Sunday, December 4, 2011

A Son's gift

Roger Kellmann
1961-2009
20x16 oil on canvas

Last month I was contacted by the step-son of my fellow officer Roger who passed away in November of 2009. I had painted a small memorial piece back then. The son wanted to commission a piece for his mother (Roger's wife) as a gift during his surprise visit home during Thanksgiving. The son relayed that he grew up to love Roger as his own father. He was flying in from Germany where he was stationed serving in our Armed Forces. Since this was a spur of the moment trip, I only had two weeks to get the image and send proofs an changes back and forth to the son. In the end, I was honored to have been asked to be a part of a precious gift from such a loving and thoughtful man and Cindi is truly blessed to have the love of a special son. I told both Cindi and her son I wanted to capture Roger's twinkle in his eye. He always seemed to know something that amused him and he was a brilliant comet in our life. Hugs to all my friends and family during the holiday season and all through out the year.

12 comments:

David Larson Evans said...

A fantastic portrait you can be extra proud of this one.

Pam Holnback said...

A great and heartfelt gift.

Lori Bonanni said...

You did a beautiful job on this and I'm sure his family will cherish it! Hoping you have a wonderful holiday!

Unknown said...

You've really captured his spirit, what a beautiful portrait!

Marie Theron said...

Well executed, how he shines with eternal light!

Dean H. said...

Beautiful, Sheila!
You were very successful in capturing the twinkle in his eye that you mentioned.

I wish you an early Merry Christmas!

suzanneberry said...

beautifully done sheila. what a lovely memorial. his spirit is quite evident.

happy holidays to you as well.

Darel said...

nice portrait. :)

Nina Jørgensen said...

What a beautiful gift, must have been hard to paint considering the pressure of making it reflect the personality of the person

Camille LaRue Olsen said...

Very nice job on this portrait, Sheila. I can sense the personality you mentioned. What a comfort this will be to his family.

Jo Castillo said...

Sheila, great job! The warmth and love show through.

Rosemary said...

Great job Sheila! You did indeed capture the twinkle! Beautiful portrait that will be long cherished!
Merry Christmas!