Walk With Me In Hell

(Image is painting 50% Completed)

Officially my tallest work to date, the burnt monstrosity entitled ‘Walk With Me In Hell’ measures 4ft x 8ft. The piece was initially painted using acrylics and a paint roller to create a large blend effect between the red and orange colours. The aim was to create an image of hell as if it was on this Earth and more importantly, in the War.

In war, at lot of things tend to blow up, or catch fire, so flames are no stranger to war. In reflection of this, flames are no stranger to this canvas. The darkened initial image is a threshold drawing in marker pen of the burning oil fields in Iraq, which have then been dripped upwards using hairspray to match the direction of blend between red and orange, already on the canvas.

Next step was to burn the canvas, to recreate a charred effect on the skin of the canvas, as if it had been dragged through a war zone. Many modern war artists are tied to a regiment and take pictures and document all they see. They tend to create their artwork at home after their tour or back at the barracks. In my piece, I have tried to give the impression that the painting has been created in the middle of a war, with explosions going off around the artist. A humorous but dangerous concept to say the least.

My main source of inspiration for this piece is the aptly named song ‘Walk with me in Hell’ by American artists Lamb of God. The song is powerful and paints a picture of destruction and chaos. From inspiration by listening to this song, and visualising what I wanted to create, the finished canvas will hopefully be as close to how I first imagined.

The final image burnt into the canvas signifies a human, could be your commanding officer: asking you to walk with him in hell, or go with him to war. Many soldiers have thought that the tours and patrols of Iraq have been not too far from a ‘Walk in Hell’.