Remembering 9/11

Above: This is me, 9 years ago at Al Udied Airbase, Qatar.


I was on my way to work, I was apart of the A-Break on Day shift at the Culpeper Juvenile Correctional Center and it was going to be my second shift working this group. It was like any other day.

My life leading up to that point was pretty wide open. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I thought for the longest time that I was going to be a military officer, everyone that knew me in high school thought the same thing.

I was accepted at Norwich University Corp of Cadets which has made several military officers in the past. I was certain to to be a military lifer. It seemed that I had a grip on my future, but I had a way of throwing a wrench in, even on my own, plans. I decided just months before going to school to enlist in the US Coast Guard Reserves so I could have a leg up on my fellow classmates.

In the end it proved to be a fatal move, I was tired after basic training with the Coast Guard and I realized that I really did not want to go through a whole year of military training. I was a restless spirit and I wanted to see what the world had to offer. So it was not a surprise - looking back now at least - that after two weeks in the Corps of Cadets that I dropped the Corps and went back home to Virginia.

After arriving home, I enrolled at the local Community College and improved my grades. Later, I made a big decision on the 29th of June, I transferred my military branch from the US Coast Guard to the US Air Force (VA Air National Guard).

Not long after enlisting with the Guard I was offered a job at the Culpeper Juvenile Correctional Center and I thought that it would be a great opportunity - my major was Criminal Justice and I thought "why not?" I would do it while in college and then apply for the police department.

That morning ten years ago I walked into work and started getting ready for the shift. The shift went like normal, get the kids to breakfast and then school. After getting the kids in classes for the morning we went about doing small chores and an odd jobs - I cannot recall what jobs we were doing - but I remember being in the nerve center at one of the buildings and we heard the news from one of the other officers that the Towers were hit. I ran down to the main CCTV room that had a TV to the outside world and we saw the news. We watched in horror as the towers were on fire. Then suddenly about an hour later we saw the unspeakable.....the towers collapsed.



Just hours before, people were going about their business. It was just another day. My life plan was set, at least I thought.



Suddenly everything was thrown into chaos....as the hours wore on the news kept getting worse.



A plane hit the Pentagon and then another crashed in Shanksville, Pa. it seemed like a page out of a video game plot or something. Nothing seemed real.

In the days after, my life would be changed. I would be activated by the Air Guard on Sept. 14th and the next 10 years of my life would see me going to Al Udied, Qatar, Krikuk, Iraq and would end with me going back to college finally. But I would finally be going to school doing something that I love: art.

From Sept. 14th to June of 2007 (when I was finally out of the military) I would b e activated 6 times, deployed to Qatar, New Orleans, Iraq and altogether I would serve 33 months on Active Duty. I wouldn't change a thing when I think about it.

For the first five years after 9/11 I flipped back and forth from being on active duty and being a civilian. Each time I was deactivated I would try to re-invent my identity. I was a security guard, a salesman, an insurance agent, a delivery driver and finally a washroom operator in a factory washing thousands of uniforms.

In the years after 9/11 I never took my life for granted, I was always aware of the gift that I had: life. Yet, it was a war in Iraq that made me realize what my calling was. I have written about a thousand times on here before but essentially, I learned that I was - and always had been - an artist.

My father, my mother, my siblings and even those all around me thought that I was an artist. When I finally realized that myself, I suppose that I made the best choice that would honor my fallen brethren: living out your passion.

If there was one thing in the last ten years that 9/11 has changed in me, it was the determination to live my life to the fullest and do what I was meant to do. Had there been no 9/11, there would not have been an Iraq, and no Iraq then no change in job and no self-discovery of being an artist. I would still be selling.....stuff!

I think I was one of the lucky ones.....of all the things that could have happened to me. Of all those who lost their lives.....somehow I managed to find myself.

ABOVE: "Reminisce: Iraq and Me" Watercolor, 11"x15". For today, this image seems perfect.

What a week!

So over the past week we have seen so many things happen. So many historical events in a short span of time: The Royal Wedding (I'm so sick of that) and the death of Usama Bin Laden. Top that with my busy life and all of the excitement of finals week! In the end it has been a long month yet it is a good month. My watercolors just keep getting better and to me that is all that is important to me.


I have just recently finished a painting of Gary Bowlings(a legend as far as I am concerned) and Jody Queen - great friends whose tireless efforts in the Bluefield, WV community has made so many opportunities available to artist like me. For those who have been following my work over the years you know that the Iraq Art show held at the Bluefield Arts and Science Center (Bluefield, WV) was possible because of Joe and his wonderful wife Vicki who not only got the show scheduled for me but also provided the food, promotion and countless hours of sharing my work with complete strangers. Also, last May he and his wife helped my wife's show with the same. All in all I cannot be more grateful for these folks and I felt a painting coming on.

Gary Bowlings, like Joe and Vicki, has been instrumental in our development as well. During our first year at Bluefield College we were seriously thinking about transferring yet I felt that God was telling us to stay - I really think part of that was to give us the opportunity to know Gary and thank God we did. Gary is not just an artist he is a force, something that not every artist has or will ever attain. Gary works on a different level and watching him and seeing work ethic is something else. Over the last two years we attended Bluefield College we found ourselves more and more involved at Gary Bowling's House of Art in Downtown and it was because of this we became better artists and it is what gave us the belief that we could make it as artists.

So as I reflect on these two people I think about how I came to this point.

