Deployed tattoo artist builds esprit de corps

Photo By Liesl Marelli | A mural standing at more than nine-feet high painted by Pfc. Michael Gomez, a tattoo artist from Denver, Colo., is displayed outside the battery area for Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery, Colorado Army National Guard, 115th Fires Brigade, at Camp Ramadi, Iraq, Oct. 2.  

RAMADI, IRAQ

10.02.2009

Story by Liesl Marelli 

3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery

CAMP RAMADI, Iraq - During his off hours, he grabs a paint brush and delves into a life he's always loved. His full-time job while deployed is manning one of the towers at Camp Ramadi, Iraq, but during his off time he reverts back to his art, a passion of his since childhood.

Pfc. Michael Gomez, a tattoo artist from Denver, Colo., was tasked with painting the Berserker mural for Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery, Colorado Army National Guard, 115th Fires Brigade.

"If you can think it, I can ink it," is the motto Gomez lives by as a tattoo artist of seven years. In this case, it wasn't a tattoo he was asked to do, but it might be just as permanent for 3-157 FA's Berserkers.

It began at Fort Hood, Texas, when he was asked to design the logo for the battery, then known as the Banshees. However, after a change of command ceremony, the unit became known as the Berserkers. A new logo was needed and Gomez already had designs in mind.

It wasn't difficult for Gomez to design the berserker, a person he defines as a gladiator who is bred to kill. It's dark, it's morbid, it's a bit extreme and it's exactly the kind of art Gomez likes most.

"I do macabre," said Gomez. "It's Goth with a mix of surrealism."

The painting is a depiction of a berserker who stands poised to kill and, although the design in itself looks menacing, the size of the painting is also intimidating. It stands at more than nine feet tall and three feet wide in an area many people frequently pass by.

"It's one of those highly traveled paths in the battalion area so everyone walks past it and sees it," said Staff Sgt. John Pino, the Berserker operations non-commissioned officer in charge, of Walsenburg, Colo.

I think the painting demonstrates the esprit de corps of the unit, Pino said, while adding, "You can tell he put a lot of work and a lot of detail into it."

The painting took Gomez approximately two weeks to complete, working mainly during the evening hours. His art studio was the space located outside his Containerized Housing Unit. He was able to work with the assistance of the outside light above his CHU door and also a flashlight through the night.

By Oct. 1 the painting was complete. It was only a few hours later that Gomez was medically evacuated for a non-life-threatening injury.

Capt. David Wilcox, Battery B commander said he was proud of Gomez for getting it done before leaving Ramadi.

"I volunteered for the tour," said Gomez. "I've been with the National Guard for years and wanted to go on deployments, but this is my first one. I wish I could finish [the tour]. I wish [my fellow Soldiers] good luck and I wish I was staying here with [them] to finish it."

He may not be here with his battery but he leaves in his place a larger-than-life-size painting to continue motivating his fellow men and women in arms and remind them that the extra effort to increase morale [even during personal time] is worth it.

He was motivated to do the painting, and we plan on displaying it through the deployment, bringing it back home with us to Colorado and taking it again when we deploy next, said Pino.

• Date Taken: 10.02.2009
• Date Posted: 10.14.2009 17:41
• Story ID: 40131
• Location: RAMADI, IQ