Strength, by Ron Cole

This piece was something of a personal, and spontaneous, creation of mine; painted amid a crunch of aircraft relic display production and sales that had me running like a roach early in 2020. It's glorious to enjoy success as an artist - but, sometimes you have to pour yourself into a side project. This was the result.  It's a combination of several influences: a spin off of the '40s American 'Rosie the Riveter' graphic, a measure of self-portrait, and my personal view of human strength. There is probably more of 'me' in this piece than anything I've ever created, but I don't want to elaborate too much, lest I take away from what others may see in it if given the opportunity to interpret it without being coached by the artist.  Its historical context is something I left deliberately in shadow. If you look closely, this person is a female Russian Red Army sniper; some of the bravest fighters of World War II. She is, more overtly, a blend of expressive emotions. Her rifle is a captured German 98k. She wears a mixed uniform, mostly general issue, but with a captured Wehrmacht long coat. What she's seen, and where she is going - all of that I've left open to interpretation. What I will draw attention to, is what is not illustrated in this piece: There are no medals of distinction, no polish, no glory, no 'action', no stereotypes of bravery on display. Just pressing forward. One foot in front of the other.  Each piece is signed and numbered. Framed and unframed options available.  - RC