Smile please, you're on canvas

[endplay]

From the Mail on Sunday (someone cleverer than me may provide a link). General Sir David Richards' appointment as the first UK soldier since WW2 to command a multi national force (in Afghanistan) has been commemorated in an £80k oil painting of he and his staff at work in the Herat command centre.

The kicker is that the cost is apparently being recovered from a £20-30 mess subsciption from the ARRC HQ officers mess.

Not surprised at this, considering the Army track record of Mess Silver charges, but thought it worthy of being run up the flagpole.

Could an RAF commander get away with this and does the historical record/ego trip (delete as..) represent value for money?

[Jackonicko]

He's no oil painting ........... oops! Actually now he's going to be.

And no, of course it's not value for money. £80,000? In the present financial climate? You have got to be s****ing me!

And that's 4,000 £20 mess subscriptions.

[airborne_artist]

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/09/14/article-0-02A58D7500000578-366_468x291.jpg

[Gainesy]

I see the briefer is getting a stiff ignoring.:)

[StopStart]

A very multinational-HQ type picture there - everyone looking in different directions and nobody really paying attention to the poor bugger trying to point out the important stuff at the back. Money well spent I say.....

[airborne_artist]

You know you are getting old when you see one of the subjects in the portrait, and realise you were at school with him :E

Don't Generals have batmen any more? What's going on with his headgear? I've seen smaller 12x12s :}

[Union Jack]

You know you are getting old when you see one of the subjects in the portrait, and realise you were at school with him

That's odd - can't see anyone anywhere near nine years old!:)

Jack

[c130jbloke]

So which one is the General ???

:ooh:

[ProM]

Great subject for the caption competition

[AdmiralPiett]

Who is the bloke on the right?

Has he just come off the Dad's Army set?

Where did he learn to wear a uniform?

Hope that he is not a member of the British Forces, I would be so embarrassed...

[c130jbloke]

Forgot to add:

Is that a craps table in the middle ?

Bit un PC as well ( no wimmen or un white persons included )

But in "general", a generally rubbish picture and correct in its only use would be for the next caption comp.

Would love to see the 80K ask getting through the EGM at an RAF officers' mess:eek:

[airborne_artist]

£80,000 - the artist is having a Turkish (http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/slang/turkish_bath), and so are the people who think the mess members will stump up.

What's wrong with an LA Phot, or the Army/RAF equivalent? They could easily put it through a canvas texture effect filter (http://www.entheosweb.com/photoshop/canvas_texture.asp) on Photoshop and then get it printed up nice and big. Which is probably what the artist did :}

[ProM]

Who is the bloke on the right?

When I first glanced at the picture I assumed it was someone there to serve drinks etc. The way he is standing reminds me of a waiter. Then I looked more closely and the full horror dawned on me

[Union Jack]

Bit un PC as well (no wimmen or un white persons included)

Interesting suggestion by C130, noting that the Afghan general in the original picture has been edited out of AA's version of the picture!

Jack

[airborne_artist]

Well spotted UJ - here's the key:

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/09/14/article-0-02A58DCC00000578-970_468x209.jpg

Note the name of the Italian General :ok:

1 Major General A Watt (Canadian)

2 Brigadier NAW Pope (UK)

3 UK officer

4 Brigadier RR Davis CBE (UK)

5 Lieutenant Colonel AD Johnston MBE (UK)

6 Major General GE Gay (Italian)

7 US officer

8 Major General JJC Bucknall CBE (UK)

9 UK officer

10 Brigadier NG Smith (UK)

11 Brigadier RE Nugee MBE (UK)

12 Mr T Jagger MOD (UK)

13 Brigadier General HC Ammon (German)

14 Lieutenant Colonel JU Biggart MBE (UK)

15 Major General SR Layfield (US)

16 Brigadier RJC Maxwell OBE (UK)

17 General DJ Richards CBE, DSO (UK)

18 General Wardak (Afghan Defence Minister)

[davejb]

Is the Italian chappie suffering from some sort of mouth crut, wearing some old mahogany false teeth in memory of his great grandad, or chewing liqorice flavoured chewing gum? Maybe it's a novelty goatee of some sort?

[barnstormer1968]

You seem to have been very quick to post the painting. Is this in any part due to your rapid reaction drills learned in the Special Crayola Service.

But on a serious note, it is rather striking that the subjects are not looking toward the viewer. This is hardly a masterpiece, and may not even look too good at a village art show. Upon looking at the painting for a while, I have come to the conclusion that our general is looking a little cowed, having just lost out on a seat in a musical chairs contest. Also if the artist took around twelve weeks to paint this (guessing by it's size) then he roped in £6666.66 a week....Where do I sign on:E

(AA it's only banter, and a better late than never snipe in return for being called a "walt" far too often)

[airborne_artist]

Barnstormer - my drills with the daubing sticks are indeed sh!t-hot, due to my service with the Artists' Rifles, which really was originally a Militia (predecessor of the TA) regiment that was made up of those in the art business, including both brothers Nash (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_brothers).

[exscribbler]

£80K? FMP!

At least it was paid for by someone other than the taxpayer - if it had been of our Beloved Leader and his cronies (all concealing their knives) you know who would have picked up the tab...

[Rigga]

My caption would be...
"... It would have cleared a normal crewroom..."

[barnstormer1968]

Airborne Artist, check your pm's

[NutLoose]

Perhaps the money would have been better spent providing them all with a chair....

I also find it quite amusing as they have gone to all this trouble to portray a "briefing in Afghanistan" and the Mail has then gone and cropped

18 General Wardak (Afghan Defence Minister)

Out of the Picture...... Surely one of the main players in the briefing portrait, focusing one with a sense of purpose for the image in the first place.

[jindabyne]

If this was a posed photograph, it could be severely and rightly criticised for lack of composition alone. Surely this must be a joke, but if it really is a commissioned work of art, then it is an appalling waste of money. IMHO of course.

[Warmtoast]

I also find it quite amusing as they have gone to all this trouble to portray a "briefing in Afghanistan" and the Mail has then gone and cropped 18 General Wardak (Afghan Defence Minister) Out of the Picture

Not quite. Click on the enlarge tab on the DM's site and this is what you see:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/AfghanCommandPainting.jpg

Mind you as to value for money, there was an earlier thread back in January when it was revealed the MOD had spent a lot of money on paintings. See here:
http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/306669-mod-spending-funds-art.html

I think I prefer the group portrait rather than the £160,000 spent on a set of paintings by Zil Hoque called Nimbus I, II, III, IV.

This is one of them:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/NIMBUS_I_2004.jpg

[c130jbloke]

Still looks like a craps table in the middle:uhoh:

[swampy_lynx_puke]

1. The MoS states it is focussed on Helmand, the briefer is actually pointing to Zabul.
2. There are 12 UK officers in the room together with 6 from other nations, not a proper reflection of the 37 (as stated by MoS, now 41) nation coalition that is ISAF.
3. With the exception of the US Officer in position 7 the foreigners appear distanced from the business at hand, implying UK domination of key decision making processes.
It is a classic reflection of the UK's totally myopic vision of Afghanistan in that ISAF success is dependant upon success in Helmand province and the British contribution.
IMHO this portrayal is rather unfair with regard to Gen Richards and the ARRC as they achieved a great deal in improving the cohesion within ISAF and tried to progress the security mission across the whole of Afghanistan - not just in Helmandshire.
No wonder the ARRC mess doesn't want to pay for it!

[Zoom]

...he and his staff at work...

Not much of that going on by the look of it. Skivers.