Shortly before Christmas, Santa Ynez Valley artist Ron Guthrie will deploy with the U.S. Coast Guard. His job will be a little different from that of typical personnel, though, as he’s tasked with bringing along a camera and his artistic eye to document his trip. Guthrie will be traveling on the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton as part of the Coast Guard Art program.
The program collection is a pictorial representation of the history and missions of people who have served from the Coast Guard’s beginnings to its present. The collection holds some 1,800 works to educate diverse groups of people about the importance of this branch of the Armed Forces.
Most people don’t realize the Coast Guard has such a program. Guthrie certainly didn’t. He was posting his art in an online forum where artists gather to critique each other’s work when someone suggested he apply.
“He was like, ‘Hey, that’s really good! Have you ever thought about joining the COGAP program?’” Guthrie said. “And I looked it up and submitted something right away, and it was juried in.”
Guthrie likes to paint landscapes in oils and said his work is strongly influenced by early California impressionist painters, as well as contemporary painters. With his latest assignment, he’ll give up his love of painting landscapes and get a little technical.
That’s not too far off from his previous art experience, however. Guthrie is a veteran, having served in the Army. He was so good at drawing and painting technical things, he was often asked by his superiors to do so. When his service was up, the Army offered to send him to art school to become a technical illustrator.
“I said ‘umm, nope.’ Now I wonder why I didn’t take them up on the offer,” Guthrie said. “When you’re young it makes sense, but in hindsight, you think, ‘Why didn’t I stay? I’d be retired by now.”
He was also missing being in the military and a part of something bigger than himself by serving his country, so participating in a program that’s part of the Armed Forces appealed to him.
“When you’re in the military, it never leaves you. … This is a way to kind of get back, and it’s kind of a way to help those guys out and give back to the military,” he said.
To get into the program, Guthrie sent off a painting of Surf Training, which was accepted into the Coast Guard’s collection. To remain in the program, he needs to have new paintings occasionally juried in. So far, he’s had three accepted.
The traveling collection is displayed in various locations around the world. Guthrie said the artists, who aren’t paid for contributing their work, can call and find out where their art is, so from time to time he checks up on his pieces. The original piece he sent in traveled with the collection to Holland. Then it went to Washington as part of the Wooden Boat Festival show, then to Texas A&M’s Marine training program, and then a botanical garden in Florida. After that, Guthrie lost track of it.
The Coast Guard has an online resource area that contains photographs of various equipment from helicopters or ships or such duties as work during hurricanes. Artists can browse through those pictures and create paintings based on them.
Guthrie was enjoying his time as an artist when he received the call that caught him off guard: The Coast Guard wanted to know if he’d like to deploy with and document the latest cutter.
“The coordinator knew that the Coast Guard would be traveling up the coast, and she knew I was really good at recreating the technical aspects and ships, so she called me.” Guthrie said. “She asked if I’d be into going, and I jumped at the chance.”
Guthrie will be all over the ship, getting pictures of equipment, technical aspects, and any Coast Guard activity aboard the Stratton. The cutter was named after Dorothy C. Stratton, the first director of the SPARS, the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve during World War II. The Stratton and other cutters like it are high-tech, 418-foot Legend Class craft. Capable of patrolling from South America to the Bering Sea, the cutters can carry two helicopters and two long- and short-range boats. They replace the 378-foot Hamilton Class cutters built in the 1960s.
Guthrie will be the first person to document the new cutters, he said. The photographs will be used as reference for future paintings to be submitted to the Coast Guard Art Program—the same database that Guthrie originally pulled photos from to create and submit his own work.
Through all of his excitement, however, one question has remained at the back of his mind. Other than trips to Catalina Island, Guthrie has never been on a large boat out at sea.
“They asked me if I get seasick and I said, ‘How would I know? I’ve never been on a big ship.’ I’ll be taking those little pills several days in advance, and we’ll see what happens,” he said with a laugh.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone is always prepared. Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 15-22, 2011.