A Combat Artist on a Mission : Art: Marine Corps reservist Keith McConnell reports for duty in the Gulf with pencils, a sketch book and a camera. He’s out to capture life on the front lines.

It could have been any Saturday afternoon. Illustration artist Keith McConnell, having just returned to his Glendale home from a trip to the local art supply store, was upstairs in his self-designed attic/work space calmly putting finishing touches on his latest commission, the national poster for the 1991 Toys for Tots campaign.

But it wasn’t just any Saturday afternoon, because the following morning, McConnell--Marine Corps Lt. Col. McConnell, that is--reported for duty on orders that will take him to the front lines of the Persian Gulf War.

McConnell, 45, will serve as a combat artist, capturing the activities and emotions of troops wherever he finds images that spark his attention and that he feels should be recorded for history. It’s a duty that he has performed in wartime once before, in Vietnam in 1968-69, when he was a 23-year-old, recently drafted second lieutenant.

“It seems that every 23 years I go to war,” said McConnell, who left active duty after Vietnam to get a formal art degree. Since then, he has balanced his civilian career as an illustrator and designer of children’s books, record album covers and advertising campaigns with his military career as a Marine Corps Reserve officer who acts both as an instructor in public affairs, and as an artist covering activities ranging from on-base training exercises at Twentynine Palms to Marine Corps wrestlers who competed in the 1984 Olympics.

“It’s a relief to know that I’m finally going over there,” McConnell said during a hastily arranged interview hours before his departure for Camp Lejeune, N.C., and the Gulf. “I’ve been kind of on hold ever since that very first day when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. I knew it would be only a matter of time and the day would come.”

McConnell said he volunteered for duty when the first U.S. troops were sent to the Persian Gulf in August. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until 5:30 p.m. Friday that McConnell and his family finally learned that he would indeed be off to battle once again.

McConnell’s son Brett, 15, said he was “only a little” scared for his father, and that he spoke for the rest of the family--which includes daughters ages 8 and 20--when he said, “We’re really proud of him. I’m glad that he’s doing it.”

Still, McConnell didn’t yet know where in the Persian Gulf he will be stationed, or even when he will actually get there. He left shortly after daybreak Sunday morning for training exercises with gas masks and desert gear at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base, and imagined it would be two or three weeks before he would be shipped to Saudi Arabia.

“I can’t even predict when or where I’ll go, and I just don’t know what to expect over there.” he said. “If it’s like Vietnam, I’ll probably assign myself to a unit, and go out with them on all their patrols and maneuvers . . . and then if nothing’s happening, I’ll move on to another unit. I’ll just go and look for targets of opportunity, so to speak. Something that catches my interest to record for historical and reportorial reasons.”

Another unknown for McConnell is the type of art materials he will have to work with. In Vietnam, he said, he had virtually any materials he wanted supplied for him. In the Persian Gulf, however, he imagined he will be responsible for providing most of his own materials, even though he is limited to 65 pounds of supplies.

“I’m just taking a lot of paper and pencils--that’s about all I can handle. Just basic stuff that will allow me to create, at least drawings, if nothing else. Presumably oils and canvases will be shipped over once I get there. But a main concern is where I’ll actually be doing the finished work. If it’s going to be in a tent or something, it’ll be hard to keep things clean--if you have an oil painting in a dust storm, you’ll have to come up with a new texture technique,” he said with a smile.

Smiling was something the amazingly calm McConnell did quite a bit of while preparing for active duty.

“I’m not just an artist--you’ve got to remember I’m a Marine. I wouldn’t consider myself in a state of fear at all. I’m looking forward to the challenge of it. I’m a seasoned Marine and I’ve been through war before. I’m a veteran. The fact that I’ve survived one war gives me confidence that I can survive this one as well.”

Despite his enthusiasm for the “challenges” to come, he acknowledged that he would be entering life-threatening situations to achieve his mission.

“I’ll take only a sketch book and a camera out (on the lines) with me. The finished work is all done back at camp; when you’re out, you don’t have much time. I can draw fairly quickly, but if you’re being shot at and diving into holes, about all you can do is get in a quick gesture sketch or something. So I’ll rely on the camera quite a bit.”

While McConnell insisted he will not be “just a flack artist” depicting the high points of battle, he also says his drawings will not include injured or killed soldiers.

“It’s just a matter of dignity. I don’t think it’s appropriate to do blood and gore. But I’m not told what to draw. I’m given complete artistic freedom. And I will try to capture that whole range of emotions--including fear--that a grunt goes through when fighting in a war.”

Once completed, McConnell’s drawings will be shipped back to the United States where they will go to the Marine Corps Museum in Washington. From there, they will probably be organized into traveling exhibitions that will visit various museums and galleries as well as shopping malls and state fairs.

Previously, McConnell said, he toured with his works from Vietnam. “That was really a kick, because back in those days the Marine Corps wasn’t exactly held in high esteem, and people would see me in dress blues next to this beautiful art, and they would just have such a hard time putting the Marine Corps and art together.”

Although McConnell emphatically predicts that the Persian Gulf War will be relatively brief, he said that he expects to stay in the Gulf from six months to a year because “there will still be things to cover, from a historical standpoint, once the war is over.” And the load will be heavy. There are only a few other combat artists documenting the Persian Gulf War (each branch of the service administers its own program and artists).

“It’s a very small, exclusive club; there’s not many of us,” McConnell said, the proud smile returning once again.

“I’m very fortunate that I’m going to do a job that I love and enjoy, and if you’re going to go to war, that’s the way to do it,” he said.