Detachment commander Aviation Element Capt Conway Bown sketches a loadmaster from 5 Avn Regt. Photo by Cpl Darren Hilder, 1JPAU(P)

From Cpl Sean Burton
in East Timor

AN ARMY aviator who failed art at high school is having the last laugh as his sketches of military life hang outside the Prime Minister’s office in Canberra.

Capt Conway Bown, East Timor Detachment Commander, 5 Avn Regt, combines his love of sketching and military life to produce images of the ADF which service personnel of all generations can identify with and appreciate.

Capt Bown said he kept his sketches based primarily around the ADF because of his pride in the organisation and the people in it.

“I have a deep affection for the ADF and its members, I’m proud to be a member of it,” he said.

He completed his first sketch in 1995 entitled The Digger- Heir to Anzac which proved to be one of his best sellers along with the Huey-inspired Trolling for a Kill.

Another best seller was the Black Hawk accident commemorative print from which profits were donated to the SASR Association.

The aviator artist said he had a personal favourite, which depicted a soldier in a war before helicopters.

“It is Soldier, Rest! – The Last of the Light Horsemen, it shows an old light horseman on his Waler thinking about his mates he has left behind,” he said.

Capt Bown said as an artist he was inspired by war artists such as Arthur Streeton and Ivor Hele but was particularly inspired by a famous image of Australians in the Vietnam War.

“I would love to create the same reaction as the famous picture of the Hueys landing to pick up soldiers of 7RAR in Vietnam.

“As an artist I aspire to produce a picture that people can identify with, the picture that is appreciated by generations of soldiers and ultimately hung in the Australian War Memorial,” he said

Capt Bown, who failed art at high school, said while he was proud to have his work adorn the Prime Minister’s office, the private collection of General Norman Schwarzkopf, and military messes and homes worldwide it was his subject’s approval that meant the most to him.

“I’m most proud of the number of Diggers who have purchased my work because it’s the Digger who says yes, that’s me doing my job,” he said.

A new sketch starts with the artist using live models for composition and fall of cloth, followed by referring to as many photographs as possible to get the detail accurate.

The artist knows that he has a critical audience so attention to detail is critical for credibility.

“Military people are ‘left brain’ people – they like accuracy and detail so if you want to appeal to them everything has to be as accurate as possible.”

The AUSBATT Aviators are working long hours maintaining and flying their helicopter fleet, which leaves little time for Capt Bown to sketch the people he works with, as each sketch takes between 80 and 120 hours to produce.

“I haven’t had a day off in two and a half months, we are always on the go, but as soon as I get back from East Timor I will be starting an Op Citadel print,” he said.

As well as a large print he is also producing a series of smaller images depicting members of the Army such as a loadmaster, medic, dog handler, cavalryman and an infantryman among others.

.