Bois de Belleau

Today, I was able to produce another monotype print, utilizing some reference photos I'd taken a while back, of a Marine wearing the WW1 uniform...

It honors the fight at Belleau Wood in 1918, and depicts a Marine in the tangled woods, firing his Chauchat machine gun:

The inking and de-inking of the plate through rubbing and blotting can give some interesting atmospheric qualities...

Good Afternoon, Chesty, Wherever You Are...

As you know, I've been utilizing the Monotype process I learned while at my MFA session at the Hartford Art School...

Here's a monotype portrait of Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, a legend in Marine Corps history (and an interesting face for a portrait artist to try and tackle!):

I'm pleased with the variation in tone and texture that the monotype process gives, and its sort of "controlled looseness". And though the portrait here is not perfect, I am pleased with the piece as a whole (notice the fingerprint lines in the black tones, especially in the eyes, which look a bit like engraving marks).

WM Rockin' at MOUT Town

Last year, I had the opportunity to go out to TBS (The Basic School) here in Quantico to a place they call, "MOUT Town" (MOUT= Military Operation in Urban Terrain).

They let me roam around with the instructors and the referees (I think they're called "Coyotes") and take photographs (and sketch if possible) as the young Lieutenants "assaulted" with squad and platoon sized elements into this "town" especially made for this kind of training.

I got the best, most expressive shots when the combatants were inside the buildings.

This is a monotype print I did today based on those photos. It is of a female Marine officer rockin' her M16 out the window of a building (she also had an anti-armor weapon over her shoulder...). 

More Monotypes

Here are two monotype prints I did today-- portraits of Marines.
I did both of them as a combination of two runs of the plate, the first being the color(s) and the second being the black tones and lines.

Though they're not perfect, I feel these monotypes stand fairly well on their own as expressive images.

Homage to the Marine Infantryman (and David Douglas Duncan)

Here's a monotype I did yesterday, after the photo of a Marine in Korea, taken by the famous photographer David Douglas Duncan.

His series of photographs of Marines in the Korean war will live forever in our country's consciousness, as an indelible tribute to the raw courage and will of the American fighting man.





To create this print I used two color passes of the plate-- the first one was a green tone and the flesh tone with highlights lifted out; the second one was the black tones pressed onto the paper over the first color.
After the second pass, I took a brush with the dark ink and touched up a couple spots directly to the paper, using my finger as well to shad and blend the tone.
Considering the difficulty and risk inherent in the monotype process, I'm pretty satisfied with the results.