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Sketching the Drawdown

To sketch and report the drawdown in Afghanistan from a "boots on the ground" perspective.

Art – Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
20120830184827-bates_r

Short Summary

 

My name is Rob Bates. I am a former Marine, a war artist, and an illustration major at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Several of my pieces form part of the prestigious combat art collection at the National Museum of the Marine Corps (accession number 2011.52). My work has garnered the attention of several news and media outlets, to include: The Los Angeles Times, The National Review, American Public Media, The Charlotte Observer, Great American Country Channel, and more.

 
I am a freelance war artist/correspondant for WUNC's The Story on American Public Media, one of the nation's leading news radio organizations. My intent is to embed with a platoon of Marines and to sketch/report the drawdown in Afghanistan for two weeks this December. The art that I produce will not only get published on their website, but will also seek accessioning into several major collections. I will also broadcast my stories on air nationally. 
 
In order to qualify as an embed, one must obtain a letter of accreditation from a bona fide media organization. My letter of accreditation:
 

 

Letter of Accreditation

 

You can find articles written about my work here:

THE NATIONAL REVIEW

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

MORNING CALL

LEATHERNECK

AMERICAN PUBLIC MEDIA

 

As a family man, part time employee, and full time college student, aquiring the resources necessary for the embed cannot be done alone. This is my call for help. I need to raise $5,000 in the course of six weeks. All donations go to:

            -Round trip ticket to Kuwait (between $1,200-$2,000)

     -Passport ($241)
     -Gas to Washington, D.C. to get visa ($150)
     -Travel insurance through Global Underwriters ($240)
     -Art/Media supplies ($500-$800)
     -Cold weather gear/clothing ($400-$600)
*Body armor will be loaned to me by New York Times contributor and war artist Mike Fay.

 

Please keep in mind: if I am unable to meet my goal, all donations received will still be used to fund my trip. I plan to make every penny count.

 

More about my campaign, and the difference your contributions will make:

 
The war will not last forever, and the time honored tradition of sending wartime illustrators into combat is dying. America needs more war artists to show the public what's happening from a "boots-on-the-ground" perspective. It is safe to say that I will be the only war artist in country come December.
 
I also wanted to point out that I co-administered an indiegogo fundraiser previously before for Mike Corrado's music video Still in the Fight. The video was featured on the Great American Country (GAC) channel last september. You can spot your's truly sketching in the film.
 

For your contributions:

Those who contribute $25 or more will receive a signed giclee print of the work produced from my time in country. 

  If you cannot or choose not to contribute:

It's understandable that some of you simply don't have the money to contribute, and that's fine. If this is the case, you can do your part to spread the word by sharing this page.  You can share this via facebook, email, and by using the indiegogo share tools

 

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