In the recent months I have been developing a series of paintings about my friends. My wife was watching me work on a portrait and said "Jerry, people are important to you". At that moment I thought "she's right" and that comment gave birth to this new series. Dana pointed out that when the students leave in the spring for summer that I get depressed and I am always trying to get connected to them. I suppose that this is a sign of the "Facebook" era. Being connected is everything. Yet, it is not about the number of "Friends" you have on Facebook it is the stories behind each person and the reasons why you are friends that count and perhaps that is why I am and have always been interested in painting people. So this new series: My Friends.

Above: "Joe", Watercolor, 11"x15", $225

"Gary", Watercolors, 11"x 15", $225

David Bowie, Freddy Mercury and Watercolors....

So today, I woke up with "Under Pressure" singing in my head. I love Queen and David Bowie, two of the best artists to have ever taken the stage. I love Freddy Mercury's voice stage presence and watching their "live" videos on youtube is such a breathe of fresh air from all of today's computerized auto tune rubbish and one million background dancers. I loved the charisma and presence that Freddy Mercury was able to put on and he did it without the whole Mickey Mouse club dancing behind him. Love love love Queen and Bowie!

So anyhow, onto art. I had Under Pressure on in the background and I was feeling experimental today with my art. Typically, for those who follow my work know, I paint realism and my style is tight and very little spotaneity. I like having control of the medium no matter what medium it is. Well today, while listening to Under Pressure I felt like I wanted to just leap out and try something else today and the result was - as my wife would say - powerful!

I think today's piece turned out especially well and I love the spontaneous drips, the effect of the salt and the high contrast of the face - no DETAIL!!! I love that, it is very much like my sketches that I've done of it.

Well, this piece is untitled but it is partly inspired from my Iraq series yet it is totally up to the viewer to interpret, enjoy:

"Untitled", By Jerry Frech, Watercolor on Paper, 11"x15", $125.00

The Joy of Watercolor!

Above: "Reminisce" Watercolor, 11" x 15", $125.00 (Prints Available $30) For many years I have avoided Watercolor as a whole. When I was young I hated the lack of control I had over the medium and that bad experience carried all the way through college. During my college years I had the chance to go to a watercolor workshop and I tried out the medium and I immediately recalled all the reasons why I hated watercolor. However during my senior year of college I looked at several Graduate Schools, hoping to find a school that taught "realism", which is my style. I also wanted a teacher that specialized in water mediums. My search resulted with me going to Radford University to study under ZL Feng, a world re-nouned watercolorist. Despite my fears, I decided that it was now or never and after taking the plunge you can see that my decision has paid off. Above: "New Generation" Watercolor, 11" x 15", $125.00 (Prints Available $30) I have found that I can achieve a greater level of clarity, contrast and realism. For many years I felt that I could not do watercolor because I had no control, yet with Feng I found that control. Part of it was also due to my maturity and progression as a painter, I went from an Oil painter to an Acrylic painter - which is not too drastic of a change. During the year I was doing acrylic I found many techniques that worked and found a knack for working the medium. All of this combined with Feng's instruction has led me to a strong portfolio in Watercolor. The two paintings above are among my first 8 watercolor paintings ever! I think the key in watercolor is patience and understanding how to control the paint and a lot of that comes from attitude and careful preparation. I hope to post more Watercolors on here soon so stay tuned for more!

May 11th, 2010 - The Value of Studies

So this morning I had a final and today is actually the last final I take at Bluefield ever again! On saturday I walk! It's been a long time coming and just the thought of it just about brings me to tears!

So anyhow, I decided to draw a closer look at the anatomy surrounding the eye of the elephant for the simple fact that I want to really get the feel and texture of this wonderful creature right!

The other night I started a painting of the elephant - something that has been obsessing the pages of my journal lately. I opted to do a painting from a picture that I took in Asheboro NC at the NC Zoo. I really like the composition and the texture around the eye - SO POWERFUL LOOKING!!!!

For the value of doing mulitple studies over and over again and even if they seem repetitve is to help you - the artist - to really get into the essence of the subject matter. Constantine Brancusi was notorious for this - he spent a whole life time studying the bird and his end result was Bird in Space and Bird in Flight - he truly captured the essence of the bird! It wasn't over night and he never gave up. My belief is that if you want to really capture a subject regardless of your style you have to observe and study as much as you can - you have to be obsessed!

So how does the painting look?

Well, so far so good! Above is the first step, I do a semi-detailed sketch or at least enough to get the important structural framework done. Then afterwards I start putting the textures in using Golden Acrylic's Mediums (Light Molding Paste and Fiber Mix).

After the texture comes the painting, but first I wait for the texture to dry. After the texture is dry to the touch I start using light layers of Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna Acrylic paint from Liquitex. This is basically drawing, but in paint! So if you can draw you can paint!

So after the initial block in, I start adding a little background and detail. I think its important to give every part of your work - while working on it - appropriate care. Don't just focus on the one point and forget to do anything in the background because it can become a distraction. Anything that takes you from the focus of the painting becomes a distraction and when I mean focus I don't mean that you have to have one particular area - your focus can be your message and again if there is anything that takes you away from that then you are just hurting yourself and the image!

So after this morning's sketch and study I came back this afternoon to finish up the detail of the eye, trunk and the area below the eye. I think the above picture truly illustrates the need to study. If you don't then don't be surprised if you can't see a difference between what you are doing and dumbo! STUDY!!!