Bonus Army

Graphite, ink, acrylic, tape on vellum bristol, 10.5 x 8".

Nick, the awesome AD at The Progressive asked me to contribute to the magazine's upcoming 2012 calendar. The theme was pretty neat, so I won't spoil it. Quite simply, I was asked to create a piece surrounding the Bonus Army, and it's march to Washington DC in the early 1930s. 

In doing research about the events, I came across some passages from the Bonus Army's spokesman/leader, Walter Waters. It was interesting to read what he had hoped to achieve with the Bonus Army, concerning how it turned into a complete fiasco thanks to Herbert Hoover and Gen. Douglas MacArthur (they attacked a peaceful protest from WW1 Veterans, after denying their promised pay in the midst of the Great Depression).

I chose to focus on Waters' position, trying to place the viewer in his shoes. It must have been tough to be the voice of so many desperate veterans who were trying to get paid to feed their families or pay rent, whilst taking on something so large and intangible as the federal government. Kind of sounds like a familiar struggle, right?

Below are some sketches. I decided to get rid of the fish eye view in the final, but I thought the second sketch would be a neat, more subtle piece.

I was only allowed two colors, black and pantone blue. I just kept with the blue.