A Month to Remember

May is an exciting month for military families.  It is time to honor them.  We tell America, we are here and for the citizens of this nation; you live in a freedom paid for at great cost.  Our sons and daughters willingly stand in harms way for you.  So just what have I been doing with my brush and those paintings?

On May 12th I started with "Armed Forces Day" at the Syracuse Chiefs Game (they were traveling on the actual May 19th celebration).  Nine of the paintings in my series traveled with me to their game (we won - of course!)  This was another opportunity to show these paintings and let people know their stories.
There was a special Honor and Remember Flag at the Opening
Ceremonies given to Rick and Lorie Schneider, our Gold Star Parent's
who lost their son Cpl Kyle Schneider, USMC last year while serving in
Afghanistan.
  Our Gold Star parents are working through this difficult year by starting a scholarship fund in his memory.  

My brush has not been idle.  I have been working at the North Syracuse VFW here in New York on an antique shuffle board.  The Veterans asked if I would paint their 5 of the Military Insignia's on the surface of the table.  Mayor Mark Atkinson had seen my military paintings that I had presented back in January to the North Syracuse Art Guild at the North Syracuse VFW.  He asked what I would charge and I told him this one is on me.  And of course, I learn through my experiences with unique challenges.  When I am at home, I can get lost in my work at my easel.  All those long hours spent in
one setting at home is vastly different when it comes to the open and available hours at the VFW (can't take that 30 foot shuffle board home with me to work on)  Sooooo, it took a long time to get that painted.  But today, on the eve of their Memorial Day Open House, I finished it!

Many many hours work.
 Though there are many that take these national holidays as another way to party, our Veterans at the VFW Post 7290 have raised their glasses in memory to all who have gone on before them.  We honor their service.

And just to go out and celebrate finishing, I treated myself to one of my favorite Memorial Day Events - The Vietnam Veteran's Watchfire in Central New York.  On this eve of Memorial Day, we take time to retire our flags that are torn and tattered.  The formal Watchfire Service honors all those that have given their lives in service to our country and to remember our military that are serving today around the world.

It was a hot one too.  As the fire consumed the flags and sent us back from the heat, Rick and Lorie launched a sky lantern (we all signed messages to Kyle) as a way to say, "Love you to the moon and back.  Goodnight Kyle".

Tomorrow is the Parade in North Syracuse and the VFW's Open House.

After that we go to cemeteries with my parents to our families own remembrance day.  We hear the stories of our eccentric Great Uncle Babe (he was independently wealthy from an earthworm farm) who carpeted his gardens to keep the weeds down and my Great, Great Grandpa who sold Snake Oil when he arrived here in the United States of America.

Now that I have worked through all this stuff stay tuned, in a couple of days I will have more news on the blog for my next two paintings and the next 2nd Marine Division's Magazine "Follow Me" covers.
 

Cover to the 2nd Marine Division's "Follow Me" National Magazine

The April, May, June issue to the 2nd Marine Divisions Periodical called "Follow Me" will have "Daddy Don't Go" on the cover along the story and an interview article by Lt Col David B. Brown, USMC (Ret.).  For all who are looking at my blog today, my website is up and almost running with a shopping cart page that is under construction.  Go to http://www.artisticimpressionsbyblair.com.

If you want to purchase a print for now you can email me at artisticimpressionsbyblair@gmail.com or call my home phone at 315-458-0846 (if not there please leave a message and I will get back to you so you can place an order).  Please include along with your contact information, the title and size of the giclee print you would like.  Thank you.

I will be writing more on this.

Final on "A Time For Peace"

And here it is!  "A Time For Peace" with Lcpl Forest Blair and his Rachel walking along Top Sail Beach the day after Homecoming from Afghanistan.  What a relief and special time this is.  The day was windy, the sun was so bright as Forest and Rachel walked along with our family's.  It all was so peaceful and even in January it was 60 degrees, enough for Rachel to take off her shoes and walk along the beach.  They have so much to say and so much to share.

Our Marines live life to the fullest.  When they are home from war, they transit from that foreign land with all its challenges to their family, the purpose for the protection they provide.  To you, the American citizen, you may not understand the price freedom, so selflessly fought for - costs.

While I was working on this at home, Forest is continuing his professional steps in the military.  I am very proud of this young marine.

The painting is an acrylic, utilizing fluid acrylics brought down to a watercolor state with many layers of washes.  There are acrylic mediums used from the Light Molding Paste base to the 4th gloss gel medium coat over the top and more Light Moulding Paste was knifed over stencils for the figures and reed in the foreground.  Several Interference colors were used to deepen the luminosity of of the waves under the surf and Large Mica flakes were sunk into the Course Pumas Gel in the sand beneath their feet.

As I traveled back and forth from work and home creating my painting, our shipper receiver kept telling me the painting needs more drama in it, like a shark.  When the boys were younger they used to see my landscapes and ask, "Where's the Sasquatch?"   I always entertained the idea of painting in a Sasquatch in some obscure shadow in the background.

