veryday moments. One of only a handful of combat artists across the services, Fay came to his profession in a "serendipitous" way. Enlisting in the Marines from 1975–78, he then went on to receive a degree in art education from Pennsylvania State University. After struggling to find a teaching job, he reenlisted in the Marines from 1983–1993, and it was then that Fay started sketching "slice-of-life" moments.
For the next few years, Fay held several jobs, but none in the arts. After a chance encounter with Colonel Donna Neary, a Marine reservist and former combat artist who owned an art gallery in Fay's hometown of Fredericksburg, Maryland, Fay's sketches won him a place back with the Marines in 2000, but this time working with the Marine Historical Center (now part of the National Museum of the Marine Corps). Following the events of September 11, 2001, Fay was deployed four times, creating art in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bahrain, and Oman.
"The Marine philosophy has always been, ‘Go to war, do art,'" emphasized Fay. "This is not for propaganda purposes or to make posters…. [Y]ou are expected to go out with the troops and to make art from their experiences."
To gain this level of access, combat artists must earn a high level of respect from both the officers and troops. "I'm often asked if I'm an artist first or a soldier, and it's not a static thing; it's very dynamic," explained Fay. "If you go out with a unit and you are not value-added in combat, word will spread and you won't go out again…. They need to know that if things get out of control, you will drop the sketch book, pick up a gun, and start shooting."
Unlike combat photography, which records a singular moment in time, combat art can capture and interpret the entire experience. For Fay, living this experience, especially while out on active duty, was the first and most important part of the art-making process. He often took digital pictures and brought an audio recorder to help him document the events.
"What I'm doing creatively then is I'm having the experience as deeply as I can," he recalled. "I have the gear on and I'm hot and sweaty, dying for a drink, and I'm having the experience along with the soldiers."
If there was a quiet moment, Fay would do field sketches, often with dirt, sweat, and other conditional realities mixed in. These works provided both artistic and historical on-the-spot testimonial, coveted by historians. At night, Fay worked in an ad hoc studio on base. Often with only a blue headlamp to guide him, he sketched emblematic images from the day.
Back at home, Fay created bodies of work based on his notes, photographs, and sketches. With quiet, time, and perspective on his side, he could lay out entire collections and use materials that were not compatible to the harsh field conditions, such as watercolors and oil paints. All works based on his four deployments, both from the field and back at home, are now part of the collection of the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
No matter the assignment or branch of military, almost all combat artists have had firsthand wartime experience. This was no exception for Fay, who named November 16, 2005, as his darkest day on duty. In his New York Times blog series "Drawing Fire: Into Ubaydi," Fay narrated his experiences in Operation Steel Curtain, a battle against Iraqi insurgents along the Euphrates River, during which many young soldiers were killed and wounded.
Even in these dangerous and emotionally raw situations, Fay believes the presence of an artist -- once there is rapport -- can actually be a major morale booster for the soldiers. "For guys facing their own mortality," he explained, "feeling that what they're doing is important and won't be forgotten is extremely motivating."Fay blogged, "For many of us it would be a long journey back to anything close to wholeness and equilibrium. Like our buddies who carried the dead to the waiting helos hours before, we too would feel the weight of their presence pulling on us for years to come." It would take Fay years to finish a collection based 