Portrait

Military Portraits

by
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

by

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!

Time Flies

by

(edited as I initially wrote most of this in August…)
Summer has surprised me once again, by vanishing so quickly, I can’t believe how the time flies. I finished my training at The Sarum Studio for the time being, but have booked in to return in February to paint for 5 weeks. The aim this summer was to finish what I refer to as the “never-ending-renovation” of my house, and I have become a renovating hermit, traditionally lime plastering, wallpapering, putting up coving, sanding floors and decorating etc, as well as working on commissions in between. Needless to say that after 9 years, I still haven’t finished, and have had to scale back my rather optimistic finish date due to the 13 commissions currently on order, and 2 more on the horizon.
My father always used to say ‘work hard, play hard’ however he just worked – 80 or 90 hours a week. I do a fair bit of both.
I find that the busier life is, the faster time seems to pass, and the years zoom past at an unnerving rate. It is rare that I take time out just to chill out and relax, saying that, many of the renovating tasks, in a similar way to creating artwork feel like a meditation in one way or another.
As too many people have seen over the years, the house is a horrible chaotic building site.
The main part of the old and wonky listed building being completed will be a huge milestone, on a project which has already taken 9 years – I am sure most people would have been able to build a castle in that time…
Still, it is starting to look good, progress is a very satisfying thing and it was great to be able to move out of sleeping in the lounge recently. As I type this, I look forward to completing the lime washing of the hallways tomorrow and move the ladders which everyone has had to squeeze past all summer.
People ask what I will do when it is finished? I have it all planned – I am looking forward to dedicate more of my time to art, long walks, having friends round for coffee, yoga, reading books, watching films, I can’t wait for that to happen – next year…..
Happy equinox. Annabelle

Here is a charcoal of one of the models at The Sarum Studio.

Charcoal Drawing from live sitting at The Sarum Studio by Annabelle Valentine