A town’s D-Day commemoration has been portrayed in paint by a artist with a long-time connection to painting the armed forces.
Artist, author and tutor, Tim O’Brien created a Plein-Air oil painting at yesterday’s (June 6) D-Day 80th annniversary commemoration in Bingham.
Plein-Air painting is the practice of painting in the open air, with the subject in view, and Bingham-based creative Tim spent around one hour and 15 minutes on the piece.
He waited to paint the sky and the beacon last of all when it was lit around 9pm.
Tim said: “It was a last minute decision on my part to paint the event, but as I have recently helped to form a new Plein-Air group called The Nottingham Painters Collective, I wanted to practice painting outdoors. Because, if you think about popular TV programmes such as the SKY Landscape Artist of the Year, anyone who paints outdoors will find that it can be quite challenging at times, a lot different to painting in the comfort of your studio. You have to contend with the unstable weather, changing shadows and interact with passers-by, especially if painting in an urban setting.
“Plein-Air painting was initially championed by impressionists such as Monet, but has enjoyed a renewed interest amongst artists in recent years. Look out for me and other artists from The Nottingham Painters Collective who will be Plein-Air painting at the Bingham Classic Car Show in August.”
Tim has previously collaborated on artistic projects with the armed forces, spending days at sea with the Royal Navy on board HMS Illustrious and Ocean, and flying in aircraft including the Sea King helicopter,VC10 and Tristar tankers and the BBMF’s historic Dakota and Lancaster.
Last year he was also invited by the Royal Navy to have a tour of their fleet flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth.
He used these trips to gather photographs and sketches which he took back to his studio to create paintings — some of which have been purchased by the forces to go on display in their buildings.
