NY Firefighter Portrait Project
 

Anyone else participating in the project organized by Margaret Herman to donate portraits to families of fallen NYFD 9/11 firefighters?

I'm about halfway through painting the piece I will be donating. It's a very moving experience, being in contact with the family, researching what I want to include in the painting, doing the composition, etc.

I'd be very interested in hearing about the experiences of anyone else involved in this project, too.

Michele,

You might want to respond to this post: http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...=&threadid=907

Thanks, Cynthia. I wasn't aware that thread existed. Guess I should have searched my topic first!

Well, your post is different from the one where I referred you. You're asking for the experience of those who are already involved. So, I think this stands as a valid thread.

Michele,

I was told that I am next on the list and that I should be contacted shortly. Would you post your completed portrait? I would also like to know a little about the firefighter and your experience--IF it's OK with the family.

Renee Price

The family I've been matched with is very private about this, especially while the painting is in progress, so I won't post their name or details. I will probably put the completed portrait on my Stroke of Genius website when it's finished, in the next month or so.

Hi, Michele.

I too am participating in Portrait Project 9/11.
I returned from New York two weeks ago. I flew up there to meet the family of Tommy Foley. I was matched with them in July and felt that this project was too personal to do over the phone. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to meet with them. It was a meeting I will never forget.

I learned a lot about Tommy. He was 32 and a 10 year veteran of an elite rescue squad. He loved excitement and that's why he was a fire fighter. In 2000, he was People Magazine's #10 of 100 Most Eligible Bachelors, and had extra rolls on the Sopranos and Third Watch. He was a rodeo bull rider and did some sky diving. Needless to say, I was very impressed with his abilities.

The most rewarding aspect of this entire project for me is the fact that I am able to touch the lives of his family and offer them a lasting memorial that will be passed from generation to generation. It's also a very personal way to say thank you to those who risk their lives daily for you and me. I have never felt so honored or humbled in any volunteer role as I do with this. I only wish I could do more.

I have begun compositional sketches and hope to start the actual painting this week. There are several things that are important to his family and I want to make sure that they are represented in his portrait.

When the painting is completed, I plan to deliver it in person. I know that that will be a very emotional day.

I would love to hear about your experience with your family and to hear about your firemen as well. I think it is important that we tell their stories.

Lisa

Both Michele and Margaret Sargent have their 9/11 portraits posted on their web sites. Go to the Stroke of Genius main site and then Artists by Name to find them.

When I find the time, I plan to put up a page for 9/11 portraits.

I would agree that doing and presenting the firefighter portrait also made me feel more honored and humbled than any other volunteer project I've ever done.

The firefighter I painted, Doug Oelschlager, was a loving family man with two young daughters. I also have two small daughters so I could relate in a very personal way to this man's life, at least outside of his role as firefighter. I wish I had known him.

I was in New York to present the painting to his widow just a few days ago. Afterwards she and I, accompanied by several NYFD firefighters, visited Ground Zero together. That was a moving experience I will never forget.

The widow and I have become good friends, though we had only spoken on the phone before I presented her with the painting. She told me yesterday that having the portrait in her home makes her feel like he is there, in a way, and that it makes her feel comforted for the first time since his death.

Michele,

I have not learned quite as much as you have about my contact, Raffaella. I have begun the portrait, and she and I have talked about 4 times. But now that the anniversary of the 9/11 incident is here, I have backed off a little to give the family time. I too hope to go to New York to deliver the portrait within a month or so, but actually Rae (as she asked me to please call her) spoke as if she would consider coming here, too; I offered her a mini-time away for awhile, if she wishes, as I have pleny of room here in the 10 rooms with 4 extra beds.

We have talked so easily and I too feel a friendship developing. She was married to Lt. John, a 26 yr. member and founder of the Haz-Mat Co. and they have 3 teen boys. Actually, she just sent her eldest off to college (19yrs. old) and was considerably sad about that. Understandably so !

I am looking forward to talking to her soon. I have a problem with the arm patch and the insignia on his lapel, as she had only a black and white. I am checking now how to find out about those in order to render them correctly.

May I ask if your contact talked to you about your background, or did you present that to her? I will more than likely do my background plain, as being an officer, I feel the mood is one that is quite formal. Wouldn't you agree?

Beautiful portraits, both Michele's and Margaret Sargent's. I am very honored to be a part of this project and am anxious to get started.

I have been in touch with the family of the firefighter, however I have not received photographs yet. The widow is having a difficult time and I do not want to push her.

Renee Price

TV Coverage
 

I will soon be posting some photos on my Stroke of Genius website relating to my firefighter portrait. When Cynthia saw them she asked me to mention them in this thread, so here I am.

When I said in an earlier post that I was in New York to present the painting to the firefighter's widow I didn't explain how that came about. It's a bit of a long story.

When I completed the firefighter portrait I was making plans to box it up and ship it from Seattle, where I live, to New York. Meanwhile, a friend of mine mentioned that the local television stations might be interested in doing a story about the painting. I sent them a press release and some photos.

I had spoken to the firefighter's widow, Suzanne, extensively on the phone by this time. She told me she felt it was kind of her mission to get the word out about her husband, to make sure his story was told and not forgotten.

I didn't want to take advantage of her loss with media exploitation. I wouldn't have spoken to the press if she had been at all worried about guarding her privacy on this subject. Suzanne has spoken to the media often since 9/11 and was very comfortable with it.

She even told me that she hoped this story would lead to a positive developments in my career and that she was more than happy to help in any way she could.

Once my information was received by the local television station, things began to happen in a whirlwind. The next day the local tv producer from the KIRO-7 Seattle CBS affiliate called and asked if she could send a camera crew out to my house to interview me about the painting. Very exciting but not too nerve-wracking because it was taped and I knew they could edit it if I messed up!

The day after that a producer from the national CBS network in New York asked me if they could fly me to New York City and have me present the painting to the firefighter's widow live on "The Early Show", on national television!

Live... no edits. So if I tripped on the step getting on the set it would be seen by about ten million people!

Suzanne brought her two daughters (great kids!) and her mother to the CBS building and we did the segment together. It was over so fast.

The producers of the Early Show arranged it so that I would meet Suzanne for the first time on the air and that she would see the painting for the first time during the segment also. (I had mailed Suzanne a photo of the painting beforehand so I knew she liked it.)

The whole experience was a very exciting time for me and I was so glad I got to meet the firefighter's widow in person. Much more personal than simply sending the painting to her via UPS! We ended up spending the rest of the day together, going to Ground Zero with some of the firefighters her husband had worked with.

The Early Show airs nationwide and across Canada. When I got back to Seattle I had calls and emails from friends and family from everywhere who had seen the six-minute national segment. The Seattle station aired the local bit that they did at the house plus the national segment over and over again for two or three days.

After the show I got a call from a woman who lost her daughter, a civilian, on 9/11. I hooked her up with another artist through this forum who is creating a portrait as a donation to her.

The photo I have attached is one from the local station. Cynthia will be posting a total of six stills from the coverage on my site soon. The local and national coverage together runs about ten minutes so I thought it was too long to put on my site in video form.

Sharing your gift...
 

Sharing your gift with others is such a rewarding experience and I commend you all for doing portraits for those touched by 9/11. As I read through this thread I was very touched by everone's generosity.

Our neighborhood did a huge garage sale and all the money collected that day went to the families of the victims. Being a foreigner in this country I have always been amazed by how total strangers are able to come together and offer support for those in need. I guess that's the true "American Spirit" !