My Grandfather

The days are certainly getting chillier and darker as we drift into November. Today we are celebrating Guy Fawkes night, and I am remembering past Guy Fawkes nights.I remember my grandfather Frederick Simmonds, he always used to try and burn a huge fallen tree trunk for our bonfire. He never quite managed it, but enjoyed trying!
I decided to make a canvas dedicated to him. In this photo he is with a Belgium family who took him under their wing when he was stationed there in the First World War. He was only 14 years old when he joined up, so many young boys joined up at that age.

I started by stirring up a strong bowl of coffee, I sponged the coffee over my canvas, it took several layers of coffee to achieve the aged look I wanted.i let each layer dry in between applications. I stamped the script stamp randomly on the edges of the canvas

Poppies are of course symbolic of remembrance, so I used my poppy die. I painted each petal with Ruby Slippers paint, and added some dabs of black paint on the inner petal. After shaping each petal I glued them together, and then I used glass bead gel in the center which I painted black.

I adhered a red sheet of Damaged Damask onto the canvas, to create a mount for my photo.
I selected the poignant word "hope" from the Faith stencil. I secured the stencil with mounting tape and swept Super Thick Slap It On into the stencil.when dry I replaced the stencil and dabbed paint over the Slap It On.
I added the poppy and skeleton leaves to the bottom edge of the photo.
If you are having fireworks tonight please be safe, and on the 11th may we remember all those who have fought for our Great country. Lest We Forget.

All we have of freedom, all we use or know—

This our fathers bought for us long and long ago.

Rudyard Kipling

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