Going Outside the Wire

Patrol Departs Hasan Abad 

This piece is an oil on linen mounted to panel, the subject of which is a Marine patrol departing Patrol Base Hasan Abad, Afghanistan in June 2009  (see original post here).

The architecture of the base I found exotic (it was built of HESCO barriers around old adobe walls, and the tower form seemed quite "pagoda-esque", or like a Japanese gateway).  This gate metaphor fits well with the image of the figures walking away into the distance, towards fate unknown.

VMFA to Allow Crazy Combat Artist Presentation 28 January!!

 "A Special Evening with Marine Combat Artist Sgt. Kristopher Battles plus Film"

 

If you are in the greater Richmond area on Friday, the 28th of January, 2011, and you want to hear about contemporary combat art, see a great film about WWII combat art, and see a great collection of Civil War art, then stop by the Virginia Museum  of Fine Arts at 6:30 pm.

I will give a presentation on my work and the combat art of today, followed by a question and answer period, and a screening of the PBS movie, "They Drew Fire". In the Museum itself will be an exhibit, Civil War Drawings from the Becker Collection.

Sounds "sketchy" I know, but it promises to be fun!

Combat Artist in Action

Here's a drawing I did today, featuring a combat artist in action, fulfilling his prime directive-- visual "reportage"!

CWO2 Mike Fay is pictured, sketching while at Mojave Viper out in 29 Palms CA, back in 2008. We'd just gotten done with a hike and the Marines were sitting down for a rest, and CWO2 Fay took advantage of the situation, set up his stool and sketch gear, and recorded what he saw.

I have been wanting for years to do a painting of a combat artist to match the one done by Tom Lovell in the late 40s. Now at least I've done the basic drawing for it, if I never get around to the oil painting!

Evening Parley

This is a small oil painting nearing completion, showing activity late in the evening at an Entry Control Point (ECP) in the FOB outside Rutbah back in 2007.

In the scene, two local Iraqi gentlemen talk with a Marine officer (back to viewer) about some issue or concern they are having...

The figure on the left is the interpreter, female, assisting the meeting (this ECP had a lot of civilians coming through, and the women had to be inspected by our women Marines-- so she served an interpreter for that activity as well).

I find the subject interesting, as one can have fun guessing what the narrative might be...

& from an artistic standpoint, the harsh floodlights made a dramatic effect that is fun and challenging to depict.

UPDATE Feb 5, 2011:
Finished!! (Well, at least it's signed-- a painting is never really finished...)

A Great Book of Combat Art From the Great War

Today I was clued in by a friend of mine (Mike Fay) to this great book of combat art made by an American "Doughboy" in France named C. Leroy Baldridge. It's in the public domain, and free for downloading here. What a great source of authentic, well-crafted art-- and as a bonus, along with the great art, there are many war poems by a soldier named Hilmar R. Baukhage.

C. LEROY BALDRIDGE
PVT. A. E. F.

TOGETHER WITH VERSES
BY
HILMAR R. BAUKHAGE
PVT. A. E. F.

Here are some excerpts from the book:

RELIEF

z-z-z-z-z-z-Z-Z-Z-Z-e-e-e-e-E-E-------------b Boom!

There's another!

God, this pack is heavy.

Glad I pinched the extra willy,

Guess I'll need it.

And the sweater, too,

out there.

-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-Z-Z-Z-Z-E-E-E-EEEEEE- - b Boom!

There's another!

Jesse! that was a close one.

Wonder if......good Christ! Where's Charlie?

Got him clean. God curse those Jerries!

I'll get even,—p'raps—

out there.

z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-Z-Z-Z-E-E-E-E-e-e----------b Boom!

There's another!

Over!

Well, if one has my name on it

Then the guv'ment pays ten thousand.

What's the use? I couldn't spend it.

Leastways not—

out there.

z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-Z-Z-Z-Z-e-e-e-e-e-E-E-E-E----b Boom!

There's another.

Where'd I put that plug of Climax?

Oh, I s'pose somebody swiped it.

Gee, I never thought that Charlie...

Glad I ain't out on the wire.

This damn trench is dark—ouch! Damn it,

Wait a minute.... Hell, I'm coming,

I can't run in this equipment.

What the hell's the rush to get—

out there?

