Janice Creenaune meets long-time Austinmer resident Bob McRae, a Wollongong TAFE art teacher for over 30 years who continues to practise as an Australian naval war artist.
Bob McRae’s love of military history and natural history combine in his sketches, paintings and sculptures. It’s what makes his artwork stand apart and why he’s held in such high regard at museums around the country.
In 1999, Bob took on a year-long role at the University of Darwin, transporting his family to the Northern Territory capital where he developed a strong association with the Australian Navy.
“The war in Timor was complicated and raging,” Bob said. “During this period I painted canvases of the naval vessels going to and from the war.
“The Darwin Memorial of the period bought a number of my paintings, as well as the Australian War Memorial.”
The Maritime Museum in Sydney also holds a large collection of his work.
“I have always been particularly interested in naval history and Australia’s first submarine, the AE1 class, disappeared in 1915 and was discovered finally in 2017, (somewhere near Bougainville) by a collaborative team including the Maritime Museum. I painted a commemorative work for the descendants of those lost in the submarine which is in the Sydney Maritime Museum.
“A sculpture of F.E. Getting, the first Australian submarine commander, was of particular interest to me. But what I have found is that it is of particular interest to the submariner community, as well.”
During the Iraq War, Bob spent time with the Australian Navy in the Persian Gulf.
“I travelled on HMAS Arunta (FFH 151) under Commander Tim Brown. Then, more recently, in the Gulf of Oman on HMAS Ballarat. This was a very difficult period but I was able to sketch soldiers on operation. The tired expressions on their faces is indicative of the tensions within the operations.
“I mainly used red and black charcoal to sketch, and their experiences exhibited ‘danger’ in all its wartime facets … Photos were not allowed so my sketches were capturing the moment.
“Later I would paint some of the sketches – some went into museums around the country and many have been commissioned by the Australian Navy for boardrooms etc.’’
Bob also channels his love for natural history in his work. “I walk along ‘Hills and Dales’ in Austinmer and see beautiful spinebills, for example, so I feel inspired to paint strong green behind relief sculptures of the birds in wood and paint with oils to capture the moment.”
His influences include Australian maritime and war artist Dennis Adams and German artist Käthe Kollwitz. The beauty of the local area inspires him.
“My works often display a love of the ocean, often perceived as ever changing and we are never sure of what is coming.”
Bob acknowledges there can be contradictions between war and the beauty of nature. “But natural history is not always peaceful either,” he said.
Occasionally his subjects overlap in works featuring war and birds. “I am an avid reader of military history and my work can display that. A plane crash from WW2 up near Darwin, for example, can also be surrounded by living creatures with birds hovering above.”
Bob was recently honoured with a set of submarine medallions from the Australian Navy for his service to the naval community.
Readers can find Bob on Facebook and Instagram, and at Coledale Markets.
Janice is a volunteer for PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) Foundation Australia. Email janicecreenaune@gmail.com