....