I am a portrait artist painting British soldiers as memorial gifts to give to their families.I couldn't do this without friends, family & Forces Support.
I became a portrait artist 20 years ago and have painted hundreds of portraits for people around the world. this project is very close to my heart. my father and grandfather were in the scots guard and my husband was in the RAF for 15 years. i want my memorial paintings to show the true character of the person behind the uniform and all of my paintings will be personal to the family i am painting
them for. only one rule applies. the fallen soldier must be smiling. i want it to bring comfort to the families when they look at it. I am not receiving any grants or funding for these pictures so i really appreciate it when total strangers help me, to help total strangers. its an amazing feeling Hello, my name is Heather, thank you for taking the time to look at my memorial page. Hopefully you can help me continue my dream of making total strangers happy. I am a portrait artist, I am not rich or successful as I charge very little for my paintings and often give them away for free as I am a firm believer that real art should be available to everyone of all incomes. I am not great with words so I will try and explain what I do and how you can help me achieve my dream
The best feeling for me as an artist is to gift a painting to help ease people's suffering which is why i decided to set up this project
I have painted pictures for people that have lost loved ones in tragic circumstances, often all they have is a couple of out of focus or dog eared photos to remember them by. I listen to their stories and try to get a feel for the person or animal they have lost and then put my heart into creating a picture they can cherish forever. This takes time and canvas's, paint and packaging supplies and then a courier to deliver them these all cost money but I wouldn't dream of charging someone who has lost so much a single penny,
Last year I gave away 40 paintings to good causes, charities and individuals who have been through hard times, I will never be a successful artist financially and I don't mind that as it doesn't interest me as I lead a simple life but I would love to be successful at turning tears of sadness into joy. this is where you lovely people come in. this year i want to pay it forward for families that have lost loved ones in the war i have already painted 12 pictures for families and have so far had requests for 45 more none of which i will charge for. please help me carry on as i really can't do this by myself and i have sent in an 8 page application from the arts council for funding but ii have to wait six weeks for a response. i would like to take my portraits on the road to air shows and military events as well as remembrance day parades. a lot of the times mothers are not invited to memorial events as the tickets go to next of kin which if married is the spouse, so this is for all the mums out there so they can have something nice to cheer them up a little. some will be in uniform and some not. the choice of how they want them to look is entirely up to the recipient of the painting. a small donation will help pay for the supplies i need to keep offering this service. please click on the website link to take you to my go fund me page. this will help me cover costs such as postage and materials, i really want this to be a joint effort and i am currently receiving no funding from anywhere else as they have already donated to similar causes so i am relying on the kindness of strangers to help me achieve something special.
