Oak Ridge North resident Martha Wilcox has painted nearly 600 portraits of fallen soldiers for military families since 2005.

After learning about an exhibit organized by internationally known painter Annette Polan called “Faces of the Fallen,” Wilcox knew she had to get involved.

“I was so impressed and so supportive of the idea,” Wilcox said. “I really admired [Polan] wanting to do this because I was not real thrilled with the war in the Middle East.”

The exhibit was held in the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery from 2005-07. It depicted 1,327 portraits by more than 200 artists of men and women who died during the war on terror, Wilcox said.

Wilcox was invited to submit portraits for the exhibit after reaching out to Polan and has been painting deceased military members as part of her own “Fallen Soldiers Tribute” series since.

“It’s one of those meant-to-be things,” Wilcox said. “I feel so extremely grateful that I can do what I love the most for a better reason than I ever had to do it before.”

Initially, Wilcox painted portraits on a more local level. Today, she has a website and people from all over the country contact her about portraits, which she paints at no cost for military families.

“The emails that I get back from these families are just incredible,” Wilcox said. “There isn’t any fee or commission price that could even begin to compare.”

Since beginning this venture, Wilcox has started a side project for portraits for veterans.

“I sat and watched the television through the Vietnam War, which changed me forever,” Wilcox said. “Now, in addition to these [paintings], many of the ones I have done have been Vietnam veterans.”

Although Wilcox has always enjoyed art, this ongoing project is especially important to her, she said.

“The project from my point of view is really about loss,” Wilcox said. “It’s not about just patriotism. It’s about loss because we all experience that.”