Project Heroes » oil paintings

We All Remember

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:28:00 +0000

November 11.

We all remember. It was the day we all actually stayed silent for a moment in school, remembering the soldiers who fought for our country.

At the time, those soldiers were often not known to us and their faces not familiar. But we knew from our teachers and parents the incredible significance of honoring their service.

November 11: Remembrance Day. Veterans Day. Armistice Day.

Around the world it has different names, but the day is the same and the purpose also the same. The day is seen as the end of World War I, which ended on this day in 1918.

Today, it is as powerful as never before. We honor those who served Canada in World War I and other wars our country was involved in, and also we honor the soldiers whose faces are now familiar – those from the Afghanistan war. Our brothers, boyfriends, husbands, sons and fathers are among the faces now fighting for our country and the Afghan people. Some of them have not come home, sacrificing themselves for the cause they believed in.

We remember them today – those serving currently and those who served in the past – and thank them all for their incredible service to Canada.

We pray for the safety of those in Afghanistan and those still to be deployed. May they take comfort in knowing how grateful we are for what they do. Return home to us safely and may God be with you.

Deployment

admin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:59:00 +0000

Tomorrow I will be heading to the Edmonton Garrison to say goodbye to a group of soldiers being deployed to Afghanistan.

This time it hits home more than ever with me. One of the soldiers has a child with, and is engaged to my cousin.

This project has always been very personal to me, but sending Pat off to the war in Afghanistan and sharing the pain my cousin feels as he leaves, is even more personal than this originally set out to be.

When this project tugged at my heart and started to become my priority, my cousin hadn’t even met Pat yet. I had no connection with the military at all – I just felt strongly that the soldiers who put their lives on the line needed to be commemorated in a lasting and special way.

In only a few short years, many more soldiers have died, and my cousin met, fell in love with, and had a child with an Edmonton soldier. They are scheduled to be married on the base in June of 2010, when Pat returns from Afghanistan.

Along with Pat, many other soldiers will board a bus bound for the Edmonton International Airport, where they will then board a plane bound for Afghanistan.

These soldiers believe in what they are going there to do and they want to do what they were trained for, but one can only imagine that deep beneath their courageous exteriors there is a fear of what they will face when they get there and also whether they will return home to their mothers, wives, husbands, children and other family members.

I commend their bravery and their commitment and my greatest hope is that all the prayers that Canadians will be saying for them in the coming months will keep them strong, uplifted and safe from harm.

Godspeed!

- Susan Abma

Support Our Troops Gala

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:09:00 +0000

Wow! We had an unbelievable evening Saturday!

We had the exceptional good fortune to attend the CFPSA Support Our Troops Gala at Edmonton Northlands.

Approximately 700 people gathered at the new, massive, Exhibition Hall E to raise funds in support of the troops and their families. (See www.cfpsa.com for more information)

We are not getting paid for doing the portraits of the soldiers, so at $225 per seat we would, under normal circumstances, not have been able to attend this incredible event. We very much appreciate Don’s Power Vac of Edmonton, that sponsored our tickets (www.furnaceman.ab.ca).

At the event we were fortunate enough to meet General Walt Natynczyk and his wife Leslie, who is the head of the Military Families Fund. They were so warm and expressed their appreciation of how Project Heroes is honoring the fallen Canadian soldiers. It was our incredible honor to be able to talk with them both and we certainly hope to work with the Military Families Fund in some way in the near future.

We also visited with Maureen Eykelenboom, the exceptional woman at the helm of Boomer’s Legacy. Boomer’s Legacy was named in memory of her son Corporal Andrew “Boomer” Eykelenboom, after he was killed by a suicide bomber in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, in August 2006.

While other funds help the soldiers and their families at home in Canada, Boomer’s Legacy provides humanitarian needs, medical care and tools for education for the people of Afghanistan. (See www.boomerslegacy.ca for more information).

Our work through Project Heroes, will be to thank the fallen soldiers and their families for their service and sacrifice. (www.projectheroes.ca)

We hope that everyone will consider supporting whatever of these causes touches their hearts as they all need your support to exist.

