Study for 'In the Afternoon of Time', 2010

One of twelve sketches by artist Jules (Julian) George, drawn in Afghanistan in 2010.

Describing this sketch, Jules wrote, 'With a couple of hours to wait before heading out on a foot patrol, I made the original drawing for this painting in the sangar at PB (Patrol Base) Chilli, in the Nad-e-Ali district. Perhaps feeling nervous about the foot patrol the drawing was a way of calming my nerves. I was struck by the beauty of the landscape and the almost biblical scene, contrasting with the darkness of the sangar and the GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun) in front of me. Three months earlier, in November 2009, five British soldiers had been killed at a checkpoint just up the road from PB Chilli.'