Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day Weekend friends. Life has been a bit busy around here but found a free second to share some work that I painted last year for a group show I co-curated and exhibited in. The show fell on Memorial Day Weekend and the theme was to honor, in some creative way, all those who died in active duty. The show was a great success. Here are three of the items I created. All painted on wood that was to be discarded.

Glenn Miller, at the height of his popularity, gave up a lucrative recording and touring career to enlist in the United States Army during World War II. He felt an obligation to do all he could for the war effort, and that meant joining the service. Assigned to the Army Air Forces, Glenn modernized the band program, replacing the antiquated Sousa marches of WWI with jazzed up marches and brought popular music to the soldiers. The music of his Army Air Force Band boosted the morale of the troops. On December 15, 1944, Miller was to fly from the United Kingdom to Paris, France, to make arrangements to move his entire band there in the near future. His plane disappeared while flying over the English Channel.

In 1942, the United States had a severe shortage of pilots. So they trained over a thousand women to fly military aircraft so male pilots could be released for combat duty overseas. 38 of those woman pilots lost their lives serving their country.

"Red, White and Blue" Acrylic on Wood. A big part of my art is painting on things that were discarded. I love to repurpose. This was part of my old picket fence in the backyard. I saved some pieces from it and put them in my studio