While at the gala, we met many soldiers – some who have already served in Afghanistan, and some being deployed in October. Their dedication to their country and their bravery in facing possible injury or death to serve their country was humbling to say the very least. Each time we meet the soldiers who have served or will serve in war stricken areas, we are even more thankful for the ability to work on the fallen soldiers’ portraits for Project Heroes. It’s our way to thank these heroes who serve us all so selflessly.

At the CFPSA gala, we were treated to the wonderful humor of Jessica Holmes (Royal Canadian Air Farce), and the music of Blue Rodeo.

There were so many added little ‘treats’ for the crowd, like when one of the musicians took the mouthpiece of his trombone and put it in a rifle and played the rifle. Having never seen this done before, we were astounded and excited about how unique it was as well as how beautiful it sounded.

Military drummers played in unison and it was a delight to watch their synchronized moves, especially when the lights were dimmed and their drumsticks and parts of their uniforms glowed in the dark.

Congratulations to the organizers of this event. The gala was top-notch and we were proud to have had an opportunity to attend and help Support Our Troops.

- Susan, Shairl and Cindy

Cpl. David Braun

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:18:00 +0000

The completed portrait of Cpl. David Braun

As we work on Project Heroes™, it is important to us to convey an indication of the soldiers’ characters – something that is hard to achieve from their official military photos that are quite serious and straight-faced.Cpl. David Braun was a sincere pleasure to paint. My studio was so cheerful looking at this handsome, smiling soldier as I completed his oil portrait.

I made a preliminary drawing (see below) and put a layer of color on without worrying about being too exact with the drawing as it changes slightly here and there as I apply paint and reassess it.

Each layer builds the painting to a higher level. I build my skin tones from the basic undertones, which in this case was very pink. I work in layers often, but occasionally tackle a portrait more directly, depending on how I think I can achieve the best result.

It was our sincere pleasure to have spent time with David’s mother, getting to know a lot more about him. This helped have a true sense of what he was like which is essential in order to create a good portrait.

Every time we meet with the families, I am awed by their openness, their sharing, and their strength. Without their support, we would be unable to do this and we thank them for that, as well as for the incredible sacrifice their soldier made. We hope that this project will help ensure their loved one will always be remembered.

- Susan Abma

The rough drawing and start of the first layer.

Getting closer to completion.

Painting with friends

admin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:41:00 +0000

For several summers now, Shairl (centre) and I (right) have spent three weeks in Newfoundland painting scenes there en plein air (outdoor painting).

Although we have a fairly grueling schedule while there, painting from sunup to sundown most days, it is well worth it because it helps keep our painting skills finely tuned, and it is also a lot of fun.

This year was extra special for us. We were very busy painting portraits of fallen Canadian soldiers before we left, so we took a couple of the portraits with us to work on in case there was a rainy day that we couldn’t work outside. We were also very fortunate to also take along Judy Budd, mother of one of the fallen soldiers (left).

Judy used to paint, but for the last three years since her son died in Afghanistan, she had not picked up a paintbrush. When Shairl and I visited her earlier this year, we immediately liked this woman and within a few hours of talking to her we invited her to join us on our painting trip this summer. A day or two later she accepted.

Although she hadn’t painted in several years, she painted with us every day and when our trip was done, she had created as many paintings as I did. For those who don’t paint, that may sound easy, but it is actually hard work and not very comfortable at all. We painted at the edge of the ocean some days and we were so cold that we painted with as many layers of sweaters that we had with us and had shirts tied around our heads and socks on our hands to be able to withstand the wind and bitter cold. Other days, inland, the heat and sun were brutal. In the evenings we had to fend off mosquitos, some days we were rained on…

Not only did Judy stick with the painting (and us), but she created some excellent paintings and she kept us laughing with her great sense of humor.

Now that we are home and getting back to painting ‘our’ fallen heroes, we are doing it with an even greater connection than ever before, and we feel so blessed by the new friendship we have made with Judy, and the friendships that are developing with families of other fallen soldiers.

In the photo above, Shairl is shown with the painting that she painted of Judy while Judy was painting a NFLD scene. It will always remind me of the strength, determination, and wonderful kindness and humor of our amazing new friend, Judy.

