An Interview With An Artist

Steve Paschal is responsible for the cover art you see on Devil's Cauldron. Depicting the famous Colonel Frost entering Arnhem, his piece titled "Arnhem--First Day" captures the still spirit of Arnhem on the verge of heavy combat.

Cauldron: Steve--tell us, how do you do it? First, you live in Oahu. You're responsible for top-notch cover art. On top of that--your art is set to grace some of the finest wargames to see the market. Most people--one out of three, and they're happy! How did it all come together for you?

Steve Paschal: Well, I arrived on Oahu in 1968, a young stud on his way to Tahiti, and just got stuck here in Hawaii. Somewhere around the early 70's, I saw a wargame in a hobby shop here in Honolulu, so I bought it. I believe it was Avalon Hill's Panzerleader, and later got the game Wacht am Rhein...which really hooked me.

As far as painting, it's something that I always have done, and just got serious about around 20 years ago. After moving to Europe for a decade, then Hong Kong and Taiwan for several years, I moved the family back to Hawaii and now here we all sit. I really don't have much time to wargame these days! My periodic work on box art helps satiate my lust for the wargame hobby without having to play them all the time.

I hooked up with this by volunteering to do The Devils Cauldron cover painting because I was such a fan of the battle, the old game Highway to the Reich, and I liked the spirit of Adam Starkweather's commitment to a new design. Since then, I've been fortunate to do more cover paintings that will be published soon.

Cauldron: Ahh, the old stay in Hawaii on the way to Tahiti trick. Very nice. I'm sure the nine chaps on Cauldron's cover wouldn't mind a trip there. Or maybe not, given the state of the Pacific Theater at the time! For this particular box cover, how did you decide on the composition of the piece? Is it based on any particular historical photographs?

Steve Paschal: I decided on the compostion based on a visit I made to the place back in 1983, when living near Cologne, Germany. Like I mentioned, I was always very interested in the battle--I had played Highway to the Reich many times, so I really wanted to get the look and feel of the place as it stood in September 1944.

When in Arnhem, my wife and I were near the bridge, crossing the area that Frost and his men had held--which now is open ground with a modern building sitting there--and I became really curious what it must have looked like in 1944. Years later, when given a chance to do this cover, that's what I visualized first. I got a hold of B Company Arrived, a book with great photos of Arnhem both before and during the battle, and used that to reconstruct the buildings.

I also wanted to show some tension above and beyond the archetypical WWII action shot--something beyond the pinned GI amongst a location littered with rubble and bullet holes. I wanted to show the First Airborne just getting into Arnhem and deploying at ground level. I took some liberties with the time of day--because they actually arrived a little after dusk--but that would have been a problem light wise. So I backed it up a little, and gave them some late afternoon light. I wanted to show some movement, but also some confusion, and really hit home that they were oblivious as to what awaited them.

Col. Frost, from everything I've read, was a real hands on commander. So of course I wanted to include him, and focus on his directing the operation--so that he and the bridge would both be the center of attention. What I enjoyed most about doing the painting was the feelling that I was putting some flesh on the bones of the past....bringing old Arnhem back to life so to speak.

Devil's Cauldron: A lot of people have noticed that this is one of the only pictures--painted or otherwise--where Arnhem is not just covered with the pockmarks of small arms fire. And tension--the battle for Arnhem is as tense as it gets. Fortunately, Adam Starkweather has gone the extra mile and we will be able to game this very scene in Devil's Cauldron, on special inset maps created just for this purpose. There are lots of great little details on the cover--very nice. As for Colonel Frost's group depicted on the box--how did you decide on the composition of his force?

Steve Paschal: I decided on the compostion of the force based on what I knew they had, and from photos that existed. I also used some stills from the film "Bridge too Far" in which I knew the directors tried to be authentic in its treatment of the battle. (Anthony Hopkins in battle gear looked a lot like John Frost).

But from the book B Company Arrived--which I consider to be a really good source of information on British small units in this battle--I used their examples and experiences to mold my unit "look". I knew from talking to a veteran of the battle, and from people in Arnhem that I spoke to when I visited, that this was a very special event.

Frost's people were only a little familiar with the area and had no real knowledge of what was waiting for them. So I wanted to give the feel of an invading force scurrying here and there....'discovering' moment by moment the defensive possibilities that existed.

In B Company Arrived there are documented photos of Captain Killick's patrol roaming around the middle of Arnhem the next day, up Weerdjesstraat from Eusebiusplein to the Rodenburgstraat crossroads.

They were looking for a another route to the bridge, but were forever walking around like lost Hawaiian tourists looking for the Hilton Hula show. They simply didn't think there was any significant danger...despite the fact that while out on this patrol they took at least one German prisoner--as well as having been fired on by German MG's twice. So it was apparent to me that the paratroopers of Frost's unit had variable feelings and perceptions of what was going on and I wanted to reflect this in the painting.

Cauldron: And depict that you did! One thing that really stands out is how well you capture the feeling of a force in movement. What process did you use to actually compose the piece? As an oil painting, did you ever consider other materials?

Steve Paschal: The process? What I did was first construct the area, buildings, view of the bridge, and so on. I then proceeded to place the paratroopers moving through the area. This was actually not difficult since I knew that I needed a view of the bridge to give the painting viability.

I didn't consider using other materials since I'm a dyed in the wool oil painter (who once in a while jumps into pastel and paper). I don't like acrylics. Watercolor is a bit too unforgiving for me; they usually don't give me the 'look' I'm looking for. As you can tell, I'm not an illustrator, and my technique doesn't lend itself to illustration (which tends towards too sharp a focus for my taste).

I'm more of a sling-the-paint-around-and-see-if-it-sticks painter, and then I determine if it gives a good feel for the circumstances I'm attempting to depict. And of course oil paint handles color like no other medium in existence in my opinion.

Cauldron: Thanks for the interview Steve--one final question. The paratrooper on the lower left of the cover, looking over to his right--what is his story?

Steve Paschal: The paratrooper is based on a photo of Digby-Tatum-Warter, who was the guy who assaulted the bridge pillboxes with a bowler and umbrella...this is actually depicted in the movie if you recall. I think I got a general likeness of the man, and I did actually consider letting him twirl the umbrella while bopping up the street...but commercial propriety got the best of me and so I put the automatic in his hands instead! :)

A big hearty thanks to Steve for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about his work on Devil's Cauldron.

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