Vietnamese Child #2

Vietnamese Child #2, 1968-69, Near Cambodian Border

The reference for this portrait is a photograph my husband snapped when he served as an Infantry Officer during the Vietnam War. It is one of a group of children standing near the Cambodian border. A cardboard shipping box filled with negatives, prints, maps, and brochures--all remembrances of Vietnam--sits on a bookshelf. Once in a while, every few years or so, I pull down the box and ask a few questions about the images inside. The faces of these children have tugged at my heart since first I saw them. I wonder where they are today. I have felt compelled to translate them into oil portraits.