| Harold
Laynor's WWII series are journalistic, most are watercolors,
each is a pensive reflection of Army training, friends, places
and battles; unique landscapes of Army life. A dark brooding
aspect of the war surfaces toward the end of this series. After
he enters combat, brutal remembrances of death, slaughter and
the grotesque results of explosions record the terror of WWII.
Often, later after the war, he would deal with the sad, jolting
memories of war by painting dramatic, lonely portraits of solitary
tree stumps. Their branches are jagged remnants of a once verdant
life, yet they promise new life to come.
There
are fifty paintings from the WWII Series, produced over two
years of his young life. Each was very planned by Harold.
Each relates to a specific important incident during the war.
On the psychological level, they document a young soldier's
reaction to war. On the aesthetic level, they burst with raw
talent and a need for expression no matter how shocking the
subject.
Author
Philip Gerard wrote an engrossing non-fiction novel about
the Ghost Army - a previously classified topic - Click
Here for more information.
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through the WWII Galleries
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