"Soldiers without Battles," came from the tragedy of 9-11 and the ensuing war in Iraq. In 1990 I suffered as mothers have through the centuries, waiting to see if my son would be called into action. I was lucky I did not have to wait for him to come home. His outfit was never deployed. Eleven years later, on September 11, 2001, we found ourselves heading out for another war, once again in the Middle East.

I turned my thoughts to the fighting men and women and I read the stories of the non-armored Humvees, the roadside bombs, the closed-head traumas, and reflected on the warriors, young and old who returned wounded for life or who did not return. The paintings reflect warriors as people. They are resting, with the family dog, in Grand Central station, or are just standing looking out.

Each soldier depicted came from a profile read or a photo seen on news broadcasts. I am using oil and acrylic on canvas, ink, and acrylic on paper, or mixed media to tell the stories. Acrylics on larger canvases allow me to search for emotion in the subject before I emphasize this in oil. The colors reflect my feelings and the emotions I am trying to convey.

Judith Lavendar

Judith Lavendar