Remember Pearl Harbor!

Sleeping Giants: Pearl Harbor Survivors Then and Now is an ambitious art project to interview and paint two portraits of every living Pearl Harbor Survivor I can meet. The ultimate goal is to keep their memory alive for future generations.

My name is Aaron Burks. I'm a veteran of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy, and I'm now a professional artist focusing on naval and veteran themes. Over the past four years, I have embarked on an incredible journey to meet, interview, and create two portraits of every living Pearl Harbor Survivor I can find. I've traveled from Alabama to Hawaii, the border of Canada to the border of Mexico meeting these heroes.

I'm now in the final push and need funding to finish this goal. Everything left to do now is creative and post-production (painting the portraits, contacting museums, shipping, creating books, etc.).

To facilitate this, I will have to stop accepting regular commissions, which will seriously impact my income. However, this is necessary for project completion. There is simply too much work to do, and I am only one person. There are also significant financial barriers to packaging and shipping the finished body of work.

Once the work is finished, the original body of work will be sent to show in various museums and shows that want to host it before being donated. Finally, it will be composed into a coffee table-style book with each portrait and each story reproduced that will be available to the public.

All donations over $100 will receive a book once it is edited and published (expected mid-2024)

Please consider donating to this project so we can see it through to the end, and hopefully get it finished so that some of these fantastic veterans can see it.