Well, one day I walked into the art room to find...

You guessed it.  A Shark!  All I needed was a Jaws theme song running.  Yes Pat,  we laughed for days.  
The sharks were removed to protect the innocent.

"Guardians of Freedom"

Lcpl Forest Blair, USMC addresses
the children of "Kingdom Kidz at Word of life Church

Forest is back at Camp Lejeune.  What the men of the 3/6 Battalion do on and off the battlefield are truly amazing and inspirational.  I ,as so many of us, have such a deep sense of gratitude for all of my 3/6 Heroes, everyone.    

Time for another painting that I have been scouring over images to find just the right subject(s) in the last two years.  For my 3/6 Battalion I am stretching canvas to 34"x50" (the size of a billowing American flag that will be my background).  The piece will be called, "Guardians of Freedom", bearing a quote from Andrew Jackson's Farewell Address in 1837.  On top of that will be several images of the 3/6 Battalion. 

I fell in love with these words written so long ago:

"...Providence has showered on this favored land blessings without number, and has chosen you, as the guardians of freedom, to preserve it for the benefit of the human race. May he who holds in his hands the destinies of nations make you worthy of the favors he has bestowed, and enable you, with pure hearts, and pure hands, and sleepless vigilance, to guard and defend to the end of time the great charge he has committed to your keeping..." - Andrew Jackson's Farewell Address

Lcpl Gabe Rainey, USMC, kia 2010

Here are a few of the photo references so far selected.

3/6 transfering post to 2/9 (not sure on this one)

  


More to come.

Almost Final on a "A Time For Peace"

Coming along on "A Time for Peace".  I just have to be patient for the gel mediums.  The colors are coming in quite nicely.  What do you think? 

I have more to address.  During homecoming I presented my work to the 3/6 Battalion of which 13 of the 16 paintings were my subjects and to the families as each wave came through.  The people from the National Museum of the Marines that is under construction in Jacksonville, NC met with me to view the work.  There are several presentations that I will be able to give connected with them.  Working out details for now.  The 2nd Marine Division will have 4 of my paintings over the next year on the covers of their magazines and I am planning on attending their conventions.  Locally, I have presented my work at the VFW in North Syracuse with the North Syracuse Artguild.  More presentations to come and I will add some pages on those.

First Layers on a " A Time for Peace"

The day after deployment came to an end we walked along Top Sail Beach.  The sun was warm, the breeze intense.  Forest and his sweet Rachel enjoyed some of their first of many, face to face conversations that until this point, had only been on Facebook and Skype.  Just to see that joy on his face with this special girl at last was a joy to behold. 

The colors of the day were the most beautiful Ultramarine's, Phathlo's, Cobalt, Cobalt Turquoise, Manganese, Anathriquine, and Payne's Grey blues in the sky and waters.  Beyond those awesome seascape waters, the sand in the foreground is made up of Course Pumas Gel with a blend of metallic and interference colors.  Their bodies are made up of Light molding paste that I stenciled and sculpted, as they walk with their faces locked in conversation.  So much to say, as long shadows of Payne's Grey follow them from behind the couples path.  I am working on this for an acrylic class that will wind up Saturday.  

When I took the photo, a reed was in the lens view.  I will end up with that read stretching out across the canvas over many layers of gel and deeper more intense blues.    

Two New starts on "A Time For Peace and Guardians of Freedom"

It is time for Christmas on February 4th at my house.  Actually, it is all the times Lcpl Forest Blair missed here at home for Thanksgiving, Birthday, Christmas, New Years and most importantly, A Heroes Welcome Home Party!  Deployment is over and post deployment leave starts at the end of this week.  Cannot wait. 
For now, there is a new acrylic painting to start that depicts the other end of deployment.  I am starting a new piece called "A Time For Peace" - Lcpl Forest Blair and his girlfriend Miss Rachel Hort.  Ecclesiastics 3:1-8 says there is a time to every purpose under Heaven.  My favorite part is in verse 8.  There is a time to wage war and (best of all), A time for peace.  Home is my marine and just one day after homecoming, he is walking along Topsail Beach in the peace he and brothers fought so hard for. We are protected because of them.  Each step on that beach is meaningful to the freedom we enjoy because of Forest and the brave men and women like him.   They have run the race and kept the faith.  Semper Fi 3/6, well done!

For my 3/6 Battalion I am starting a painting of multi media that has its start from a book that was given to Forest as he entered the Marines.  One quote from Andrew Jackson's Farewell Address in 1837 says what our military embodies. 
...Providence has showered on this favored land blessings without number, and has chosen you, as guardians of freedom, to preserve it for the benefit of all the human race.  May He who holds you in his hands the destinies of nations make you worthy of the favors He has bestowed, and enable you , with pure heats, and pure hand and sleepless vigilance, to guard and defend to the end of time the great charge he has committed to your keeping...
The background is our country's flag with this quote.  There will be a montage of scenes from the 3/6 Battalion.  More to come.