Uniform Differences

It's been interesting to note the differing responses from Marines and Army Infantry, when they encounter my military drawings for the first time. Their reactions are consistent, and by now predictable: 

Uncommon Valor

Marines are fascinated by the intricacies of the Uncommon Valor picture. They immediately start picking out individual images that they can relate to: Tun Tavern. Dan Daly. The Root. This is a picture that was, quite literally, made for them.

They want to know how they can own one. When they learn that half of the purchase price goes to the USMC Wounded Warrior Regiment, they want to buy a bigger, more expensive one. It’s an expression of their culture, of their pride in being Marines.

Army Infantry are just as proud, just as cohesive, perhaps even more exclusive in their group identity. They seem to approach the Follow Me drawing of their own Iron Mike with a measure of skepticism, wary that it was produced by an outsider, not one of their own – someone who could not possibly understand the level of sacrifice and earned camaraderie it takes to be 11-Bravo, and who might just be trying to take advantage of their traditions, for personal gain.

Follow Me

They would, of course, be correct – in all three assumptions.

Bravos tend not to buy my artwork, even when they learn that a large portion of each sale goes directly to the Army’s AW2 Warrior Transition Command. WTC functions somewhere behind the battle lines; 11-B’s face toward it.

Fortunately for me (and more important for the Wounded Warriors), sales of Follow Me are starting to pick up. Just over a year after its release, infantry soldiers still have little interest in supporting a non-military artist, but the picture is gaining ground in the marketplace nonetheless. People are buying them as gifts.

Wives, mothers, sweethearts, and sisters have embraced the Army drawing, and in so doing have created a necessary buffer between artist and infantryman. Many times I have witnessed Bravos being led reluctantly to my art display, my pictures forced into their hands by an enthusiastic loved one. At that point the soldiers are obligated to look once, but then they look again at the drawing, a little more closely this time, and their expressions begin to change. They see the historic head covers, the edged weapons, the firearms arranged in chronological order from musket to SAW.

Then it doesn't matter who made this drawing. They know it honors them.

I wonder, now that a third Air Force design has been completed and added to the series, whether Airmen will react with enthusiasm or reluctance to the latest drawing, Aiming High. 

After Valentine’s Day, we should have a pretty good idea.

 

Aiming High

Grunt Grudge Match

The DS Art Studio is happy to announce the

2012 Grunt Grudge Match Challenge to Support Wounded Warriors

HOO-AH meets OOH-RAH.

03’s vs. 11B’s.

Who will win in a toe-to-toe, no-holds-barred competition?

Which team can raise $50K by Veteran’s Day?

CONTEST RULES:

DS Art is proud to donate half of the funds raised from sales of Marine Uncommon Valor and Army Follow Me prints to the Marine Wounded Warrior Regiment, and the Army AW2, respectively.

Sales of these two Army and Marine prints from July 4th to Veteran's Day, 2012 will be counted to determine which service emerges victorious. The branch with the highest total (most print sales and/or outright WW donations to the contest) will be declared the winner, and will own irrefutable bragging rights for a minimum of one year.

All uniformed service members (including POGs, swabbies, zoomies, coasties and weekend warriors), veterans, families and civilians are all encouraged to support their preferred branch of ground-pounding Grunts.

The winning branch of military service will also receive an original, WWI 75mm Trench Art trophy, handcrafted by Master Metalsmith Robert Taylor. This official Grudge Match Trophy will be presented to the winners’ own National Museum (National Museum of the Marine Corps, or National Infantry Museum) for at least one year of safekeeping, publicly showcasing the highest levels of loyalty and support for their wounded comrades.

The Uncommon Valor drawing is composed of more than 370 pieces, arranged in the shape of the iconic flag raising at Iwo Jima, placed in order of events from the founding of the Marines at Tun Tavern in 1775 to the current conflict in Afghanistan.

Follow Me is a collection of 225 Infantry images, tracing the historic path of Army foot soldiers from the Revolution to the present, with emphasis on the Seven Army Values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. 

Both artworks reflect a 237-year tradition of courage, honor and dedication to service.

Either drawing is available in 16x20” Signed Open Edition ($40) and 18x24” Signed and Numbered Limited Edition ($150) Prints.

Can either team raise $50K by Veterans Day? 
I’m betting on both.

The contest begins with the fireworks of Independence Day, and ends with Taps on November 11th. 

May the Best Branch win!

Left Wing Patriot

Yes, I’ve been called Left-Wing. 

Progressive. Pacificist. A bleeding heart tree-hugger. 

That’s okay. I’m an artist. It’s expected of me. And it’s mostly true. 

After all, I was raised in a religious tradition that emphasized forgiveness, understanding, and the Golden Rule. On top of that, I was trained to be a healer, and once took a solemn Oath that said I would do my best not to harm other people.

So it is that I find myself in a most interesting position philosophically, when I am researching, creating, and marketing my recent series of military drawings. This very question came up not long ago, when a conscientious friend asked me to explain how I could, in good conscience, justify the "glorification of war" in my art. 

In response, I told him that I felt a strong desire to balance my usual peaceful tendencies with the need  to support the equally dedicated individuals who are sent out to fight on my behalf, who then return home broken and changed, and find that in return for their sacrifice, they are offered little or no safety net. As an artist and a healer, I felt I could do something to help. As a responsible citizen, I felt I had no other choice.

These fighting men and women, and the people who care for them, are the ones who appreciate my intimate pictures of warcraft. If I do my job well, they will want to share my pictures with others - to support not only my calling as an artist, but also the various Wounded Warrior organizations that receive a significant portion of the proceeds from these drawings. 