- Susan Abma

Personal Time With A War Hero

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:58:00 +0000

This pencil drawing was done with the photos of Cpl. Shane Keating at hand. I wanted to explore his face and get to know his structure before starting the portrait painting.
Drawing out these heroes before I start painting them gives me personal time to get to know them.
I can imagine their strength, their love of Canada, and their dedication to their cause.
It’s important to me to attempt to capture not only their physical self, but their spiritual self as well.
- Shairl

Impersonating a soldier? No way!

admin — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:37:00 +0000

I’m an imposter! I’ll start off with an apology for having the gear on completely wrong, I’m sure. And, I’ll apologize for what might appear to be an impersonation of a soldier.

What this photo actually is, is me attempting to find out if I could actually carry even the lightest gear that a soldier routinely carries.

Well, I found out. I sure can’t!

I’ve read about the weight of military gear, but it never sunk in until today. I was fortunate enough to visit Lancaster Park – the military base in Edmonton – with a soldier giving me a guided tour.

When I left, I literally had almost everything but the pants and shirt Pat was wearing, although I did get other pants and shirts in the collection I took with me. He actually changed his boots and cap so I could take the ones he was wearing.

This warmed my heart to the very core. The reason he shared his gear for a couple of days was to allow us to photograph and paint some of the items for Project Heroes.

The first item he handed me was a helmet. For all intents and purposes it looked like a hard hat, but with camouflage on it. Well I’ve picked up many hard hats before so I had a mental expectation of the weight. Wrong. I almost dropped the helmet. The next thing I picked up was his ‘flack jacket.’ I’m guessing it weighed about 20+ pounds – like a large bag of potatoes. I can’t even begin to guess the weight of the backpack, but I was assured that it was “light” compared to when the soldiers actually have it packed for use.

As I dressed in the heavy gear to take this photo (and I didn’t even wear the helmet), it struck me hard that our soldiers have to endure so much in their duties, and the weight of their gear is only scratching the surface of the amount of sacrifice they make for all Canadians.

I’m compassionate, and my heart breaks for every fallen soldier, but brave I am not. I would never be able to stand in a soldier’s shoes, so I’m incredibly thankful that they do what they do. I guess I technically did stand in his boots, but I couldn’t even stand up straight! I estimated that I was carrying more than half my weight. No, don’t ask and I won’t tell.

Cindy, Shairl and I are all very thankful for the support that we are getting for Project Heroes, and thanks so much to Pat for the military gear that I am able to borrow temporarily.

- Susan

Composition Issues

admin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:55:00 +0000

Susan – Every now and then a painter has a painting that just isn’t working for one reason or another, and this one is problematic for me. There are some things that work well – I like the soldiers marching into the distance on the right and I like the main soldier and the way he fades into the soldiers marching.

The problem is the ‘bloom’ of faces behind him. There’s some glare on the photo, but still you can see how the faces look like a flower growing out behind the main soldier’s head.

It doesn’t matter how excellent our skills are, or how long we’ve been painting, we still occasionally create paintings like this one that I’ve had great challenges with and may eventually have to put in the scrap file if a really great idea doesn’t arise quickly.

So, if you have any ideas, feel free to comment. In the meantime, wish me luck with this one and I’ll either post the end result, or let you know if it hits the scrap heap and I start again.

The brushes are wagging….

admin — Mon, 11 May 2009 16:19:00 +0000

Shairl and Susan have been drawing two young corporals, while Cindy has been working on a commemorative painting for the exhibition.

Although the subject of our paintings is sad because we have lost these heroes to the Afghanistan war, there is some happiness for us because they will ‘live’ in their paintings for many, many years into the future. We feel so grateful for the opportunity to help them do that.

This week we are contacting some more families of fallen soldiers so we can start on some new paintings for the exhibition.

Working on the Project

admin — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:21:00 +0000

While in Saskatchewan, we (Shairl and Susan) spoke with the families of two young corporals.

The experience was humbling to say the least. These men believed strongly in what they were doing and made the ultimate sacrifice.

While their pain was clearly evident, the families were open and sharing. They welcomed us graciously and we walked away with a closeness, knowing we had gained new friends.

We are now working on setting up interviews with other soldiers’ families in Alberta. We are beginning drawing and painting the soldiers from Saskatchewan, and Cindy will start on an Alberta soldier very soon.

We began this project wanting to do something for the fallen soldiers and their families. We had no way of knowing how hugely important it would become, and how deeply we would be touched by the exceptional men and women who served our country honorably and selflessly.