Rick Kelley's American Freedom Series
Empowers the Nation
Before September 11th; Rick Kelley was a wildlife artist. After
September 11th, Rick Kelley became a wildlife artist with a big
mission.
Witnessing the tragedy of September 11th along
with the rest of the county, Rick Kelley felt an empty feeling of
helplessness and anger. He rose to stand against terror and went
to buy the biggest American Flag he could find. Little did he know
the rest of his hometown of Chanhassen, Minnesota and people in
the surrounding towns had the same idea as he did; there wasn't
a flag to be found.
"Just paint your own flag," suggested
Rick's wife and co-business owner Shawn Kelley. With this suggestion,
Rick went to his easel, searched his creative mental files and remembered
an idea he had for years; an American flag camouflaged in a mountain
top with two American Bald Eagles flying through the sky.
"It was as if someone else was grabbing a
hold of my paint brush," he said. "I normally plan and see
everything in my head before and while I paint. I had no idea where
this image was going until the last brush stroke was placed." This was the birth of Rick's most important work to date, "On
Freedom's Wing" and the beginning of his American
Freedom series.
He didn't stop there. Rick knew more could come
out of this piece than just a nice image. He contacted the American
Red Cross and pledged to the Liberty Disaster Relief Fund ten percent
of proceeds from the sales of "On Freedom's Wing." Rick often uses his art in positive ways including donating proceeds
of "Kristi's Garden," a piece made specifically to
raise money for a little girl battling cancer. Many of his other
prints have also raised millions of dollars for Ducks Unlimited.
After pledging to the Red Cross, Rick began
letting the world know about his latest creation. Local media got
wind of Rick's new piece and aired a story about Rick donating ten
percent of proceeds of "On Freedom's Wing" to the
American Red Cross. Rick and his wife were about to go out for the
evening when the story aired. They thought they would watch the
story and then leave; however, the phone began ringing immediately
and literally didn't stop for days. The response was so overwhelming
that they had to hire outside help to answer phones and fulfill
the thousands of orders flooding their home office. The donation
to the Liberty Disaster Relief Fund will total $70,000 by September
11th, 2002.
"In my 30 years as an artist, I have never
seen such a huge emotional response to any art print," says
Rick. Many individuals proudly display "On Freedom's Wing" in their homes including notable public figures like former President
George Bush Sr., actor Joe Montagna and Major General Joe Engle.
Art galleries across the country are also proud to carry the piece. "There have been so many pieces out since 9/11, but this one
really struck me...It's so real," says Marylyn Jackson of Federal
Galleries in Neptune, Florida. | 
