‘A way to heal’: Award-winning Colorado Veteran artist gets national recognition

Gold medals hanging from his collar, Rael said showcasing his creative expressions keeps him connected. Some of his paintings tell stories of war, others highlight Hispanic heritage and culture. He enjoys listening to others discover and discuss his shared visions and ideas.

As a kindergartener, Rael says his teacher frequently isolated him because he couldn’t speak English like other children. With Spanish used at home, he was desperate to acquire English at school. He was eager to participate in classroom conversations and friendships.

Rael recounts the times his teacher handed him paper with instructions to write his name, repeatedly. He became bored. He started to draw. His teacher allowed the divergence. Drawing was improving his penmanship. Silently listening to concurrent classroom discussions advanced his vocabulary.

In 1973, Rael joined the Marine Corps. He soon found himself in Egypt, part of a U.S. response to an escalating Arab-Israeli conflict. Operation Nimbus Moon involved clearing unexploded ordnance from the Suez Canal, a critical waterway that connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.

With an honorable discharge, the Marine became a teacher but says he remained “a closet artist” until 2010, when he was commissioned to paint a mural. He had never used paints but accepted the challenge to focus on transitioning his childhood talents into adulthood. It had felt like a huge leap.

Rael’s wife pushed him to let his talents mature, then showcase his artwork. A friend introduced him to VFW Post 1 in Denver, one of the country’s oldest Veteran service organizations. The post’s Veterans Arts Council hosts one of the largest galleries in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe.

Inspired by the stories of friends and family, Rael worked on a Vietnam War series of paintings for the Veteran gallery. He didn’t serve in Vietnam but found healing in painting for those who did.

“Art is a means of therapy and a way to heal,” says Rael, explaining how it manages PTSD symptoms. “It helps me escape some of the things that I went through during my time in service. I forget about that world and go into my own world of expression, where I can just be me.”

That’s the world in which he feels most comfortable.

Noticing a service-related mental health concern, VFW Post 1 contacts encouraged the Veteran artist to enroll in VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System. A recreational therapist at Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora quickly got him involved in creative arts therapy, put his work on display in the facility’s concourse, then referred him to a local VA creative arts competition.

VA medical facilities use creative arts as one form of rehabilitative treatment for Veterans recovering from physical and emotional trauma. Veterans who earn gold medals in local competitions are invited to the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, which is hosted by a different VA facility each year.

“I’m totally honored,” said Rael, during the festival at the Soldiers Memorial Military Museum in St. Louis. “Above all, I create the work for myself, but I’m thrilled that other people want to own my artwork.”

Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center will host the 2024 National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, part of the part of the VA Adaptive Sports and Arts program. To learn how to participate, Veterans can visit https://department.va.gov/veteran-sports or send an email to arts4vets@va.gov.

Veterans enrolled in VA ECHCS can get more information from the local art committee at vhaechrmrartcommittee@va.gov.