Colonel

Colonel (portrait) - 12x12 Graphite and Charcoal

Colonel Ralph E. Newman
12x12 Graphite and Charcoal on Canford Toned Card Stock

I called him Dad. Other people who knew him called him Colonel - the rank he earned during a very long career in the Army including several tours of Vietnam, Grenada and other deployments.

He was in great physical heath and extremely active for a man in his late 70’s. He had even climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro about 10 years ago. Needless to say It was a shock to us when I got the call that he was involved in a freak accident at the gym. He passed away a few days later in April of 2019, just shy of his 79th birthday.

I have never created a portrait of either of my parents but I felt I had to create this one. I needed to spend the time reflecting on his life, my childhood as a military brat and our relationship. Most importantly, to honor him in my own way, free from expectation.

A person dies twice. The second time when their name is spoken for the last time.

I have been asked why I didn’t do a portrait of him in uniform. I do have a few pictures in uniform but I wanted to create this portrait from an occasion I fondly remember. This particular portrait is from breakfast with him in a diner during one of his visits to North Carolina from his home in Kentucky. We sat with coffee after the meal and had a nice conversation.

I have to say that this was not a comfortable project for me to work on. I completed his portrait after a few weeks of short working sessions and it now sits framed in my mother’s apartment at her nursing home. With the portrait finished, I have ensured, in my own way, that his name will be spoken for a very long time.