I posted earlier about Art From the Heart. The first soldier I painted was Justin Johnson from Rome, GA. I grew up in that part of Georgia so I felt very drawn to this family. Justin was the first soldier killed in Iraq from Floyd County, he was 21 years old. The first photo here is of the original presentation of the portrait to Jan & Joe Johnson at a memorial service in Rome last year. The next photo is Justin's portrait hanging at the 2008 Art From the Heart exhibit in Stone Mountain this summer. This family is very special to me and I consider them part of my family. They have reached out and touched many gold star families. Jan & Joe are also the Georgia Patriot Guard Rider family.
Governor Perdue held a Memorial Day service At Mount Paran Church of God in Atlanta. Atlanta Fine Arts League was asked to exhibit some of the portraits that were created through Art From the Heart. The fallen hero's families were invited to attend; three of the families that I painted for were there. The top photo is Dana Hubbell standing next to the portrait of her husband Darren. He was killed shortly after they married. Dana is now reaching out to other gold star families. The next photo is of Pearl & George Lucas with their pastor and many friends who support them. I had previously met most of their friends at a previous memorial service for Pearl's son, Victor Langarica who died in Blackhawk helicopter crash in 2007.
