A very good friend of mine (we have known him for over 18 years now) just returned from his tour of Afghanistan and presented me with this absolutely amazing print. It is called Fallen Comrades (Task Force Afghanistan).

Fallen Comrades (Task Force Afghanistan)

It is by Silvia Pecota (www.silviapecota.com) who has done some amazing works over the years dedicated to the Canadian Forces and more to The Canadian Army in general.

I was first exposed to her work during my tour of Bosnia-Herzegovina when I found a copy of a postcard she had made for the troops called “The True North Strong and Free” and was amazed at the technique used to create the images: combining oil painting with photography.

Silvia has been selected as an Artist for the Army (Canadian Forces Artist Program) and is apparently working on a book about the Canadian Soldier which I will definitely purchase when it becomes available.

Needless to say, the gift of this print had a very powerful and poignant effect on me. The detail is amazing on the print I have, if you take a close look (it was hard for me to see at first with the tears), but the helmet band on the soldiers kit left behind to convey the sense of a lost comrade, you can make out the date of 22-04-06 which is the date my brother was killed in action in Afghanistan.