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

Project Heroes Connects at City Hall

Susan Abma, Shairl Honey, Susan Farnell and Cindy Revell at City Hall, Edmonton

It's week two of painting and displaying the portraits at City Hall where we're meeting members and family of the military, veterans, friends of the fallen soldiers, school children and all kinds of wonderfully supportive people. Sharing our soldiers with the public and seeing their response to the portraits has been incredible. Our thanks to Simon Farbrother, City Manager who invited us and Susan Farnell, Protocol Officer with the City of Edmonton for coordinating our two week visit.

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

Goodbye Pat and Edmonton soldiers

Saying goodbye to my cousin's fiancé Patrick at the Edmonton garrison was difficult to say the least.

The hall was filled with soldiers ready to leave, their parents, siblings, spouses and children.

As the soldiers waited to go into the line-up to have their bodies and their gear searched, they clung to their wives and children. Most of the spouses had welled up tears in their eyes the entire time, but most of the soldiers stayed fairly straight-faced and tearless, putting on a brave face for their families. The look in their eyes told the story of the sadness they felt leaving their loved ones, especially knowing that there was a possibility that it could be the last time.

Although the soldiers kept a brave face throughout the waiting period, as they left their families to be searched and then board the bus, almost all had tears in their eyes.

It's hard to explain how electric the atmosphere was, full of love, sadness, fear, and even excitement. Even though the soldiers were sad to leave their families, there was a part of them that looked forward to doing what they had been trained to do.

My heart broke as I watched my cousin cry and her daughter wave goodbye to Daddy. As the soldiers walked out of the hall and out of sight, my cousin ran outside the hall and around the building to have a last chance to see her soldier in the bus as it left.

It struck me how solitary life as a military spouse can be. It's hard to think of a child not seeing her Daddy for six to eight months, and again thinking that the worst case scenario is that she could never see him again. As the parent who stays home, the spouse is a single parent and lonely. There are times when they have no contact with their soldier for long periods of time, and they hold their breath as the names of fallen soldiers are announced. They pray that it's not their spouse, and yet are so very sad for the family that does have to deal with the loss.

Shairl, Cindy and I have become so close up and personal with this project that we, too, hold our breath every time another fallen soldier's name is announced. Our hearts break for the families, and we often cry also as we sit with the families and share the stories of the brave soldiers who never made it home alive.

I pray for the safety of my cousin-in-law to be, and all his comrades as they work hard in Afghanistan for a cause they believe is worth dying for. Besides my own family, I don't know if I'd ever be that brave for anyone else. I am thankful for everything these soldiers are doing for us, for our country, and for the people of Afghanistan.

God bless them all.

—Susan Abma

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

Personal Time With A War Hero

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

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

A Visit With Corporal Cole Bartsch's Family

Susan and I (Cindy) recently had a visit with the family of Cole Bartsch, one of the soldiers who died on July 4, 2007. We heard about Cole's love for the outdoors and comics, his antics, his great respect for the military, and his deep love of family. And photos, so many wonderful photos of Cole.

Hearing about him and seeing his pictures and bedroom will make painting his portrait all that more poignant.

Cole's parents want his name and the wonderful young man that he was to be remembered. Project Heroes™ is a way we can remember our fallen soldiers and show our deep gratitude, even so it seems as though we can't say thank you enough for what the soldiers and their parents, siblings, extended family, and friends have given up.

Thank you Bartsch family. Thank you Cole.

We're in Saskatchewan

Originally posted on the website, click here

Audio File: for the comfort and convenience of our readers we are making audio files available of these posts. As always, we ask for your comments and concerns. We appreciate all the help and contributions from our volunteers and supporters.

And we're off...

Originally posted on the website 2009 04 15

Audio File: for the comfort and convenience of our readers we are making audio files available of these posts. As always, we ask for your comments and concerns. We appreciate all the help and contributions from our volunteers and supporters.