♫ Everybody's talkin' 'bout ministers, sinisters
Banisters and canisters, bishops and fishops
Rabbis and pop eyes, bye bye, bye byes

All we are saying, is give peace a chance
All we are saying, is give peace a chance

Let me tell you now
Everybody's talking about, revolution
Evolution, masturbation, flagellation
Regulation, integrations, meditations
United Nations, congratulations

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance ♫

John Lennon - Give Peace a Chance - 1969

"As the cold winter encircled the vast globe, there was a faint shimmer of hope in the horizon. They were the four beacons of the world, who shone through our darkest days. When the great storm of our time kept us desolate, nothing was left to chance. For a universal truth was kept at afar, beckoning its return to the earth where it eludes our grasp. Whereas the future has not been seen yet, those willing to unite shall be trusted to carry the torch." -Intro, Bleeding Crimson and Scarlet

So I decided to try something new with my art this time, to truly create something different and unique, as well as remaining familiar and wonderfully crafted.
I don't know if something like this has been done already, but if it has, then this is my personal take on the subject. Where my hidden talent lies in photography, I needed a good stroke of perspective to create this particular piece. I drawn out four portraits of my main characters (from left to right, top and bottom): Karen, Valentina, Larissa, and Mishya on a canvas signifigantly smaller than my traditional headshot pieces, for I needed to master that skill to create such an effect. And the positioning of the individual portrait says a lot, as to show some of the badges while covering others. The pilotka in the background belonged to my uncle, as he let me have it years ago and I've had it ever since. It made a good contribution to the whole in adding a retro feel to the piece. Thankfully it was bright and sunny outside the day I took this photo, for I needed not to add any artificial light.

Measurements of each portrait is shown in this photo I took after completion of Mishya's pic.
The uniforms depicted on my characters are circa 1969, as canon to their official timeline. You can see a scanned copy of them here (I might post these to FA soon soon).

BRIEF HISTORY
Karen recently graduated Popova Naval Academy in Leningrad and was placed on reserve for the Black Sea Fleet in Krasnodar.
Valentina is an MVD (Internal Troops) agent operating out of Nizhniy Novogorod and secretly criticizes the actions of the Kremlin.
Larissa is a one-star major of the VVS (Soviet Air Force) and has deployed troops onto the battlefield in numerous situations.
Mishya served with the Spetsnaz, having returned from his tours in Vietnam, Central and South Africa, as well as reconaissance missions in the Caucasus region.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy this picture as much as I do~
Characters © SpetsnazKaz