Ok so some of you might be thinking, why the heck is it called Rest Assured? Well… there is a story behind it and just as a warning, it’s pretty long so either skip this or bear with me

So to start with my brother has recently gone to join the military, he’s not even an adult yet, just 17 years old. He’s had his mind set on joining up all his life so we weren’t really going to be able to convince him other wise which make me really sad to see such a young life signed away on a piece of paper for 6 years. Then, during an English class we were analysing the lyrics of the song “Only 19” by Redgum, a famous Australia song that explores the issues of the events experienced by the soldiers, many of which were still very young, during the Vietnam War and the aftermath affecting their ongoing lives. The song was recently redone by The Herd, a popular Australian hip-hop band. Some reasons why the song was re-done were to keep the memory going and pay tributes to the soldiers who served as well as present the issues once more but in a more modernised format in order for younger generations to comprehend these issues, ideas and meanings that the song creates. One key reason why is has been redone is not that obvious, the issues arising from the Iraq war are very similar to those of the Vietnam War and so it can be said that the song was also redone to show what will happen as a result of this war and all of the implications that will arise. Everything from political standings down to moral concepts and social values can be said to be similar when comparing the two wars and the effects they had on society. While attending the passing out ceremony of my brother going to the other side of the country to start his training, we were told by one of the generals that with in 6months to 2 years each of the boys that had just signed up would be sent to over seas operations, that really struck me hard to think that not only will I not see my brother in 6 years but he will also be fighting over seas in some country that I have never seen, and there is always that possibility that he might not even be coming home. A grandfather of mine fought in the Vietnam War, he has now passed and I unfortunately never had the opportunity of meeting him and discussing his experiences or even to pay my respects for what he and his fellow soldiers had done. While I still attend ANZAC ceremonies and other tributes, what good is it once they are dead? I’m not at all saying that we should stop the commemorations, just simply highlighting that these men were forced into serving their country against their will and the government brushed it off and brainwash the public into thinking they were honourable men fighting for their country (which of cause they were but my point is that the government tried to hide all of the horrible things they experienced). When these soldiers returned home, the healthier looking ones were allowed to march back through the streets, only to be spat upon by the people and condemned for being civilian killers ect. And only now that a majority of these honourable men are dead do we actually open our eyes and acknowledge them for what they did and appreciate the extent of the horrible events they experienced at the expense of our military. So finally to my point, this piece of art is dedicated to the Australian soldiers who have served for our country. The breed of the horse featured in this picture is a Waler, the breed was used to carry the Australian men into battle as well as pull their heavy artillery ect. Out of the thousands of horses taken over seas to fight in Gallipoli, only one returned. The ones that survived the battles were not brought home; they were either set free or shot by their riders to avoid starvation and thirst. SO all together this peice was made to express my emotions on a few differant things as well as pay respects to those men. Well done if you read all of this haha!

Some of you might already have guessed but I used this tutorial by ox-of-ice for the eye [link] thanks for the awesome tutorial!

The basic horse head on its own is in my scraps, here [link]

Art copyrighted~Jessica Everett (aka horsegirljess)
No manipulating or tracing please, can be used as a reference but please link back to here and notify me.