The Empty Canvas

"For sheer excitement you can keep movie premieres and roller-coasters. An empty white canvas waiting to be filled. That's the thing." --Pam Brown (b. 1928)

Recently, I received several new linen canvases from my bosses at the Museum.

I unwrapped them and stared at them, almost salivating. I have always wanted to paint on linen, and I’ve been dying to get started on larger works for the Combat Art Collection.

I have always loved an empty canvas. It’s so clean, perfect and unblemished—it is full of possibility, and begs to be filled, worked and tarried over, until it comes forth an object of worth and beauty.

The empty canvas has always been a bit of a metaphor (and cliché!) for life. The empty canvas, like life, is full of promise and mystery. It is a place for creation and bringing forth beauty. Quality lives, like quality canvases, are best filled by passionate and well-thought-out effort.

I have been working on these canvases for the last couple of weeks (images to come) and they will soon be filled with depictions of my experiences in Iraq. Yet that is not the only reason I as a combat artist went about Al AnbarProvince, sketching and taking photos & video --I went so that artworks will be created which stand, not only as a record of a marine’s experiences, but also as representations of deeper, timeless truths.

Artists paint for timeless truths--- Marines live and fight for timeless truths.

Out of Iraq!

Hello, all

I am happy to report that I am safely back from Iraq (I went to see the elephant, and thank goodness he didn't see me)! Though I went to many places in Iraq--most of them not on the travel brochures-- I was spared from all dangers, and escaped wounding, combat, and major distress.

I left Iraq and arrived at Ali AL Salem airbase in Kuwait on 17 January 2007, stepping down onto the tarmac, a free bird off the Freedom Bird! (see the photo of my boots on the asphalt...)

After a gruelling experience involving the paperwork required to fly my weapon back with me out of Kuwait, I boarded a commercial aircraft on 20 January at the Kuwait Airport and flew across the sea. The flight lasted over fourteen hours, but the movies and the meal were good, so it was overall quite bearable.

I reported to Camp Pendleton the same day, 20 January (due to the dynamics of jet travel and changing timezones, 20 January lasted more than 30 hours for me!). At Camp Pendleton, I spent a few days checking out of the I Marine Expeditionary Force, the unit I was attached to on my deployment.

Then, after a gruelling experience involving the screening required to fly my weapon back with me out of the San Diego Airport, I flew back to Quantico on 24 January 2007. The flight had a short layover in Ft. Worth which broke up the long distance, so I didn't mind it, though I was longing to see my family.

After a third and final grueling experience involving my weapon (I won't go into details...), I began settling back in at home. Soon I will be back to work in the studio.

Utilizing all the sketches, photographs and video I collected during my deployment, I will create larger, museum-quality paintings and sculptures for the National Museum of the Marine Corps, and the Marine Corps Combat Art Collection.

I can't wait to get started...

Arrested in Iraq!

I'm safe and sound and back in the office where we're working, after an interesting event. I was given the truck here, and told I could go out and sketch ... I did so...



The MPs drove up just as I was leaving, and asked me if I was taking photos, I said I was, and that it was part of my job, showed them my Letter of Instruction detailing my job description, etc... they called it in, spoke on the radio with their boss, and told me that though they didn't have a problem with it, I'd still have to come with them down to the station to explain it to the Watch Officer... I followed them in, explained it, showed my ID, papers, secutiry clearance ID, and they told me that I should always phone the MP station before drawing and photographing, and then they let me go.

Wow, what a day, huh? I can now say I got arrested by the MPs in Iraq!

Life at an Outpost

Hey, everyone-

Man is my deployment going by fast! As Mary Todd, a friend of mine, likes to say, "Time flies like an arrow-- fruit flies like a banana..."

I am back inside the proverbial wire, and preparing to go out again, and I thought I'd better post some more of the sketches I've done recently while out visiting the troops where they work and live.

Most of these drawings come from my recent time with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. They are in graphite wash, and I did most of them from life (the loose ones are from life- I find that the line and wash is more "loosey-goosey" when drawn from life than when drawn from photos) There's a freshness that comes from sketching from life-for all of you artists out there, I highly recommend sketching from life as often as you can.

The line drawing, "Post at OP Riviera" is really unfinished, and I have to plead artistic (and old fashioned) cowardice, as I was rushing to finish it, due to the very real threat of snipers(!) It's very hard to concentrate on a drawing when you're doing the "sniper dance!" I will complete it in watercolor, or in oil, when I get time, as it's really an interesting structure, visually.

The sketch of the marine reading the newspaper is from a photo I took back in November, and is a value and figure study for a larger oil painting I plan to do back in the States. It is a scene with several marines 3rd Bn 2nd Marines at OP Chargers near Habbaniyah, starting their morning.

The sketch of the "Humvee" is a value study, as well as a study of one of the many types of turrets there are out here on the vehicles... I don't usually like to draw equipment alone, as it's rather impersonal, but I was interested in the netting draped on the turret, and thought it'd be good practice to render it... It's not perfect drawing, yet I was satisfied with the product and the practice.

Waiting for a Flight Part Two

A couple days ago, I once again had time on my hands, as I waited to catch a flight to somewhere else in Iraq . I saw a marine playing a game on his Playstation, and found it interesting visually, and historically as well (this is something that you just didn’t see in past wars…)

I hope to use this sketch to paint a larger work in oil, when I get back home to the studio. I’ll show you the finished product, if and when I finish it...

