A Sussex, N.B. artist named Fred Harrison is preparing to unveil a special painting depicting the Battle at Vimy Ridge that will soon hang in the 8th Canadian Hussars museum in Sussex.
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The painting will honour the 100th anniversary of the battle this weekend.
Harrison, who is known for his colourful outdoor murals depicting happy times, said painting the dark battle scene was difficult and he often had to step away from the canvas to take a break emotionally.
“It was tough honestly,” he said. “That the guys were caught in this stream of men, 10,000 men marching, they were at the behest of people who are commanding the battlefield from afar, they have no choice at this point.”
The soldiers in his painting are marching up a steep slope, while off the distance artillery fire is exploding at the top of the hill.
Harrison said it was a battle for him emotionally to think of the young men, many in their 20s, led into battle and, for many, to their deaths.
“They had come there full of illusions and right now they’re just trying to stay alive. That’s what I’m trying to talk about here.”
He said the project was so emotionally draining that he often had to step away from his canvas.
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“You start talking to the characters and it gets very intense and I have to stop and take a break, maybe paint a pretty picture, and then come back.”
The painting took Harrison about a month-and-a-half to complete, he said, and it will be unveiled to the public on Sunday at a special ceremony in Sussex honouring the 100th anniversary of one of the most notorious battles in Canadian history.
“I think I got the atmosphere of what it would’ve been like there.”
One of the hardest works he’s ever had to paint, he said he is proud if how it turned out.
“I got through it,” he said.
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