Oil

Military Portraits

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Portrait of Lieutenant General Sir Nicholas Pope, KCB, CBE in Oils by Annabelle Valentine
Lieutenant General Sir Nicholas Pope, KCB, CBE

I have been commissioned to paint all the outgoing Majors and Generals for the Queen’s Gurkha Signals since 2014. These are on permanent display within the army, alongside all previous portraits. It’s a very impressive sight of very impressive men and it is an honour to have my work displayed in this way.

Whilst painting at many military events over the years, I often speak to people who trained with the Gurkhas, always relaying tales of admiration.

I was delighted to be invited to the unveiling of the latest outgoing General, Major General Jonathan Cole, CB, OBE. This took place at their annual celebration and meal, which had been cancelled for the previous two years due to covid.

After a meeting, 9 of us were transported across the site in a minibus and then flanked by men playing bagpipes as we walked in line towards the event. 

Portrait of Major General Jonathan Cole, CB, OBE in Oils by Annabelle Valentine
Major General Jonathan Cole, CB, OBE
Major Tolbahadur Khamcha

115 Queens’ Gurkha signals gathered, all dressed in a striking bright red uniform and me – the random artist.  Unfortunately I had mostly lost my voice that day, so my requested speech was short and quiet, I was also almost frozen solid at that point as this happened outdoors. Note to self: Bring a big warm coat next time. As we moved inside, the Napalese meal was outstanding, luckily it is my favourite type of food, and if I ever eat out, our local Nepalese in Blandford  ‘Namaste’ is always where I choose. The music during intervals was excellent too. 

I was given accommodation overnight and invited for a big breakfast the next morning. My previous paintings were taken down for varnishing and I later returned home on various buses and trains. 

Thanks to everyone who made that happen, an experience I will never forget!

Back to the Real World

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So it is with great sadness that I come to the end of my current stint of training, I have created 6 paintings at the Sarum Studio, 3 of which are destined for the bin, and 3 turned out surprisingly well, including the one below. They are all of the same model – I was surprised that my teacher let us work together after the first one as we were really quite chatty, in a mostly quiet room full of concentrating artists, I am already banned from working with another artist for the same reason, we had far too much fun! (Whilst working hard of course)

Marius, a portrait in Oils from live sittings by Annabelle Valentine
“Marius” a portrait in Oils from live sittings

It has been hugely challenging , I feel as though I have learned so much from the tuition, and I am excited about putting my new skills into practice in future, I will definitely continue my studies when I have saved up again and already miss everyone there.

It is strange being back in Blandford again, and re-opening the gallery which was looking terribly neglected, but I return to many new exciting projects, alongside an attempt to get fit, oh and lots of paperwork.

I have had some interesting photo-shoots over the years. I did an outdoor shoot for 2 good sized portraits alongside their dogs near London this February, brrrrr, frozen hands. One of the models – a huge Alsatian guard dog was definitely considering me for dinner. The people were lovely and welcoming and gave us a very tasty lunch, so a great day was had all round.

Annabelle Valentine at The Sarum Studios in Salisbury

After celebrating Easter at The Sarum Studio with a pair of bunny ears, four furry guests turned up at the gallery in the shape of the most adorable rescue bunnies. I was only expecting two, and the challenge of getting bunnies to pose together took quite a while, as they happily hopped around.

It was so enjoyable, I would definitely consider a career as a professional bunny photographer; I am looking forward to painting them and will post a blog when they are finished.

I completed another military photo-shoot too, neither chilly or fluffy, variety is the spice of life!

Loving Salisbury!

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The end of week six at the Old Masters training, following our half term the week before – a much needed rest from pretty much everything. I have ramped up my hours working on commissions for customers at the Wren Hall too. I do this before and after my training each day. Starting artwork before 8am was initially quite traumatic for this night-owl, but I am starting to get used to it now, and enjoying working high up in the building, with old leaded windows overlooking the stunning Salisbury Cathedral. The tutor Nick is trying to get the heating working up there, but I don’t mind working in the near Arctic conditions – the room has it’s own climate much like my home! The odd hot drink to hold when my hands start to go numb works wonders.

I booked a tour of the cathedral tower with a friend from the course, if anyone ever gets the chance to do this, I highly recommend it. Apart from the almost unbelievable facts about how it was built during the medieval times, the views from the spire are just incredible. The building seems a lot higher once you get up there. Around 80,000 tons of materials were used, and apart from the spire, it was built in just 38 years! The medieval transport could only carry 1 ton per trip…. After climbing many many steps, the inside of the spire was a seemingly higgledy piggledy tangle of huge pieces of wood, and very tall indeed.

It has also been a week of new orders – I have 3 more confirmed and there are a lots which will unfold over the next few months, a few photo-shoots need an outdoor backdrop when the weather improves and spring is here.

I am planning more sleep this week, and to get on top of my paperwork, I blink and seem to have another 5 tasks to get through. The ‘things to do’ lists are quite long but I am on it! Surprisingly considering that February is my least favourite month, and the urge to hibernate is quite strong. Sitting at home typing this with the wood-burner gorgeous warmth I am thankful for being cosy.

And no art blog is complete without an image of my work, so here is an oil painting of a very cute dog, 12″ x 16″. The photo-shoot happened in the gallery, and it was such a hot day last summer. The requirement was for his mouth to be closed, however, with the sun streaming in my huge windows, and the dog having just come back from a walk, he flopped on the floor and spent nearly the entire time panting with his tongue hanging out. I luckily captured the split second when he was looking just right.

You can see him and more animal portraits including a newly added image of Canford Cliffs being ridden by top jockey Richard Hughes on the gallery page.

Pet portrait of a dog in Oils

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