 --------------------------------------------------------

THE LINE

Form a line!

Get in line!

From the time that I enlisted

And since Jerry armististed

I've been standing, kidding, cussing,

I've been waiting, fuming, fussing,

In a line.

I have stood in line in mud and slime and sleet,

With the dirty water oozing from my feet,

I have soaked and slid and slipped,

While my tacky slicker dripped,

And I wondered what they'd hand me out to eat.

Get in line!

For supplies and for inspections,

With the dust in four directions,

For a chance to scrub the dirt off,

In the winter with my shirt off,

In a line.

I have sweated in an August training camp,

That would make a prohibition town look damp,

Underneath my dinky cap

While the sun burned off my map

And I waited for some gold-fish (and a cramp!).

Get in line!

For rice, pay-day, pills, and ration,

For corned-willy, army fashion,

In Hoboken, in the trenches,

In a station with the Frenchies,

In a line.

I've been standing, freezing, sweating,

Pushing, shoving, wheezing, fretting,

And I won't be soon forgetting

Though I don't say I'm regretting

That I stood there, with my buddies,

In a line.

 

(Here is a classic drawing which anybody whose ever been in the Service can relate to!):

The job that's never ended—Cleaning up for inspection

"Shot, Out."

 A sketch of the Fire Control Center for the 81 mm mortars of Weapons Company, 2nd Bn 25th Marines during live fire exercises in Mojave Viper, 29 Palms CA.

As We Go By, They Watch

 Once while on a patrol in and around Delaram, Afghanistan back in 2009, as we were nearing the edge of town, I looked over to our left and saw a group of local kids watching us as we passed. They weren't afraid or angry, but seemed interested in these exotic American Marines walking through their neighborhood...! We were the local entertainment, I guess.

The sunlight falling on the adobe buildings and the children's colorful garb stood out to me, and I knew one day I'd try to depict the scene. I applied color with intentionality of stroke, and the buildings lent themselves to palette knife application... almost as if I was spackling real stucko!

 Here's a detail...

Burton's Coffee Shop

A "Slice of Life" in the FOB

When one thinks of life in a combat zone, one thinks of ... well, combat.

And when people envision art depicting such activities, most people probably envision  "poster art" or grand depictions of Marines attacking the enemy, and so on.

Of course, Marines do attack the enemy, and some of the finest art out there depicts Marines in combat.

But  the majority of a Marine's time is not spent in combat, or in a convoy, or on patrol; but in the FOB or Combat Outpost-- and most people may not be aware of what life is like there: dark spaces, surrounded by dingy cement-block or dusty HESCO walls, stacks of sandbags, wire, & strewn with some rubble or other detritus of war-- hardly "homey" surroundings. 

Creature comforts are sparse out where the infantry lives. A good ol’ cup o' Joe or some cocoa can really hit the spot. Anything to make life a little more like home is a relief from the drudgery of a place like Saqlawiyah.

This sketch is of Cpl D. Lee Burton, of 2nd Bn 8th Marines, making himself coffee in his trusty canteen cup (one of the longest-lasting and useful implements in the US inventory, by the way…).

Ahhh... a little closer to home.

Blisters at Bridgeport update...

The painting of Jellison's Blisters, from the training evolution at MWTC in Bridgeport-- a Movement to Contact in which the subject carried his weapon and gear for ten to twelve "klicks"-- is coming close to full maturity...

Haiti-- one year ago today, the earth shook

I can't believe it's been a year since the devastating earthquake that shook Haiti, physically and emotionally...

I was deployed there back in February, to assist the humanitarian assistance activities of the 22nd MEU in Operation Unified Response.

I sketched, watercolored, and  photographed my way around the affected area, documenting the activities of the Marines as they helped the people (I also helped interpret on occasion, as I once lived there for two years as a missionary and learned Creole)...

I've been working on an oil painting which features the activities at a rice Distribution Point near Carrefour.
The painting in still in process, and much of it is still in the blocking-in phase, but you can still get a sense of the color and composition, as well as the important human element and narrative in the image:

A sea of humanity, a sea of emotions...

Update 1/13/11:
While we're remembering Haiti-- Here's an small painting I did last year, based on experience in Haiti with the people.... Here, a Haitian boy watches us as we provide security at the Rice Distribution Point:

 A detail of the work: