Operation Market Garden 101st Airborne

Digital Painting
Software: Corel Painter 2021
Model: Ashton Penney. American IFBB Wellness Pro

101st Airborne Division 'Screaming Eagles', 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment. September 17th 1944, Operation Market Garden was a combined arms airborne/ground offensive devised by field marshal Montgomery to capture a series of bridges in Holland. The American 101st Division was assigned to secure the first three bridges at Son, Oedenrode and Veghel to allow the British XXX Corps to cross. Though objectives where met initially, the overall success of the operation fell short as the final bridge over the Rhine was never taken. The Division then resumed a fierce struggle for many weeks fighting along 'Hell's Highway' to maintain the fragile salient.

My Bio
My artistic theme derives from my love of military history and an appreciation of the female fitness physique. I combine these two subjects together by first depicting the female model in modern context and then reimagining them in a historical or fantasy setting. Though the concept of a female soldier is rooted in reality, their placement in my artwork is often fictional. I am fully aware that swapping the gender roles in my artwork could be seen as pushing a certain political or idealogical agenda but that is simply not the case. Furthermore, I am by no means trying to rewrite history or dishonor fallen soldiers in war. Nor am I trying to be pretentious by creating some kind of controversial narrative.

I have served in the United States military and have been deployed to a combat zone overseas. I have the utmost respect for my brothers and sisters in arms. However, I am also an artist and I must create what I am passionate about. All of the female models depicted in my artwork are real life people. I try to take special care in drawing them as close to their real appearance as possible. I feel that if I intentionally exaggerate their physiques, it does them a disservice to the hard work they've done to develop their musculature. As for my historical themed renderings I try to stay as true to accuracy and authenticity as possible despite the intentional disregard of gender. In summary, I aim to create nothing more than a playful cosplay of female characters.