Combat Art at The Basic School

A platoon of Students are in the chute for their brief and assault into the MOUT facility. Even as the artists kept their distance, it took some time for us to "blend" in.

Sgt McKelvey and Richard Johnson sketch during a students operational order brief.

2ndLt Brown was leaned against a tree during a debrief, but coming together he table late lead to an incomplete drawing.

When actions are too fast for sketching, the moment is captured with phones and cameras.

Sketching a 2ndLt posting security during the clearing of a building. You can see Richard Johnson in the background drawing too.

Me and Victor Juahsz sketching Marines during a down moment.

2ndLt Edinburgh during an assault debrief in MOUT.

Like Father, Like Son

This was a commissioned piece for a fellow Marine Corps Officer, Chance Willeford, as he returned from deployment. This work was referenced from a photo taken after graduating and accepting his commission at Texas A&M University.

New Opportunities

Creating art has always been a part of how I expressed fascination for life around me.  Like many, it was doodling on my grade school papers that revealed not only an interest but an innate skill.  My inner artist craves to be expressed on a daily basis and over the years I have realized the need to prioritize the practice of simply drawing.  As an adult with a family, the quickest thing you learn is the sacrifice of your time.  Many professional institutions claim great improvements in skill at a trade for your time.  Simply put... practice, practice, practice is the way to get better!

Concluding an interview with former Combat Artist, Michael D. Fay, he left me with this.. "work from life as often as possible".  For the quickest improvements, draw daily on purpose.

Having been assigned back to The Basic School, I realize the opportunities simply waiting to be acted on.  Getting to guide and witness the array of training that the Marines go through here also presents opportunities to capture/create artwork.  Over the coming years, I my hope and efforts will be directed towards creating art while I serve my next set of orders here.

NMMC 2017 Art Symposium

For just a few days, artists associated with the National Museum of the Marine Corps and the Combat Artist Program gathered to present and discuss the future of combat art.  Active duty and retired from service artists, curators, other service branch art associates, and contributing civilians were present for this inaugural event.  Below you can see the board of talented individuals to include Kristopher Battles, Victor Juhasz, Michael Gish, Michael Fay, and Craig Streeter (active duty Colonel). One of the greatest moments for me was the personal time I was able to spend with Michael Peter Gish, a former combat artist and Marine Officer. His works in watercolor are wonderful and having the chance to pick his brain about material use, composition, and rendering was a special moment. 

A photo-op with Michael Gish (left) and Mike Fay (right) standing next to one of Gish's works, "Tracks". 

Some personal guidance, insight, and coaching being given by Gish to me.  The work we are looking at is the original from Howard Terpning (b. November 5, 1927), sourced from his tour with the Marine Corps as a civilian combat artist in 1967.

Fair Winds and Following Seas

This collage was a personal gift given to my battalion commander immediately upon his relief of command.  In the summer of 2015, LtCol Sanders supported my efforts to be screened by the NMMC and function under my delegation as a combat artist.  As a personal thank you, this piece was done.  He joked that I never really did artwork, and 2 days before this was presented to him he claimed that he was going to leave the unit without me ever having done any artwork for him/the unit.  Little did he know that his piece being matted and framed at that time.  Needless to say he loved the artwork. 

LtCol T. B. Sanders
CLB-22 Commanding Officer
December 2014 - June 2017

CLB-22 Mural

Rough layout to get the outline and proportions down.  I just used a black Sharpie marker that I would later paint over. 

This mural was completed during my last weeks with the unit.  It was roughly 4' x 4' and turned out better than I expected considering it was my first mural.  The picture doesn't do it justice, the detail in the whole thing was my favorite part.  If you're ever near CLB-22 HQ, you should check it out for yourself!

The second mural with the outline put down and the "darkest darks" established.  I slowly paint in the grays and then whites to render the silver of the USMC emblem.  It took a while for the painting to give me any promising feedback.  It wasn't until the end when the details where going on that I convinced it looked good.

At the end of the day, I was very pleased with the size, detail, and overall result of both murals.  The learning process in painting priority, planning the layout and approach, and appreciation for time to do such a large work truly made the whole experience noteworthy.  This was very rewarding, and I thank the leadership of the battalion who let me contribute to the unit in such a unique way.  May it bring motivation and inspiration for years to come. 

Retiring Master Sergeant

Occasionally I have the honor of celebrating the achievements of military professionals.  This piece was a collage of both his time in the Marine Corps and his conclusive time in the Army. 

CH-53 Super Stallion

This piece was done prior to deployment for a neighboring unit fundraiser.  A pilot friend of mine asked for some help raising funds for his unit's ball and wanted to use my artwork as a selling point.  The results were exciting as roughly forty copies were sold in profit.  A few were customized with numbers on the nose of the aircraft and several encouraging comments came from the whole process.  I always feel like I am the one who walks away blessed when I'm given the chance to use my gift to help others.  Below you can see one of the pilots who honored my work amongst his career decor. 

Welcome Home!

After 6 months at sea, it's great to be home! And our return was just in time for Christmas 2016 (which was not the original timeline).  Deployments in the Marine Corps are dynamic compared to other branches of service. We pride ourselves in being able to perform all aspects of warfare (land, sea, air) in what we call the MAGTF (Marine Air Ground Task Force).  The Marines trade size and attrition for speed, flexibility, and skill. In its purest form you will find the Marine Corps infantry one of the leanest and fiercest forces on the planet.  The Corps' ability to quickly respond to just about any crisis in the world, and it's constant readiness to do so, is what inspired this next piece.

While deployed I interacted with the infantry units and witnessed the dedication and willingness to be propositioned first hand.  Below is the step by step of my recent work in commemoration of the Corps backbone, the United States Marine Rifleman.

From a photo reference, a pencil sketch on 11x14in watercolor board.

The first wash was put on to begin isolating the highlighted areas.

The focus here was to begin deepening the values for the rest of the shadows and weapon.

An additional layer to further darken the values.  This was probably the fourth or fifth wash, beginning to focus on the darkest values and shadows.

I used white gouache to highlight the finished 'white' areas.  The cheek, helmet and shoulder are the areas I tried to emphasize the sunlight.