The Best of Him painting

How do you honor someone who sacrificed almost everything for his Country, gave what little he had left to his family, and you hardly know him? This is my journey into a project and process to celebrate, grieve, and honor my father.  He was a Vietnam Veteran, a horticulturist in wild rice research, and a family man. Those three things weren't always easy to keep balanced and as time marched forward the Vietnam War became the most defining event in his life. Shaping our lives in ways not talked about and hidden from others. 
The Best of Him is about celebrating who he was, what he sacrificed, and what remained after he was abandoned by his country and we were left to pick up the pieces of a person who had been to war.
This piece was commissioned by JoyGenea Schumer Furnstahl
The artist is renowned fresco painter Charles Kapsner http://www.buonfresco.com/

Starting in May of 2023 the piece will be traveling the United States.