Staring into the eyes of those killed in action or lost serving the public is a five to six hour emotional journey each time. Sometimes it will take days.
But on Monday, Michael Reagan, picked up his pencil and continued to draw just like he has for the last twelve and a half years.
"I really mean this, if everybody cared about people the way I care about them -- I mean EVERYBODY -- this wouldn't all be happening," he said. "I had just gotten through drawing five Dallas Police Officers and I was about to have to draw some more and all I could think about is all lives matter to me."
The artist and President of The Michael G. Reagan Portrait Foundation has drawn more than 4,600 faces: from those killed at Sandy Hook to fallen soldiers, marines and airmen in war.
"From this little studio in Edmonds, Washington, I'm going to make sure that I bring them something back," he said. "The only part I can actually play is to do the part I'm doing and let these people know I care."
On Monday, he mailed drawings of the five officers lost earlier this month in Dallas knowing they will eventually reach families. Soon, he’ll started creating pieces for those Baton Rouge officers killed this weekend.
He devotes his time, relying on donations, after seeing how other families have responded these last years.
"I have wives out there who will call me all the time and they say – every day I pull up a chair in front of the drawing you did of my husband and I talk about what's going to happen that day," he said. "I'm giving them something that they didn't give to have before. That's an image, this is what the families tell me, it's an image they get to say goodbye to."
More: Fallen Heroes Project
