When David Jolly answered his phone and learned he was commissioned to create the Australian War Memorial's Gallipoli Centenary art, he could not believe it.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"But then I got sent the paper work and realised that they actually wanted me to do it," he said.
"That was the start of an incredible journey."
The Melbourne-based artist created seven paintings in response to the Anzac Day centenary dawn service at Gallipoli, which were unveiled at the Australian War Memorial on Tuesday.
Despite Mr Jolly's wealth of experience in capturing times, places and events, nothing could prepare him for walking the battlefields of Gallipoli and visiting official war graves of Commonwealth, Turkish, and French troops on the peninsula.
He used photos, drawings, film and sound recordings to document the event as thousands of people arrived for the ceremony and patiently waited for dawn.
"I was amazed at how many people could fit in the small area, from babies wrapped up to people in their 80s," he said.
"It was hard to decide on the key moments that I would use."
But he eventually decided on the striking sunset over the Aegean Sea for his first painting.
"There was a brief moment where the clouds lifted and the sun shone through," he said.
"Everyone rushed to photograph it."
Mr Jolly's other paintings depict a man in the crowd with a green and gold beanie catching some sleep ahead of a long night, the international Navy fleet sailing past the Gallipoli peninsula and the stars overhead at Gallipoli in the early morning of April 25.
He also painted moments from the ceremony and the crowds leaving the Anzac Commemorative site.
When Mr Jolly arrived home to his cramped studio, he slowly chipped away at the artwork until it was completed three weeks ago. He has not yet grasped the full impact of the finished product.
"Seeing the paintings finished is almost as new to me as it is to everyone else," he said.
"It can take me a couple of months to know what I really see in them all together."
Curator at the Australian War Memorial, Anthea Gunn, said Mr Jolly was chosen for the artwork because of his critically acclaimed work and his stunning technique of painting on the reverse side of glass.
His artwork shows the pride and commitment of the many thousands of everyday Australians and New Zealanders who made the pilgrimage to the centenary dawn service at Gallipoli, Australian War Memorial director Dr Brendan Nelson said.
"They are a powerfully poignant record of the importance of that dawn service to our nation."
The Gallipoli Centenary art commission is on display for three months in the War Memorial's Captain Reg Saunders gallery.
They can be viewed online at awm.gov.au/gallipoli-centenary-commission-david-jolly
