The Blue Mountain eagle., August 28, 2019, Page 3, Image 3

NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
A3
Artists paint portraits for children facing serious health issues
Nonprofit Portrait
Connections
art enjoyed by
children locally
and nationwide
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
Elaine Eisenbraun of
Long Creek has been on
a mission to bring art and
smiles to children facing
serious health challenges
and their families.
She is the founder of a
growing nonprofit called
Portrait Connection that
brings portraits created by
talented artists to children,
while also raising aware-
ness in their communities of
the hardships those families
experience.
Since
the
nonprofit
started taking off in spring
2017, artists have painted
portraits of dozens of chil-
dren, working from photo-
graphs, and by the end of the
year, Eisenbraun expects a
total of 60 portraits.
Her two adult daugh-
ters, Kristen Eisenbraun and
Laura Eisenbraun, are a big
part of the Portrait Connec-
tion team. Elaine homes-
chooled her girls in their
early years, and art was
encouraged.
The idea for Portrait Con-
nection began when the fam-
ily lived back East.
“It started because dear
friends of ours had both of
their children diagnosed
with cystic fibrosis,” Elaine
said. “We wanted to send
along a message that was
enduring and let them know
that we care for them and
would always be there for
them.”
Elaine said that in 2014
Kristen was painting in their
home, and she asked Kristen
about creating a portrait of
the kids.
“They
were
blown
away,” Elaine said. “When
they called, the mom said,
‘We hung the portrait where
it is the first thing we see in
the morning, and it gives us
the strength to get through
each daily challenge. This is
a treasure!’”
It was the feeling the
Eisenbrauns had with this
experience that was a cata-
lyst for the nonprofit.
“It was her words that
made us think, ‘We’ve got
to do this for other people,’”
Elaine said. “We just dove
in. Sometimes, you just have
to take a leap of faith.”
Elaine retired as exec-
utive director of the North
Fork Watershed Council in
Long Creek in 2016. She has
a master’s degree in busi-
ness leadership and is a pub-
lished author and nonprofit
consultant.
Laura has a bachelor’s
of fine arts and a master’s
in nonprofit development,
and Kristen has studied art
at New York Academy of
Art, Montana State Univer-
sity and in residency in New
Zealand.
Wanting to offer this
service to others, Elaine
approached the editor of
A&E Cascade art magazine
in Bend in December 2017
and asked if a brief could
Contributed photo/Gary Calicott
Contributed photo/Indiana Nash
Kristen Eisenbraun, left, presented a portrait of Kaitlyn painted by artist Leslie Peck. The
artwork was presented to Kaitlyn in Saratoga Springs, New York, in August of 2018.
be added to get the word out
about what they were trying
to accomplish.
She was told to bring 10
portraits in by March 1 to
feature in the magazine, and
they would put it on the front
page of their April magazine
with a feature article.
An art show was held at
Layor Art + Supply in Bend
with a total of 14 portraits
displayed, including the first
painting created by Kristen.
As with all their shows,
the pieces are covered with a
cloth at the start of an exhi-
bition, then each work is
unveiled one at a time by
the artists with a presenta-
tion for each child and their
family.
The art is then on dis-
play in the gallery for a few
weeks for everyone to enjoy.
“We realized that, by
bringing the whole commu-
nity in, that we were doing
something magical,” Elaine
said. “So, we had a public
art opening where people
in the community could be
more aware of people going
through medical tumult.”
Messages from the fam-
ilies
who’ve
received
the portraits have been
encouraging.
Parents of one child said
it was the most cherished gift
they’d ever received, and
another said they wouldn’t
trade their painting for a mil-
lion dollars, Elaine said.
The artists have been
touched by their involve-
ment as well.
Elaine spoke of a child
who had been blinded due
to a brain tumor. A painting
was made for the family and
an idea was formed to create
a piece the child could enjoy
as well.
The painter suggested a
sculptor they knew.
Elaine said the artist
working on the head sculp-
ture “cried and cried” as she
sat before the clay — her
own mother died of a brain
tumor.
Several artists have said
they felt a connection to the
child while creating their art.
Patricia Ross of Mt. Ver-
non and Kim Randleas of
John Day have taken part
in the program, working on
portraits of local children.
Ross, who has painted
portraits since the 1980s,
said she’s halfway through
an oil painting of a 7- to
8-year-old youngster —
a girl she has not met. She
works from several photo-
graphs of the child.
