BIO:

Rob Bates is a award winning combat artist who spends most of his time capturing the moment with his pad and pencil. He is a Marine veteran infantryman with tours to Afghanistan, parts of Europe, and East Asia. Rob is a member of the Society of Illustrators and International Society of War Artists (ISWA), a 2006 graduate of Art Instruction Schools, and a student studying Illustration and Art Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  In the spring of 2011, a number of Rob's pieces were accessioned into the National Museum of the Marine Corps combat art collection. In addition, his art has been the subject of several news articles, radio programs and media sources, to include:  American Public Media, Charlotte Talks, The Los Angeles Times, Charlotte Observer, The National Review, Leatherneck Magazine, Marines Magazine, Illustrator Magazine, Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ), In-Depth on News 14 Carolina & The Great American Country Channel (GAC).

Rob's path to becoming a combat artist strarted in 2008 while deployed in volatile Helmand Province, Afghanistan. To pass the time, Rob illustrated his wartime experiences in a small 6"x10" sketchbook. The book, along with other drawings, were later voted into the permanant collection at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

In early 2011, Rob became a major contributor to the Joe Bonham Project. Created by combat artist Michael D. Fay, the Joe Bonham Project is a joint effort between the International Society of War Artists and the Society of Illustrators to document the struggles of wounded U.S. troops returning home from war. Rob made several visits to Bethesda-Walter Reed Hospital and Wounded Warrior Battalion, East to annotate the daily toil of those coping with frontline injury. His work, along with the work of others, are a part of an artist documentation of the wars for the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

In December 2012, Rob journeyed back to war-torn Afghanistan to sketch the drawdown of U.S. forces. He was sent to report the war, taking an artistic approach, on behalf of The Story with Dick Gordon--a nationally broadcasted radio segment hosted by American Public Media. Rob spent nearly 3 weeks as an embed with a Marine infantry battalion sketching, photographing, and recording operations, interviews, and day-to-day life in America's longest fought, but forgotton war. 

Lately, Rob has been drifting into the shark infested waters of editorial satire, studying the works of various successful illustrators and under the mentorship of his good friend Victor Juhasz. His goal is to develop into a more marketable and well-rounded illustrator in the years to come.

Rob is the recipient of the Art Instruction Schools 2012 Outstanding Graduate of the Year Award and 2013 Colonel John W Thomason Jr. Award for Combat Art.

 

Photo courtesy of David T. Foster III, Charlotte Observer

 

Memberships & Organizations:

Society of Illustrators

International Society of War Artists

The Joe Bonham Project

 

Education: 

Art Instruction Schools, 2006 

 

Collections:

National Museum of the Marine Corps, Quantico, VA 
Accession number 2011.52

Daniel Defense Inc. , Blackcreek, GA

James Panero, Managing Editor of the New Criterion

 
Group Exhibitions:

2013

A New Normal: The Joe Bonham Project
Central Piedmont Comunity College, Charlotte, NC
Curated by Grace Cote 

Portraits of War: The Joe Bonham Project
Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, MI 
Curated by Michael D. Fay 

 
2012

The Joe Bonham Project
Edison Place Gallery, Washington, DC
Curated by Michael D. Fay

The Joe Bonham Project
University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC
Curated by Rob Bates

G.O.F. National Exhibition
Mikey Teutul's Wolfgang Gallery, Montgomery, NY
Curated by Jaeson & Mel Parson 

2011

The Joe Bonham Project
Storefront Gallery, Bushwick, NY
Curated by James Panero

Arts & Stripes Exhibit
Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA
Curated by Marti Kirkpatrick

 

Juried Shows: 

AIS 2005 Annual Art Competition
Finalist 

UNC Charlotte 2013 Annual Juried Student Exhibition 

Honors:                  

2012 Outstanding Graduate of the year        
Art Instruction Schools, DETC

 

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