Artist Paints Veterans' Portraits in Vivid Strokes

The portrait artist has been going to the Veteran's Administration Nursing Home and Care Unit in Denver to paint portraits of the residents and patients. Her work — done at no charge — has had an emotional impact on the veterans and the staff at the facility.
Jim Galloway, a 62-year-old Vietnam veteran, sits for two hours as Lincoln paints him in colorful strokes. Lincoln uses a small sketch book to sketch him in pencil before shifting to her easel. Galloway — balding, with glasses, blue eyes and a ruddy complexion — rests in his wheelchair under a blue, patterned blanket. When Lincoln is finished, Galloway says he's delighted with the portrait.
At first, it took a while for the vets to get comfortable with the idea of having their portraits painted. Now, recreation therapist Donna Lonergan says she has a list of vets who want their portraits painted. Lonergan says patients emerge from their beds to watch Lincoln work.
Surrounded by the daily activity of the nursing home, Lincoln paints intently, interrupted occasionally by people passing by making comments and asking questions. Her portraits are alive with color — bright greens, blues and purples highlight the nuances of her subjects' faces and their expressions. Lincoln says painting portraits has a certain magic to it.
Lincoln isn't stopping at the Denver veteran's nursing home. She hopes to get permission to paint portraits of wounded vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In the meantime, she's learning Arabic with the intention of someday going to Iraq to paint portraits of people there.