Original Painting: Army Medic Sculpture Mural

Today is Veteran's Day in America. In honor of that, I'm going to show a painting I did a while ago, a mural that is on the interior wall of Kenner Clinic, Ft. Lee Virginia, with a successful Florida muralist, Bob Jenny.

I completed this mural mostly by myself, while he was working on other murals. At that time, he was suffering from cancer and with his health rapidly deteriorating, I ended finishing all the murals within the hospital.

The mural I’m showing is a tribute to our veterans who have served so well in defending out freedoms. Part of the army staff that is sometimes not remembered as much is the army medic. They suffered the same things on the combat field as the rest of the army, but their main purpose was administering medical care on the combat field and saving lives of fallen comrades.

Here a mural I did showing the army medic helping a wounded soldier with compassion and disciplined treatment of his wounds. The mural is meant to look like a three-dimensional bronze sculpture set within a marble alcove. This “trompe-l’oeil” (French for “fool the eye”) technique is challenging to pull off convincingly, but very rewarding to look at when you are done with it. The entire mural, including the marble blocks, was painted on a flat wall.

By adding the shadow of the sculpture and the projecting platform, a strong illusion of three dimensionality is created.

"Army Medic Sculpture Mural," by artists Matt Philleo and Bob Jenny, 2004, Kenner Clinic, Ft. Lee, VA

"Army Medic Sculpture Mural," by artists Matt Philleo and Bob Jenny, 2004, Kenner Clinic, Ft. Lee, VA, detail

Finally, knowing that the veterans who come into the hospital for routine checkups and sometimes life-threatening diseases, possibly could receive some encouragement from the murals Bob and I did, really made the project worthwhile. These veterans felt in many ways they were just everyday people doing what needed to be done, but they are heroes for their sacrifice and commitment to uphold the rich, godly heritage of this country from those who would try to usurp our freedom.

For many veterans waiting to receive treatment, this mural displayed prominently in the hospital waiting room would no doubt bring much encouragement to them. And so I'm thankful we had a chance to paint it.

Have a blessed day as always,

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