Chippenham & District Artists has re-started their 2020 programme of art demonstrations. Matt Cook, a professional illustrator and war artist, gave an illustrated talk on his work as an artist and serving soldier in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Having achieved his life’s ambition to be a war artist, Matt was commissioned by The Times to cover the war in Iraq followed by many visits and tours of duty as a serving TA reservist in Afghanistan. He opened his talk with a video of Helmand Province, Afghanistan where he was drawing sketches in a ditch in full military kit alongside a unit that was engaged in live fire with the enemy, showing how difficult and dangerous it was to draw and convey scenes of war.

He then explained the background to his assignment for The Times.

Most of the images from recent war zones had been captured by photographers but The Times decided to send an artist to give a different perspective.

Artists and illustrators were deployed extensively in the First World War but photography had overtaken it as the pre-eminent means of providing a record of the Second War World and subsequent conflicts.

His stories about life at the front as a civilian (he carried a press pass at all times) were extraordinary as well as hair raising and the range of paintings he showed made the operation, the people and the places come alive.

Matt described his stints in the Afghanistan War as a soldier where there wasn’t much time to draw but again as in the Gulf War he drew and painted the locals as well as the everyday activities of the troops.

The next meeting will be on Sunday, October 11 at The Rotary Hall at 2.30pm with Anna Currey, watercolour illustrator. She will be talking about and demonstrating her work including children’s book illustrations.