This particular drawing (Tiger Burning In The Sun) is the opening salvo so to speak -of a new series of drawings I have just put up at wesleykimlerstudio.com
(click on drawing to enlarge)
The battle for Pelelui was one of the bloodiest and most horrific of WW2 -divisions of Marines melted away on the coral ridges of the Umurbrogal -against a foe that had finally given up the futility of beachfront defenses and banzai charges and instead, was well dug in -in caves only large enough for a man to caves that could hold a thousand men.....The Marines with help from the army did prevail, the weapon of choice was the flame thrower after which came the bulldozers -the Japanese were thus buried -both dead or alive -the caves they had so fiercely fought from becoming their tombs- the batlle of Pelelui was the model and precursor for the Japanese defense of Iwo Jima a few months later -the reason it is not better known, is that it was a battle of no strategic importance, Somewhere around 1,500 Marines and 10,000 Japanese never made it off of Bloody Nose Ridge, The Five Sisters and other like named points along The Umurbrogal Mountains an otherworldly, convoluted, treacherous and fantastically formed 500 foot high chunk of coral, that formed the high ground/spine of the island.
The number 6 in the series as it appears on your website Drawing page is fascinating as an image of an aircraft carrier.
The whole series speaks in vivid imagery of the horror of that particular conflict.......it is very moving, and meaningful.
Great stuff, WK. I too am really entranced with the aircraft carrier image in particular.
Yes the aircraft carrier has a presence -but no more so than Umurbrogal -which is actually in person a more powerful work-