Sara Waymont
ARTIST IN AFGHANISTAN
Sara Waymont, a professional artist and full-time teacher of classics has spent time with the 904 Expeditionary Air
Wing at Kandahar and 903 EAW at Camp Bastion. Sara also serves as a RAF Reserve with 600 Squadron, based at RAF Northolt. Here Sara talks about her experience.
I 16
am primarily a portrait artist, working on projects with a human interest or charitable angle. Specialising in acrylic
and pencil works my style is bold and passionate, heavily influenced by nose art and the powerful illustrative style of war comics.
Art has always been a passion for me. Primarily I went Afghanistan to work with the RAF and see what everybody is doing behind the scenes, not so much frontline imagery, but people working in maintenance roles and all the other less obvious jobs that go on in a war zone.
I’ve been with 617 Squadron commemorating their disbandment, but I’ve also been with the Hercules crews and fire crews.
Envoy Summer 2014
For me it’s a chance to meet the people and get a sense of their personality and to understand the smaller things that make them tick before I depict them on paper or canvas. When you sketch someone you spend a couple of hours with them and really find out about them. I think sometimes just working from a photograph you can lose some of their personality.
When back in the studio these sketching sessions help me to decide how I’m going to portray that person. It helps to build the small clues I use when I am painting.
It’s really important to commemorate the important work the RAF is doing, but secondly it’s an opportunity to put money into charity [the proceeds from Sara’s work is going to the RAF Benevolent Fund] and with all the attention on drawdown, ensure that the money going to military charities doesn’t stop.
I’ve also got a busy year coming up, with lots of pieces to complete for other military charities, including Help 4 Heroes, the RBL and the Pilgrim Bandits. Since being home I’ve been in my studio, turning my sketches into portraits and sifting through my photos. The final product will be an exhibition in November and, hopefully, a book, with the proceeds going to the RAF Benevolent Fund.
As well as her RAF work, Sara has also produced pieces inspired by a different battleground – the rugby field. To read more about Sara and her work visit:
www.sarawaymontartist.co.uk
www.raf-ff.org.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56