For the record, I have no beef with anyone who puts on a uniform and follows orders. In fact, I applaud them all for choosing, then earning a place along a most honorable career path, for whatever reasons or circumstances might compel them to serve. More important, I salute them for setting aside their personal rights and freedoms so that I can selfishly enjoy my own. And I do, without reservation or apology. But not without gratitude.

To create Uncommon Valor, Follow Me, and the honorary military drawings that will follow them, I have worked hard to put on the skin of Soldiers and Marines, as much as a civilian ever can, in order to offer an authentic visual experience for them. In the process I have opened doors that have been closed to me before, and have had the opportunity to enjoy meaningful conversations and positive relationships with people from across the political spectrum, many of whom I am now privileged to call my friends.

Yes, I sometimes poke fun at others with my drawings - the medical community in particular. I have earned my stripes in that world, and feel comfortable taking them on as an insider, though always in good fun. 

For the military, I choose to speak in their terms, as a matter of respect for their ethos, and their unquestionable personal sacrifice, in order to fulfill a need that is being largely ignored by our politicians and their corporate partners. As a citizen, I will continue to work politically to try and build a better, more tolerant society, for everyone's benefit. With my military drawings, I am working artistically to support the millions who were and are willing to give up their lives so that I can draw funny pictures for a living.

I see no contradiction in that. If my efforts are successful, I will profit enough to help even more of them.

One of the best experiences to come from this adventure occurred over a long dinner, in the company of a retired Marine major, decorated for wounds received in three wars. After several hours of discussion, sometimes animated, he finally said to me, "Son, you and I are definitely on opposite sides of the political fence. But it appears to me that we both have our elbows on that fence, and we're leaning toward one another."

To my mind, that's the only way We as a People are going to solve our problems, by making bold connections, and making ourselves understood through civil discourse. That discourse is only possible because of a select few who are willing to die in its defense.

I think that's worth a little glorification.

Don

Happy Birthday, USMC!

Birthday Greetings from the National Museum of the Marine Corps!

After a year of research, months of planning and weeks of actual drawing time, Uncommon Valor was finally unveiled at the National Museum of the Marine Corps on November 10, 2010 - the 235th birthday of the Marines. 370 individual images are arranged in the shape of the iconic flag raising at Iwo Jima chronicle the story of the Marines from 1775 to the present.

With much pomp and splendor, an Honor Guard presented the Marines' birthday cake to a gathering of nearly 2000 people in the Museum’s Leatherneck Gallery. After the Master Gunnery Sergeant cut the cake – with his saber – I had the privilege of presenting print #10 to Col. Jay Krail, Executive Officer the Wounded Warrior Regiment. Half of the proceeds realized from the sale of Uncommon Valor prints will be donated to the WWR.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Afghanistan... Lt Col (Ret) Norman Root, the man who introduced me to the Corps and convinced me to create this picture, continues to serve as a civilian consultant in Shindand. Norm sent me this photo of their Marine Ball celebration on the same day, halfway around the globe – complete with a printout of Uncommon Valor.

Birthday Cards

A collectible Post Card announcing the release of Uncommon Valor was also created on November 10. Six hundred of these 5x7" post cards were affixed with commemorative Purple Heart postage stamps, and hand cancelled by the artist at the US Post Office in Quantico, Virginia. Fine Art prints and cards are available at the DS Art website.

USMC II: Uncommon Valor

Much has transpired since the initial installment on the Iwo Jima drawing. It now has a name, Uncommon Valor (the phrase used to describe the performance of the Marines who conquered Iwo – where “Uncommon valor was a common virtue”), and a purpose: to raise awareness and funds for the USMC Wounded Warriors Regiment.

The image used in the drawing was already a compilation, even before I started placing smaller pictures into the design. The flag raising on Mt. Suribachi was recorded by four photographers, and has been recreated dozens, if not thousands of times by as many artists over the past sixty years. Each time, the original still photographs of Lowery and Rosenthal have been reinterpreted, re-worked and re-engineered to fit whatever format was needed, from War Bond posters to postage stamps, ice cream molds to t-shirts to tattoos. Even Felix de Weldon, the sculptor of the Marine War Memorial in Washington, D.C., used his artistic license to arrange the five Marines and one Navy corpsman into a more classic pose, and built at least three smaller versions of his world-famous statue. The version I chose as a model for the drawing now stands at the gate to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.

After more than a year of research, a dozen books on the subject and a dozen more interviews with active and retired Marines, two trips to the National Museum of the Marine Corps and a tour of the base at Quantico, the design has settled into its current form. The first century of the Marines is illustrated in the lower left section of the base, World War I and the so-called Banana Wars in the lower right, with WWII in a horizontal band across the middle. Above these, the left peak represents the Korean conflict, and the right peak the Viet Nam era, with late 20^th-century expeditionary excursions in between. The modern Marine Corps (including conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and the War on Terror) are represented by the three standing figures. Left to Right, they represent Air, Sea, and Land. The figure to the right combines all three, as well as the musical tradition that remains strong in the Corps.

The drawing will be unveiled on November 10^th, 2010, the 235^th birthday of the USMC. Limited and open edition prints will be available for purchase on November 11^th. (See details at www.DSArt.com.)

As usual, I’m already running a little behind schedule, which means I will be pulling a few late nights over the next week or two to complete the inking process on time. You are invited to follow the progress of the drawing, from initial sketches to final ink on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/dsart