We All Remember

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 who fought 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 continued safety of all soldiers serving in the Canadian military. May they take comfort in knowing how grateful we are for what they do.

Impersonating a soldier? No way!

This is a repeat of of an old post, but it demonstrates an issue that soldiers have to deal with on a day to day basis. I will never be a soldier - painting portraits is a worthy occupation but doesn't require bravery or brute strength.

I'm an imposter! I'll start off with an apology for having the gear on completely wrong. 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've also heard it called a tack 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 - 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 for the participation of the families who allow us to paint their soldiers and share them with Canadians. Thanks also to Pat for the military gear that I was able to borrow temporarily. 

- Susan Abma

Artists inspired by Garrison students

These photos are of children from the Edmonton Garrison visiting our display of about a dozen portraits at City Hall.

At the city's request, we are displaying and painting soldiers on site there for the next two weeks. It's an excellent opportunity to increase awareness of the project. 

The City has a resident school teacher, Linda Hut (who took these photos). Area schools are able to send their classes to the City for a week to learn about municipal government and the things that happen at City Hall - lucky for us they visited Project Heroes™ display!

When the teacher asked for a show of hands to indicate who had parents that had served in Afghanistan, most of the children's hands went up. Thankfully all of their parents have come home safe, but they were a living reminder of some of the many casualties of war when a soldier is lost. 

These students asked some very interesting and poignant questions about the project, and about creating oil portraits. They also gave Project Heroes™ 'the thumbs up!' (Top photo)

Project Heroes™ has lots of exciting things happening and you can now find them on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/projectheroes. Some of the most recent paintings are there as well as other information about the project.

If you don't have Facebook, email info@projectheroes.ca and request an information sheet that gives up to date information about the project and we'll email it to you.

Thanks so much for your interest in Project Heroes.

Momentum building for Project Heroes™

We have been incredibly busy with Project Heroes™ lately. A lot of the recent work has been administrative and board work in relation to getting society status and working on charitable status.

That doesn't make for great literative fodder or superb photo ops on the blog, so it's been pretty dismal for updates, but as 'boring' as board stuff might be, I am excited to share some of it with you because the results are so darn exciting and there's so much great stuff going on behind the scenes.

We have formed our society board and it is loaded with people who are passionate about honoring the fallen and wounded soldiers. There are, of course, the three artists involved in painting the fallen soldiers. In addition, the board includes Chris Aanderson - our technical specialist from Westworld Computers who is also extremely knowledgeable about military history, Michelle Bartsch - a relation of fallen soldier Cpl. Cole Bartsch, and Lesley Primeau - radio personality from CHED radio. Did I say 'personality'? That should really be capitalized, bolded and underscored. What an amazing resource she is for us, and a whole lot of fun to be around. Danny Hooper has agreed to assist us with fundraising ventures, and Debbie Walker - Project Leader with 630 Ched Santa's Anonymous is our consultant about the charity and society related issues. Accountant Jim LeBrun has agreed to assist with accounting needs - thank God for people who actually LIKE to do books!

We also have a very enthusiastic and personable volunteer - Julie LaChapelle - who will help with various aspects of the project as we progress. Julie is married to a Canadian soldier based in Edmonton.

Together with the board, we now have pre-planned virtually all aspects of the eventual national exhibitions, and we are working on getting all the pieces in place.

As we move along, we will have many needs. We will begin posting them soon and if anyone can assist with those needs, or knows someone who can, we need all the angels we can get.

We are so honored to work with the families of the fallen to create oil paintings that will commemorate those heroes long into the future.

Although the hours are long and the pay ain't great, haha, (this project is 100% volunteer - including the artists, the board and all others who are committing time and effort) we are so incredibly proud to be able to give something back to our men and women who gave all they had.

Shairl, Cindy and I will be getting together very soon for a 'mini-marathon' of painting and we'll post some of those pictures very soon. We often paint alone in our own studios, but our 'mini-marathons' are just short retreats where we paint together.

Again we'd ask that if anyone who follows our blog or twitter, etc, knows any family members of the fallen who we have not yet contacted, please let them know that we'd be very happy if they'd contact us at any time. info@projectheroes.ca or 780-986-0789.

— Susan Abma

Society Status Underway

Although we may not have been in contact much over the last several months, we have been very busy and a lot has happened with Project Heroes™.

At long last, after many meetings, after creating bylaws and objectives, etc., we have applied to become a Society.

