Sunday was Purple Heart Day, a special day to honor our veterans injured in combat. One local family received a special gift from a veteran, a unique way to remember their fallen hero.

“I flew farther and longer than I ever have, just to give away one painting,” says portrait artist, Ken Pridgeon.

One painting is all it took for the Morin family to feel the presence of their son again.

“When I saw the actual portrait, I was very emotional. I did feel like I had gotten my son home,” says Audrey Morin, mother of fallen soldier, Steve Morin Jr. 

His spirit will now fill their household forever, thanks to the portrait Pridgeon painted for the family. 

“I’m going to find a special spot for it, because he needs to be centered in our lives. I want him to know that I will never forget him. He’s a very special young man to me and so he’s going to be a big part of my home,” Morin says.

Pridgeon has painted over 300 portraits of fallen soldiers and police officers in the last six years. He himself was in service for ten years. He thought he was only going to paint one or two portraits, but many people came to him and asked him to paint even more fallen heroes.

“I feel like they are actually in my gallery. They’re looking at me and they’re communicating with me even. It’s amazing, they almost talk to you when you’re painting them,” he says.

Pridgeon says he focuses on making the eyes perfect, because that’s where the family looks right away. He wants to make sure the eyes and other facial features match the specific person he is painting. 

“I’m proud of what I do, but it’s like when people ask you what’s the best painting you’ve ever done. I tell them it’s my next one. It’s not the last one, it’s my next one,” Pridgeon says.

His trademark involves painting not only the soldier, but other aspects of his or her life, such as family or other hobbies. He wants to make sure their ‘story’ is in the background of the painting.

“I think it represents him very well. It also shows that he loves sports and that he was not just a military man,” Morin says. 

Pridgeon reads the epitaphs for each soldier he draws. He does his research and even speaks with the families to get to know the soldier before beginning to paint.

“He researched my son and so I think it’s very important that he cared enough to make it for me. He gets to know us, and he gets to know the man that died. We all become part of his family,” Morin says.

It’s the meaning behind each brush stroke that makes the Morin family more than thankful for this unique gift.

“It’s very important to me, and I think Ken understood that. I think that’s why he wants to make portraits of all the other warriors that that died in Iraq. I think that’s very nice of him to do all that. He’s a very caring and giving man,” Morin says.

Pridgeon says he’s going to paint fallen heroes for as long as he lives. He also has a book coming out soon talking about the highlights of his life. Pridgeon says there is also talk about a war memorial gallery that may be coming to Lubbock, which would feature his work.

If you would like to contact Ken Pridgeon to have a portrait painted, you can reach him at (832) 514-1452 or message him on on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PotraitOfAWarrior