The Air Wing

I had a day of layover at Al Asad Airbase the other day, and got to spend some time at a Marine Squadron based there. I jumped at the chance, because everybody knows that aviation makes for great subject matter (And the little kid in me loves an air show still—airplanes are cool…)!

The marine mechanics were engaged in extensive scheduled maintenance of on one of the Harrier jets, and I had time to do a pencil drawing, a watercolor sketch, and a few little quick gesture drawings of the mechanics, as they went about there tasks on and around the aircraft.

Here’s some of the work:
The watercolor was good practice for me, as I did it sitting on my little stool, with my little brush and little watercolor field kit (Windsor & Newton Cotman Compact Set) brushing away, hoping the water would go where I wanted it to go! (watercolor is so unforgiving and difficult to control…)

The gesture sketches were fun, as the mechanics were moving so speedily about their business that I was forced to work fast, which is excellent practice at the “visual shorthand” that makes drawing so interesting artistically.

The Marlboro Marine

I was on my first patrol back in November, with Lima Company 3/2, and I was taking photos and video while walking about... (sketching while on patrol is ill-advised unless you're under some good cover-- see the final scene of "All Quiet on the Western Front"...)

While the marines were taking a break, one of them lit up a cigarette (politically incorrect, I know, but it still makes for a cool subject!)

I used a "General's Sketch & Wash #588" Pencil, which makes a good black line but is also water-soluble, so you can create washes with it to achieve a good tonal range.

The more I use this pencil, the more I like it...

More to come...

In Process

Here are two oil paintings that are in process, coming closer to maturity, only a few sittings away from being finished. These images, as do many I gravitate to, depict the common, everyday, banal experiences of the troops—things that people might not think about when they think of war or deployment, but are nonetheless a real part of the experience. The first is called “Baharia Barbershop” and depicts just that—a field-expedient haircutting station for marines who still have to maintain grooming standards without the luxury of a regular barbershop down the street.

The second image is from my experiences with the 3rd BN 2nd Marine Regiment near Habbaniyah. This image is called, appropriately, “The Chess Game” and is based on my time at OP Steelers, with India Company 3/2. It was Thanksgiving Day and these marines were finished with their work (they are combat engineers attached to 3/2) and were having a game of chess and sitting around reading and resting.

These subjects are fun to me, though they may not be glamorous or “sexy” so to speak. I want to depict for history the little things that made up everyday life in Iraq—things that made life in Iraq what it was; things that people can relate to, whether or not they were there.

The Boys Are Back in Town

I’m back after a fast-paced week outside the wire.

I went with LtCol Wheeler, the deployed Marine Historian from the History Division, as we took the opportunity to go out with teams from the 4th CAG (Civil Affairs Group), as they engaged in the important business of Civil Affairs in the vicinity of Ramadi.

While on convoy and at various Combat Outposts and Civil Affairs meetings I collected photographs, shot video of marines, soldiers, Iraqi Army, and Local Nationals.


While the fast-paced nature of most of the activity prevented me from spending very much time with the sketch book, I was still able to produce several quality graphite wash drawings, seven sketches, and a couple of watercolors of the activities we saw on the missions into Ramadi.

This week’s photos and video, as well as the sketches and watercolors, will provide me with weeks of painting activity back at Quantico, to produce the larger-format works for the History Division, Museum and Collection.







Flying “Space A”

LtCol Wheeler and I had a glitch in our flight back to Camp Fallujah because of a logistical error on the part of those who source the birds for those who request flights. So, instead of having a one-way flight to Camp Fallujah, we had to fly “Space A,” or “Space Available” basically the same as Standby in the civilian world. We caught a “Bird” (helicopter) from Camp Ramadi to Al Taqqadum (TQ), and then had to wait at TQ to catch a helicopter to Camp Fallujah. This added a day to our return, which was disappointing and a bit tiring (It’s still better than walking! I don’t mean to sound ungrateful…).

The wait at Ramadi and the stop-over at “TQ” proved productive and gave me time to sketch the Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen, and civilians that were all in the same boat, waiting for a flight. It’s a common experience, and one that is part of this war’s personality, so I had to capture it through sketching.

I drew some really quick sketches--purposefully loose, to work on my visual “shorthand”, capturing images with the fewest, most expressive lines. It’s the main reason to draw from life, as far as I’m concerned, and provides enough challenge for a lifetime of drawing.

Here are the sketches from the Ramadi and TQ waiting areas, where I sat for hours with others, talking, catching a few Z’s, thinking about home, watching a movie on the big TV…(yes, modern warfare brings with it big screen TVs).

Ramadi

Here I am, sketching at COP Falcon in Ramadi.

I was out with members of the 4th CAG (Civil Affairs Group), as they conducted a CMOC (Civil Military Operations Center).

During a CMOC, Iraqi citizens can come and wait at a designated spot for a meeting with the CAG staff, which provide services which perhaps the local officials can't yet provide.

People can come tell their troubles, air their grievances against the Americans, receive recompense for any damages by Coalition Forces, or receive help with basic things like heaters or school supplies.

The day-to-day efforts of the CAGs, though not well publicized back in the States, are making a marked improvement in the reality on the ground, truly winning the hearts and minds of the citizens, as they see the Coalition actually keeping its word and helping Iraqis (unlike the Insurgents, who simply use them as pawns and cannon fodder).