This will mean many things for Project Heroes™. First, we'll be able to apply for federal charitable status and will hopefully be able to issue tax receipts in the near future. It means we're working together with expert assistance of volunteer board members, and it means we'll be able to accept other members to the society. How exciting it will be if you all become members of the Project Heroes Society.

It also means we'll be scouting out volunteers to assist with things like fundraising, membership, looking for venues, bookkeeping, data entry, etc. If you would like to assist with the project, please let us know - we can certainly use you now or in the near future.

And we will be in contact much more often now that we're finished much of the organizational 'stuff' and things are back in full swing . Please feel free to contact us at any time - info@projectheroes.ca or 780-986-0789. And, please follow our blog by clicking on the 'Follow' button in the right hand column. We sure appreciate your support.

Our Blog Has Moved To Our Website

Welcome to our blog. We have got some exciting news - at least for us! Our website has been redesigned and our blog has been integrated into it. So, now one simple address will get you virtually all of the Project Heroes information.

To go to our new blog: go to www.projectheroes.ca and click on Blog Updates on the top bar. All of our old blog posts have been moved there, so if you're looking for a particular post, you'll still be able to access it.

Thanks so much for following our blog. We will continue to provide you regular updates on Project Heroes.

Deployment

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

Cpl. David Braun

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

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

Cpl. David Braun - preliminary drawing

This is the preliminary drawing of Cpl. David Braun. Since Cindy showed the method of beginning the painting by 'drawing' in paint, I've done a pencil drawing as the beginning of this painting. I usually do more of a 'cartoon' when I'm drawing in pencil to later paint. There is little need for detail - just some markings that tell me the angle of the eyes, nose and mouth, the edge of the face perhaps, and the top of the head and chin. This one has more detail so you can compare the drawing with the painting at a later date.

Now that I've completed the preliminary drawing, I'm ready to start applying paint. I'll supply more photos as I go along.

-Susan

Work in Progress - Portrait of Corporal Cole Bartsch

Corporal Cole Bartsch-Work in Progress
Work in Progress-Stage 2

This is the second stage of the painting with all areas roughly blocked in with the approximate colours. At this stage there's no detail and I'm not too fussy about getting exact colours, my goal is to get the canvas completely covered with paint and try to stay true to the oil sketch which ultimately gets covered up. I had an illustration assignment to do so I only had time to block in the background and shirt.

The next day after taking care of some business aspects of art (the part I don't particularly like) I added Cole's beret and got the first layer of paint on his face. Luckily the painting isn't dry yet so I can paint wet in wet which I prefer. I'll be fine tuning the colour and shapes, making sure that the drawing is accurate, adding details and the pattern to the uniform. It looks like I've wandered a bit from my oil sketch (see post from June 12) so I'll have to make some adjustments here and there.

We're painting from photos given to us by the families and most often the soldiers are dressed in civilian clothing and are in candid situations. It's necessary to delete backgrounds and other people from the photos and add what is needed like the beret and uniform. We paint a background that is flattering to skin tones, add the berets and uniforms, and pose them all in a similar manner so that the paintings will look like a cohesive unit when they're displayed together.

Cindy

Composition Issues

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.

Portrait in Progress-Corporal Cole Bartsch

Corporal Cole Bartsch
Initial Drawing in Oil, 14 x 18

We are working on commemorative paintings and the portraits. Each of us has a slightly different approach to a painting but I always begin by drawing my subject in oil directly on the canvas. I prefer to do my drawing in one session but it doesn't always work that way. Once I feel the drawing is accurate I begin blocking in the colour. I'll post the block in as soon as I get a chance to get back to the easel but for today I have an illustration job to do.

This project has many aspects to it besides the portraits and there's much to plan. Meanwhile the regular work of our businesses and families carry on as though there were no project. A living must be made and my commissions and illustration assignments continue to roll in which makes for a jam packed schedule, but am I complaining? Not a chance, I couldn't be luckier and I know Susan and Shairl feel the same way.

-Cindy

Contacting Families of the Soldiers

Shairl is busy working on locating the families of the Canadian soldiers who have lost their lives in the Afghanistan war. In the meantime we are delighted when a family contacts us and invites us to interview them to be part of the project.

She will be travelling from Edmonton to the Vancouver area during the first part of June and hopes to meet and interview at least one soldier's family along the way. It's a precious gift when the families embrace Project Heroes and support the project by sharing their photos and stories. Most interviews take 3 - 5 hours, as there is much to talk about in order to learn about their family member, photos and letters to review, and stories that are both happy and sad. Learning about the soldiers that we are going to paint makes the experience of painting their portraits that much more poignant.

The brushes are wagging....

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

Posted on the website, click here!