“It’s such an honor to do
this,” Ross said. “All sorts
of things are going through
your mind when you’re
working on the portrait. We
take so much for granted
when we have our health.”
She said she’s dwelling
on the positive with the col-
ors in the portrait, including
a blue sky.
“Elaine is doing a won-
derful thing for the families,
and including the artists in
on this is a neat thing,” Ross
said. “I’m thankful that I
was given this talent and am
able to use it in this way.”
Elaine said it’s important
that the artists are paid for
their work.
“They put thousands of
brush strokes together for
the family,” she said, adding
they are pleased to be able to
serve.
In February, the Oregon
Arts Commission awarded a
$6,000 grant to Portrait Con-
nection to use in Eastern Ore-
gon, engaging a minimum of
12 artists to paint 12 portraits
of children struggling with
serious health issues.
The grant funds are being
used to pay artist fees, pur-
chase program supplies and
for indirect costs.
Long Creek resident Jan
Ensign, a retired physician’s
assistant, said she admires
the program Eisenbraun is
building.
“What a great thing to
do for these families who
have such tragedies going
on in their lives,” Ensign
said. “It’s something for the
families to be excited about
... It’s also exposing some
of the artists, in our area as
well as other cities, from one
side of the United States to
the other.”
Eisenbraun noted they
have “zero overhead.” She
hopes to receive backing
from investors for the non-
profit as they create a track
record that shows their
growth and achievements.
Portrait Connection art
exhibitions have been held
at two venues in Bend, as
well as shows in South Car-
olina and Arizona.
Closer to home, an
art show is scheduled for
6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, at
Eastern Oregon University’s
Houk Hall in La Grande.
The public is invited.
After opening day, the
display will move to Art
Center East at 1006 Penn
Ave.
There are 12 portraits cur-
rently in the works for chil-
dren from Grant, Wallowa,
Umatilla, Union, Baker and
Malheur counties, and most
of the artists are also from
those areas.
“We have some phenom-
enal artists for Eastern Ore-
gon,” Eisenbraun said.
The children were nom-
inated by doctors, schools
and the Central Oregon Dis-
ability Network, which cov-
ers an area from central Ore-
gon to Idaho.
Other shows are planned
for South Carolina, Minne-
sota and Kentucky.
Eisenbraun said there is
much more to the portraits
than just a nice gift.
“Science shows that art
can help to improve the heal-
ing process or speed it up at
the very least,” she said.
Also, the children receiv-
ing portraits may have lost
their hair to chemotherapy
or may have a sallow look,
but in the art “they see them-
selves reflected as smiling
and beautiful, and it brings
them strength,” she said.
“For parents, we call it
a sanctuary for them where
they can at anytime, day or
night, see their child smil-
ing and have the thought
that ‘We’re going to get it
done,’” she said.
“Art is core to being
human,” she said. “It’s cre-
ating and using that cre-
ativity to do something
meaningful.”
Eisenbraun said the non-
profit has been a passion for
her, and she’s met the chal-
lenges along the way head to
head.
“We’re the only nonprofit
in the world that does this
— we’ve had some inter-
est from England, so we’re
starting to be far reaching,”
she said. “I guess I’d say
it’s meant to be, it’s a wor-
thy endeavor and people are
gaining incredible value in
their lives.”
For more information
about Portrait Connection,
visit portraitconnection.org.
Artists for the Eastern
Oregon project include Patri-
cia Ross, Grant County; Kim
Randleas, Grant County;
Rodd Ambroson, Wal-
lowa County; Anna Vogel,
Wallowa County; Susan
Kuznitsky, Portland; Brooke
Walker-Knoblich, Portland;
Kristen Eisenbraun, South
Carolina; Ella Eland, Colo-
rado; Luz Celeste Figueroa,
South Carolina; and Joseph
Pfiefer-Herbert, New Jersey.
Young LilyAna points to a portrait of herself by Winnie
Givot, who holds the painting, as LilyAna’s parents Crystal
and Chad stand next to their daughter at Layor Art + Supply
gallery in Bend.
Contributed photo/Jennifer Whelan
A portrait of a young Bend resident, Lucy, was painted
by Laurel Knight. Lucy is one of several children who’ve
had their portraits painted for their families through the
nonprofit organization Portrait Connection, founded by
Long Creek resident Elaine Eisenbraun.
Contributed photo/Gary Calicott
Artist Travis Knight, left, presents a portrait he painted of
Stryder, presented in April of 2018 at Layor Art + Supply
gallery in Bend.
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