Flag- Day 3

Day 3- Today, I filled in the flag of the flagbearer image. The bright colors of the US flag are visible as they are braced against the lanky form of the flagbearer. He repositioned the flag several times to keep it upright while in formation as the weight is starting to become apparent. I had begun taking pictures as the company was being inspected by the Sergeant. As the Sergeant progressed down the line, the flagbearer began using the flag pole as a prop. He startled upright when the Sergeant snapped at him to “keep that flag off the ground.” One of the soldiers gave him some whispered advice and the boy fixed his stance to help bear the weight of the flag.

Filling in the Flag

The flag had been rolled prior to formation but was beginning to unfurl as the flagbearer shifted it around. There were a few neat rolls in the fabric that made it appear more like a candy cane than a flag.

I used Cobalt Blue mixed with Ultramarine Blue to keep harmony of the blue and to help differentiate the field of stars from the uniform just enough. I enjoyed how the uniform colors were fairly close to the flags colors and how that made the connection between duty.

Because the flag was rolled a bit, the transparent nature of the fabric was less apparent so I chose the more opaque Windsor Red to fill in the stripes. In the shadows, I used Alizarin Crimson and Ultramarine Violet. The white stripes were accentuated in the shadow parts by a grayed blue mixture.

The tricky part was making sure that the pole stayed straight. I used a ruler to “draw through” the fold in the too large uniform caused by the flag being held against his chest.