Tea Party

No, not the new kind of tea party... the good ol' fashioned kind.

Enjoying the day off with family, having been invited to a tea party by my eldest daughter...

Good times.

This may also be seen as a hat tip to all of our British brothers in arms on this Veterans Day!

Happy Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day, to all who have served the United States of America.

And may the blessings of Liberty and Prosperity be upon all who live in this, our fair nation.

A special remembrance also for those who fought in the Great War so long ago, from whence this holiday originated (known then as Armistice Day):

(Some cool combat art from those days-- from Georges Scott and Harvey Dunn):

Happy Birthday, Marine Corps!

Today marks the 234th Birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

Happy Birthday to all Marines, past and present, who've worn the Eagle, Globe and Anchor in service to the United States of America in peace and war.

OohRah and Semper Fidelis!

It's a Lance Corporal's War

Here's an oil painting of a Marine leading his fire team on a patrol near Delaram, Afghanistan back in July.

It's called "the Strategic (Lance) Corporal-- Wagner Places his Team" and shows a certain LCpl Clinton Wagner, a fire team leader for second squad, 3rd Plt, Echo Company, 2nd Bn 3rd Marines, giving direction to his fire team, just after the patrol crossed a river near Delaram.

One might think a fire team leader is supposed to be a Corporal.  But in many a squad out there, "Lance Coolies" are doing an NCO's job-- leading Marines in combat situations. And the success or failure of the Campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan are in their hands, in a direct, tactical sense. Though they don't decide the big picture stategy, they affect people and situations around them, each and every day, in a thousand little decisions.

The "Strategic Corporal" is a term coined ten years ago in a paper by Gen Charles Krulak, and is still relevant today. Yet in today's campaigns, as perhaps ever, Lance Corporals are filling those boots, of making decisions that can have Stategic consequences in the war as a whole.

More Work in Process!

Here is another painting, in process, oil on linen mounted on MDF panel.

The subject is a Marine patrol from Golf Company 2/8 departing Patrol Base Hassan Abad in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The scene is rather exotic, given the Hesco Barrier walls, the guard tower, and the comparably fertile landscape of the area. I also was drawn to the narrative, telling the story of a patrol heading out into the unknown.

I started with a sketch, laying out the basic composition:

Then, a wash of faint tones is applied:

I begin adding details with broad, simple strokes:

Beginning to refine some of the details, still aware of overall layout and color relationships:

The next step will be to go from area to area, adding detail and refining color, while trying to maintain the immediacy of brushstrokes obtained in the early stages of the painting. 

Works In Process Update

Here is the oil sketch in process I mentioned in my last post:

The subject is the long wait we had one day on a convoy, when one of the vehicles got stuck on a bridge, half hanging over the edge, which delayed our movement for nine hours. We sat in the vehicle, stuck in with our gear, trying not to be bored out of our skulls, and sometimes trying to sleep. Here is pictured HM2 Amesquita, Cpl Rogers, and Sgt Miller of CLB8, trying to sleep. The jumble of Marine and gear lends itself to a sketchy process, with the paint and strokes as jumbled as the gear..!

First, the rough sketch (with enough detail to make the composition a success). It's on toned, gessoed Arches 300 lb. watercolor paper (a great weight for watercolor as well as oil sketching);

In process, the roughing out, or "blocking in"-- at this point I try to keep what works, expressing in as few strokes as I can, as much detail as possible. It's really all about suggesting rather than slaving over detail. A good sketch is a collection of "happy accidents". Also note that I applied an overall Imprimatura of a warm earthy tone before blocking in.

Final stage: Note, it's not fully detailed, but some is left for the viewer to put together...

Here is a detail of the window, with the light coming in-- notice the suggestion of detail, and the attempts at making the image have a little life and freshness by not over-working the detail...

Detail of Sgt Miller: Note that the hand and face are just a set of simple strokes jumbled together to suggest detail.

Works In Process

I've been busy in the studio, trying to get as much work done as I can, to make the Marine Corps' money worth its while...

Here are some photos of some works I've just begun, and a sculpture maquette I've worked on for some time now...

