Home > PSP > Director Military Family Services > DMFS Update
Painting pays tribute to the families of the fallen
Twenty years after her mother created a series of paintings on military family life, second generation artist Shelley Leach has honoured her mother’s work by painting a sad but poignant moment for this generation of military families: a repatriation ceremony.
Shelley Leach’s mother, Mary Louise Leach, painted the Military Family Life Series with fellow artist Wendy Tretheway in 1990-1991. Currently housed at the Canadian War Museum, the Military Family Life Series consists of 19 paintings, capturing moments in the lives of serving personnel, veterans, military spouses and children. The Series was circulated to various Military Family Resource Centres in the ’90s, and the portraits were reproduced into greeting cards and prints.
Mary Louise’s legacy left a deep impression on her daughter’s artistic style and fostered Shelley’s desire to give a voice to the military family and community she grew up in, and knew so well. Shelley’s intent at the outset of her project was to represent military family life through the eyes of a child. A personal story shared with her provided the inspiration and passion she needed, and led her to paint a repatriation ceremony with a young girl looking on.
Shelley’s painting, entitled “Strength in Honour,” portrays the one moment that military families hope they will never face – saying goodbye to their loved one. It is a moment the original Military Family Life Series does not portray, but it is an important one for this generation of military families who have faced deployments into war zones, and may have lost loved ones and friends.
Through her painting, Shelley has paid tribute not only to her mother’s memory and work, but also to all of the families of the fallen. She hopes to donate her painting for display in an appropriate setting where it can provide a moment of reflection and remembrance for military personnel, their families and their supporters.
For more information, please contact Shelley Leach at art@shelleyleach.com or visit www.shelleyleach.com.
