Art for Army's Sake

The US Army has an artist in residence, Master Sgt. Martin Cervanteza, 43 year old self-taught painter. The man is accomplished. His work is visually and technically strong. His sketches are especially good, certainly better than my own.

But I have never seen a more pristine studio. I've been in many painter's studios, shared space with them and painted with oil paint. It's a dirty business. Granted, my studio space was not state of the art Fort Belvoir but paining with oils is messy. That's why we always wore painting clothes. I see not a speck on the sergeant's fatigues.