i think it's done

Let's see what I think tomorrow.  But for now I think I have finished this little work.  It is about the size of an A4 page plus about an inch surround all around.  It felt appropriate to paint a less challenging, more gentle work after the weekend in the mountains where soldiers still remain, and then a day at the Commonwealth Cemetery and New Zealand monument in Cassino.

I hope that even though the subject is solemn, the beauty of the surroundings where these young men lost their lives will bring a sense of peace to those who remember them.

The location is towards Terelle, above Villa Santa Lucia.  The abbey on Monte Cassino was just to the left of the picture, so you can imagine it on the hill just before the valley.  I didn't need the abbey in this composition so took the photograph with the tree as my anchor.  The Liri Valley is in the background, and then you look across to the far ranges.

The figure is based on a real figure but painted largely from my imagination.  The little wooden cross and the flowers are like those often left on Point 593 (also known as Calvary Hill) and at the cemeteries.

PS: Friday, small adjustments and signed.  And sold, thank you, dear blog reader!

PPS: Home from the supermarket and looking across at the painting without my glasses on, I am thrilled at how the clouds are floating and in a space well clear of the "paper" background.  

Today I am grateful for peace in the valley.