Several years ago, artist Susan Abma felt called to paint all of the Canadian soldiers who had been killed in Afghanistan. Many were young boys who had never had a chance in life and now they were gone. Many, if not most, were close in age to Susan’s own children and it made her sad to think of the parents who had lost their ‘babies’ to the war.

Susan hoped the exhibit would be available to tour every province in Canada, and then hopefully be retained as a historic collection by the Canadian Military, the War Museum, or the National Portrait Gallery. The number of fallen soldiers climbed rapidly, however, and Susan was concerned that she may not be able to complete the project herself.

In 2008, when waiting in an airport with Shairl Honey, Susan picked up a magazine that had pictures of all of the fallen soldiers to that date. The two artists spoke about the soldiers, and decided to complete the exhibition as a collaborative project.

To create the exhibit professionally and in a timely fashion, Susan and Shairl decided they needed one more artist to help complete the paintings. The pair had worked with artist Cindy Revell on many previous occasions. Her talent and professionalism was what the project needed. Without hesitation, Cindy agreed to be part of the important project. The three shared the same desire and dedication to preserve the memory of Canada’s fallen heroes.

Along with the portraits of all the soldiers, the trio plan to also do one very large painting each that would celebrate the lives of the soldiers. The exhibition plans are to include memorabilia such as letters the soldiers wrote home, video clips, etc. From some of the information that the artists will gather from family members who wish to participate, they will create the three oversized paintings.

This project has a $1 million+ budget which makes it necessary for the painters to seek individual and corporate sponsorships. Fifteen percent of all proceeds will be donated to a charity benefiting the soldiers’ families and/or war veterans.

The artists have set sponsorship levels in place so that individuals can have the opportunity to be associated with this meaningful collection. Depending on the level of sponsorship, patrons will receive various mementoes of the Project Heroes.™

Project Heroes will commemorate soldiers who didn’t know most of us, but died believing they were helping others have a better future. No matter what a person thinks of war, those self-sacrificing soldiers should always be remembered by our country. Through Project Heroes, Canadians can honour and give thanks to the soldiers and their families for the sacrifices they have made for our country.