Artists Registry

September 11, 2001 is a day that changed our nation and changed many lives in many different ways. For me, it was a change in my career and my way of life. I was profoundly moved and inspired by the heroes and the families directly affected by this tragic event. A deep sense of pride and unwavering patriotism took root within and I felt a calling to give up my 10-year career as a Scenic Artist with Disney to join the brotherhood of Firefighters. In 2006 I became part of the Coral Springs Family of Firefighters and have been contributing to my community proudly ever since.

My artistic career is still very important to me and I continue to be inspired to paint. It was my goal to reflect courage, patriotism, brotherhood, faith, and hope in this painting, but above all, to express the eternal life of all those who lost their lives. I incorporated a series of symbolisms throughout the painting such as wheat sprigs to reflect America’s prosperity, the purple mountain majesties from the America the Beautiful song, the Statue of Liberty holding the ceremonial folded flag honoring our nation’s fallen heroes and representing our nation’s motto “In God We Trust”, the fighter jets honoring our military and reflecting the war on terror, the cracked earth reflects the devastation to our nation by this event, yet the flag running down into the earth shows that our patriotism runs through our core, the flag at the foot of the destruction is a tribute to the Firefighters that rose our flag at ground zero, the emblems of agencies directly affected are embedded on the earth, the total number Firefighters lost that day is reflected on the back of the Firefighter’s jacket, and the dove and light surrounding the remains of the twin towers represents hope, faith and the transition into eternal life.

It was a sincere honor for me to pay homage to all of the great people lost on that dark day through this painting and hope that it will help us continue to keep them alive in our hearts. I am proud to be a part of something bigger than myself, proud to call myself an American, and proud to be a part of the brotherhood of Firefighters across our great nation.