Army
Forces Fine Art: The New Army Creatives
Personnel have been leaving their day jobs and have been getting a chance to get passionate about painting.
Set up by the Army Arts Society, the course at Tidworth Garrison welcomes complete beginners right through to the more experienced Army artist.
Staff Sergeant Richard Salter takes fellow soldiers through their brush strokes on the course.
As a military artist and former runner-up in the BBC Big Painting Challenge, he’s now using his knowledge and experience to mentor others:
“There’s a lot of talent here, everyone who’s turned up were volunteers. A lot do it as a hobby in their spare time, there’s a lot of people who sketch and draw, and they’ve just come along just to get that extra bit of experience and arm themselves with extra tools to develop a bit more”.
The Army Arts Society was founded in the 1920s by two retired officers in London.
And after a relatively quiet spell in the last few years, it’s now looking to reinvigorate the organisation and recruit new members - especially the Army’s newcomers. Sergeant Salter says that art is very useful and is quite a nice escape:
"I sort of see it as a slight meditation because when you zone in on an object and you’re trying to work out its shape, its intricacies, it takes you into a zone, just concentrating on that one thing and everything else that’s going on in your life at that time is just seems to fall away, so it’s very therapeutic”.
As well as Richard’s work inspiring the students, it’s a chance for those involved to demonstrate they are much more than just a soldier.
For anyone who would like to get involved, they can visit the Army Arts Society website.
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