Detail of the portrait

SGT Bernie Smith - Killed in Action in Vietnam. Father of Brigadier Stuart Smith AM.

Alkyd Oil on canvas on plywood
840mm x 1200mm
2010

This image is of the Commander of the Army's 3rd Brigade - Brigadier Stuart Smith, AM.

Brigadier Smith has climbed the ranks to command the Army's premier Infantry Brigade by the tried and proven way: platoon command, company command, command of 1st battalion Royal Australian Regiment and now, command of 3rd Brigade.

He was appointed Member to the Order of Australia for his command of AUSBATT in East Timor during 2003.

An unassuming man, he commands the respect of his men easily and is a firm believer in a commander being not only a leader of the team, but a vital member of the team and it was this view that he asked that I portray when I approached him and requested permission to paint his portrait for the 2010 Xstrata Percival Portrait Award.

During the interview and sketch process, we discussed the fact that his father was a member of Recon Platoon during the Vietnam War and was killed in action when the Brigadier was very young (see image at bottom left).

I, as an artist, was quite touched by this and decided to incorporate this in some manner into the work. The Brigadier did ask also that I portray him not in isolation, but rather as a member of the team and he showed me a photograph that had been taken of him at Tully Jungle Training Centre.

I decided to accede to his request but, at the same time, incorporate the idea that his father is watching over him and would be very proud.

And so the final image shows the Brigadier, briefing his men who are rendered as shapes in the jungle. The lighting is speckled with swathes of light falling here and there. A beam of light shines on his face and - like a jungle spirit - the image of his father in the top left corner; listening intently and smiling proudly.