The sketches are done in water soluble pencil, and provide basic detail for the composition, and make the execution of painting a lot easier. I've found that an accurate drawing is more important than an overly-detailed drawing, in providing the framework for a successful painting.

An scene of a patrol leaving the wire at Patrol Base Hassan Abad, Afghanistan:

The drawing of some Marines asleep in the jumbled interior of an MRAP:

This maquette is made of wax and will (I hope) be cast in bronze, and sit on some general's desk someday! It shows a fire team leader next to a SAW gunner, in an assault. I am using photos and sketches I made while at Mojave Viper in 29 Palms, CA last summer. Though the references come from a training exercise, the object itself is meant to be an archetype of all such assaults, by all such Marine fire teams.

MET, MOMA; at the Guggenheim

My Ode to Norman Rockwell's piece, "Abstract and Concrete"

Hey, almost forgot the great time I had with my wife a couple of weeks ago, right when I got back from Afghanistan, when we went to NYC.

As an artist, this was almost a religious obligation-- New York has been Art Mecca since WWII.

We visited the MOMA, the Met, and the Guggenheim. I saw so much art-- and I mean good, "hey I've seen that a thousand times in text books" art.

The only negatives of the whole experience were 1) the cost of admission. Each was $18 to $20 per person...! and 2) the MOMA was at first a total diappointment when I toured the first few floors, which showcased all of the contemporary, "hey, I got a piece my art in the MOMA and all that I did was scratch color on a piece of copy paper" type of modern art. Pointless, useless --except as a nice joke in a lower-level art or design class.

The upper two floors more than made up for it though, as I saw Picasso, Dali, Wyeth, Van Gogh, and other really excellent true Modernists that I'd only seen in books up to that time.

Walk About

Crossing the River Near Delaram

When people ask me what it's like going on a patrol, I usually remark about the strange slowness of the movement, and the almost surreal normalcy of it all. If the weapons were absent, it'd look like a casual walk in the desert or about town (until something happens to disrupt that walk about, of course).

What a strange feeling it is, to be so exposed, and yet to move do deliberately, all the while under the potential eye of the enemy. That exposure is made more stark by the vast expanses of the open desert. The watercolor sketch above portrays the feeling of stark beauty of the desert in Afghanistan, especially when there's a river there. It also addresses the lonely nature of walking around on a patrol, even if you've got a whole squad with you.

The sketch above is a watercolor I did while I was in Afghanistan, and it's of a Marine from 2/3, on a patrol near Delaram. He's against a wall, being watchful during a pause in the patrol. He doesn't seem particularly excited-- minus the weapon and gear, he could be any youth hanging out on the street.

But the calm demeanor belies the inner awareness of a person who's gotten used to this kind of casual readiness. Though relaxed, he is poised to respond should it be required of him. He can't afford to be complacent, because a firefight could come at any moment. But he can't maintain a constant state of hyper-alertness, or he'll burn out.

I'm sure someone could do a doctoral thesis on this phenomenon in human nature.

Standing Watch

This is an oil sketch on panel, about 10" x 8", depicting a Marine standing post in Afghanistan.

Specifically, it is a Marine from H&S Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, standing watch on Post #3 at Forward Operating Base Delhi, near Garmsir, Afghanistan, in July 2009.

It could be Anyman standing Anypost, though.

I think that when we combat artists paint things, we try to make images that not only are historic records of an event or activity, but also stand as archetypes or allegories.

The reason a painting may strike a chord is that it's somehow connected to a shared experience. Even if the subject is something commonplace, it somehow connotes or denotes something significant.

The Sentinel Standing Watch has been a significant symbol in every culture, throughout all of history. And the role of watchman has been a significant job as well.

This painting, in its Subject, is a narrative, illustration, and allegory . But in its being, Per Se, it is more. It not only depicts, but it stands in for, that which it depicts.

On one hand it reminds us of those who stand watch over us, each and every day, faithfully and thanklessly, guarding our safety and liberty.

But this little painting, in its own little way, also stands itself as a sentinel-- it calls out to us, and asks us to identify ourselves, friend or foe; and reminds us that we too must do our duty as a culture-- we must stand fast, remain vigilant, and resist the urge to fall asleep or falter when we need to persevere.