Karen Bailey

Captain Bruce Reeves, Head Ward Nurse, Role 3 Hospital
Acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20", 2007

Captain Bruce Reeves was responsible for my stay in Kandahar. He selected two nurses, Lt.(N) Tobi Dwyer and Lt. Debbie Fredericks, to act as my escorts and ensure my comfort.
Bruce visitd Ottawa for the Remembrance Day ceremonies in 2007. He graciously spent a morning at my studio where I had the privilege of painting his portrait. Bruce has served three tours in Afghanistan.

Thirty-nine
by Hazel Hall, 2014
Poet in Residence, School of Music, Canberra, Australia
in response to: Captain Bruce Reeves, Head Ward Nurse, Role 3 Hospital

a number – etched in my memory
thirty-nine …
hitchcockian steps that march to the past
in the roar of unending crescendos
distant shades
of old comrades – the brave and steadfast

when friends we respect are taken
tiny splinters
pierce through the soul – lodged there to remind
that death travels with us
selecting
who pays the toll and who’s left behind

here medics shed tears privately
smother grief
see people in pieces – who share greater pain
than ours – but those splinters are wired
inside us
for ever – ensuring our grief will remain

like a series of late night movies
run over …
aching self-doubt that never is done
thirty-nine men stepping bravely …
white stones
set safe in my heart – how many to come …

Portrait in a war zone
by Janne D Graham, 2014
School of Music poet, Canberra, Australia
in response to: Captain Bruce Reeves, Head Ward Nurse, Role 3 Hospital

We make-believe the war will stop
while artist and the captain meet.
This is what we hope:

her role by honesty provokes
our view of war from her box seat
so we believe the war can stop.

The captain with his forward look
has eyes which know of each defeat.
This is what we hope:

we want a portrait which can shock
remind us of the pain and heat
help us believe the war will stop

an honest portrait with each stroke
that tells us of a man complete.
This is what we hope.

So, in the field while these two work
to finalise this last conceit
we believe the war must stop.
This is what they hope.


Current Work Raising Stanley StoryTellers Nuit Blanche (2013) Official Portrait of Michaëlle Jean 27th Governor General of Canada (2012) tea/leaves (2010) Afghanistan (2007-09) (Canadian Forces Artist Program) Blanche Dot Doris (2008) Doris (2008-10) Marjorie (2006-07) Cut (2005-07) Assortment (2009-2015) guest artist Barbara Bailey Triage book Exhibitions & news studio Biography Contact		Self Portraits Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Past Series Are You Being Served? small 2005 Are You Being Served? 2004-05 New Directions Interiors Shopfronts Still Life Gouache Book Illustration Heraldry

	Captain Bruce Reeves, Head Ward Nurse, Role 3 Hospital Acrylic on canvas, 20" x 20", 2007 Captain Bruce Reeves was responsible for my stay in Kandahar. He selected two nurses, Lt.(N) Tobi Dwyer and Lt. Debbie Fredericks, to act as my escorts and ensure my comfort. Bruce visitd Ottawa for the Remembrance Day ceremonies in 2007. He graciously spent a morning at my studio where I had the privilege of painting his portrait. Bruce has served three tours in Afghanistan. Thirty-nine by Hazel Hall, 2014 Poet in Residence, School of Music, Canberra, Australia in response to: Captain Bruce Reeves, Head Ward Nurse, Role 3 Hospital a number – etched in my memory thirty-nine … hitchcockian steps that march to the past in the roar of unending crescendos distant shades of old comrades – the brave and steadfast when friends we respect are taken tiny splinters pierce through the soul – lodged there to remind that death travels with us selecting who pays the toll and who’s left behind here medics shed tears privately smother grief see people in pieces – who share greater pain than ours – but those splinters are wired inside us for ever – ensuring our grief will remain like a series of late night movies run over … aching self-doubt that never is done thirty-nine men stepping bravely … white stones set safe in my heart – how many to come … Portrait in a war zone by Janne D Graham, 2014 School of Music poet, Canberra, Australia in response to: Captain Bruce Reeves, Head Ward Nurse, Role 3 Hospital We make-believe the war will stop while artist and the captain meet. This is what we hope: her role by honesty provokes our view of war from her box seat so we believe the war can stop. The captain with his forward look has eyes which know of each defeat. This is what we hope: we want a portrait which can shock remind us of the pain and heat help us believe the war will stop an honest portrait with each stroke that tells us of a man complete. This is what we hope. So, in the field while these two work to finalise this last conceit we believe the war must stop. This is what they hope.