Val Mayerik-Soldier Illustration

That is an excellent piece. Really like the shadowing with it and the feel of a candid photo. As the son of a Vietnam Veteran it is a powerful piece for me.

The lighting of the figure in this pose is spot on to show the uniform, the gear, and armament.  The more artistic part of it is the angle of the camera, the haze of the background jungle, and the explosive energy coming off the ground with the more active brush and splatter.  It leaves us to interpret the message of showing this soldier who steps forward into danger.

Wonderful dark foreground against the middle grey to light grey background ! A great separation of accurate values that represent each plane correctly in a landscape painting !