War art | An expressionist painting about War and regret

War art is all about describing violent scenes of war or showcasing the after-effects of war through arts. Because of my irregular sleep patterns, I am sometimes gifted with dreams that have no connection with my life but are rich with stories and meanings. Though I see great dreams sometimes, I fail to capture such dreams completely on a blank canvas. Anyway, I find joy in transferring the ideas from mind to canvas.

War art — “War and regret” | About the painting

The tribal war in Africa began with one tribe setting fire on the huts of another tribe. The attack was unexpected and fierce that the people were running for their lives. Many defenceless people were trapped inside their huts and were burning alive. Their painful screams echoed all over the area. Those who were running for their lives were welcomed with arrows that pierced their chests. A mother and her son were also running away from this apocalypse. Suddenly, an arrow was approaching towards them. The mother saw this and shielded her son from the arrow. The poisoned arrow struck her like a bolt of lightning. She fell down on the ground instantly. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she looked at her son for the last time.
The one who shot the arrow was the leader and the best archer of the attacking tribe. He was tall and strong which resembled the biblical figure of Goliath. He wore a necklace made of tiger nails and dress made of a tiger skin that he had killed in hunting. He saw this mother and son from a distance and approached them. For the first time, he was in an emotional dilemma. For the first time, he felt something strange called regret.
The situation is a checkmate:

1. If he kills the son, his regret will haunt him forever.
2. If he doesn’t kill the son, the son will become his nemesis in future.

My dream was interrupted by my mother in the morning. So what the tribal leader did, in the end, remains a mystery.

War art — “War and regret” — behind the scene

“War and regret” painting is dominated by various shades of red, orange and yellow. At first, I painted a clear blue sky but later I changed it to a sky that resembles blood and fire to set the mood. The blue colour was against the war and regret feeling, so I minimized the use of blue as much as possible. Instead of lush green grass, I added light red to show bloodstains on the grass. The direction of the sunlight also helps a lot. The sunlight hits the face of the dead mother and son, and the front view of the cruel tribe leader is covered with shadow. It helps to add focus on the dead mother and inconsolable son. The brush was changed from soft round brush to dry brush to add texture to the huts. If you look at the tribal leader, you can see he isn’t holding his bow firmly. This is actually a visual depiction of shock/dilemma.
I was too lazy to draw the feet of tribal leader and I covered that portion with grass to save time 😀 I hope you like this painting. Thanks for reading.