Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Gonna Hitch A Ride ...

Everywhere you go in the Marine Corps, you can get there in a helicopter (also known as a "helo" or generically, a "bird"...) It sure beats walking, and a convoy just can't compare!

Here are two scenes I've done recently, in which the beloved Helo, the CH53 is showcased:

The first is a '53 picking up a bunch of "pax" (passengers) -- in this case some Afghan National Army personnel at PB Jaker in Helmand Province last July (I've included the first step of the process below)...
the "imprimatura" or "veil" has been applied above, and is usually how I start out on these oil sketches...

The second image is from my recent deployment to Haiti for Operation Unified Response...

A column of Marines lug their packs out to the waiting helo, as trees bend and whip in the rotor wash...
One can barely make out the figures in the background at right (a couple of Haitians look on, while a Marine crouches down as part of the security perimeter...)

The CH53 is certainly a workhorse, and it's hard to imagine what operations in today's world would look like, if it weren't for the brilliance and perseverance of Mr. DaVinci and Mr. Sikorsky...!

(note: I'm currently working on a painting which shows the UH-1, for all you "Huey" fans...!)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

your blog is great! i'm not in the military, nor do i know much about art, but i think what you are doing is terrific. way to go sergeant battles, and way to go u.s. marine corps!

Mark M. said...

Woah! I'm so glad I found your Blog! You inspire me! I dropped out of art schoo about two years ago. But I still miss it. I going to start drawing again. I hope to get deployed with Marines I doubt I'll have time to draw though, but who knows.

HN Magpusao
Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton

Anonymous said...

Awesome blog, just found it...I think what you are doing is wonderful. My brother is a Master Gunnery Sgt. in the marines and my father was a Sgt. in the marines. Keep up the good work. are you on facebook? I would really love to follow your work on there....just a thought....God Bless you and everything you do

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm a new follower. I found your blog through a friend's blog. I wanted to thank you for your service. The artwork you are creating is fantastic! I can't wait to see more!

oliver said...

very cool paintings, &
great subject matter, too. The impressionistic strokes are perfect for this militaristic context: a kind of union of opposites.