Artful meaning

Different causes inspire different actions from individuals.

For Cape Girardeau artist Roger Sanford, children, hunger and military service catch his attention. Sanford, who grew up in a large family and spent some time in the Army, identifies with each of these issues.

He not only lifts a finger to help, he lifts a brush.

Sanford has devoted about 80 hours to a piece of art he plans to donate to the Stars and Stripes Museum in Bloomfield, Mo. When finished, his 11-by-14-inch painting will become a permanent fixture in the museum. Reprints of the image will be sold to raise money for the organization and eventually also help fund the Bob Woodruff Family Fund, a national not-for-profit that helps reintegrate injured service members, veterans and their families into society.

The painting, which Sanford said he would likely call "Colors of Freedom," depicts a large flag draped over a table with a drum, flute and hat from the 1860s with it. He also painted a stars and strips poster into the piece.

A friend and Vietnam veteran asked Sanford to create a piece for the museum. Sanford said the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks coaxed him toward his easel.

In telling me about the painting and his reasons for donating it, he said: "It seems like people forget and the service members are the first to be forgotten."

The museum honors the history of the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes. The paper dates back to the 1860s when Illinois Union soldiers used the abandoned press of the Bloomfield Herald to publish a newspaper. Different people have reincarnated the publication over the years, and it still prints today.

The Stars and Stripes Association will meet in Sikeston and Bloomfield, Mo., this weekend for a reunion. Sanford will deliver his painting to the Bootheel museum Wednesday.