"Portraits of courage, in oil and words - Artist seeks connection, understanding of wars"

AMHERST - Chris McGurk is number 31.

He sits motionless in a chair, his back straight. A thin afternoon light from the north pours through the windows to his right, illuminating his shaved head and strong face. He carries on a conversation as Matthew Mitchell paints his portrait - the latest in a series on war veterans that will grow to 100 when the artist is done.

McGurk, 34, was an Army squad leader in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is all warrior, a hard-body with a no-nonsense glint in his pale blue eyes and a landscape of tattoos that cover most of his arms.

“We triggered an ambush,’’ he says, staring straight ahead as Mitchell touches up a part of his face on the canvas.
Continued...