War in my Art: WW1 Norm
My final post on War brings a little lightheartedness back to the Daily Norm. Having been chewing over the subject of war for a few weeks and having been plentifully inspired by the war art I saw at the Imperial War Museum, I was prompted to once again pick up my paintbrush and devote a work to the ravaged landscape of WW1 France. But as I am all about Norms at the moment, obviously a WW1 Soldier Norm takes centre stage. He may be just a character, but I think that through this parody, the horrors of war are still there for all to see. Hence in his eyes, a look of shock, exasperation and despair at the state of the world around him, beautiful landscape turned into hellish quagmire, human lives used as fodder for the guns. In the background, clouds loom menacingly in the sky, while before them, manmade clouds burst up from explosions, as the putrid, corpse-ridden deserted ground all around the trenches is blown further into the air and scattered like a rain shower. In the foreground poppies: traditional symbol of hope, life growing instinctively from human wreckage. In this, unique and Normy way, I remember.
WW1 Norm (acrylic on canvas, 2012 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown)
Related articles
- War in reflection: Poems from the trenches, photos for peace (normsonline.wordpress.com)
- War in my Art: Works inspired by Birdsong (normsonline.wordpress.com)
- War on canvas: Guernica – history repeating itself (normsonline.wordpress.com)
- War on film: War Horse v Pan’s Labyrinth (normsonline.wordpress.com)
The Daily Norm 
I haven’t been able to read all of your war posts, but glad you have focussed so much on it. Check this out:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/uknews/8848317/The-2011-Army-Photographic-Competition-Awards.html?image=3
My bro took this picture and won an award!! Not quite the horrors of war but a tiny part of the process.
XX
Oh wow that’s fantastic! Love the comical poses of the soldiers… was that set up or coincidental? Please pass him my congratulations! I didn’t know he was in the army! xx
Coincidental. He’s a Captain in The Scott’s Guards. Been out to Iraq twice.
Wow, you just whipped this painting up huh? Wish I could paint like that! Nice work. I really love the colors. I just saw the movie War Horse. It kind of reminds me of some scenes from that movie.