25/04/2024
©2024 Sandi Lear, all rights reserved.
I’d just love to give a shout out to all those who like my Anzac Lighthorse work, who kindly have taken the time to advise me when the image has been changed/altered without permission, and used without acknowledgment.
It has happened hundreds of times, every year since I painted it in 2017.
It is so important to acknowledge copyright for an artist, our work gets copied and taken and used for others’ reward, often without a thought as to where it came from, or why.
My collectors and fans of my work have been so very supportive of this and I am extremely appreciative.
So thank you to all! I love that people love this image and I am happy for people to share the approved one, with credit to me, it is a living tribute to my father who served (RAEME Korea), my grandfather (RAA shot in Egypt WW1 and repatriated) and my great-uncle (11th Lighthorse, served WW1 and WW2 and survived…. But would never speak of it); plus all those serving and served, woman, man, animal, bird. The ultimate sacrifice is something not really perceived any longer, as war is conducted from afar, eyes do not meet eyes in death of war.
I created this work the year my father died. It was his idea, “why don’t you paint a horse drinking from a slouch hat” he said, so I did. And the resultant viral response was so overwhelming that I created 100 Limited Edition giclees to help raise funds and awareness for those living with PTSD.
So please respect the artist, and acknowledge where you can, we so appreciate it.
Just thought to include the Allegory/Dedication that accompanied every single giclee:
Artist’s Dedication The Gift Giclee
“The Gift” a giclee of an original watercolour by Sandi Lear
“I gratefully dedicate this work to all the animals, men, and women serving and no longer serving, whose daily sacrifices may go unacknowledged, but forge bonds of unbreakable mateship, and give the ultimate Gift.
The selfless acts of giving, loyalty, respect and comradeship are described in the digger’s hands holding out his slouch hat with precious life-saving water, which also symbolises reconciliation between combatants; the horse who gives of his loyalty, strength, courage and trust; the water giving purity and life to the dead ground on which so much blood has been spilled; the gift of blood by men, women and animals in support of their country and each other transformed to the beauty of a flower; the Rising Sun badge, a badge of honour on the traditional slouch hat instantly recognisable as quintessentially Australian.
Espousing the spirit of the ANZAC, these values cannot be torn by war or conflict, they are bred into us, a part of the human spirit.
Thank you for your self-less Gift”
©2024 Sandi Lear, all rights reserved.
