Phil & Lisa

Phil Taylor – Artist and Founder

 

Phil Taylor’s ability to draw and paint was recognized at an early age and was developed throughout his life while working on large-scale murals, graphic design, and portraiture. The combination of artistic influences and self-development ultimately resulted in Phil’s unique portraiture style of black and white tones with color accents.

Founding The American Fallen Soldiers Project in 2007, Phil and his wife Lisa bring comfort to Gold Star families by providing an original portrait of their loved one. Each portrait is gifted to the families in a public ceremony to honor the fallen, their family and to remind those in attendance of the sacrifices made to protect our freedoms.

Lisa Taylor – Co-Founder and CEO

Lisa Taylor co-founded The American Fallen Soldiers Project with her husband Phil Taylor. As CEO, Lisa manages many aspects of The Project including the day-to-day business operations, coordinating presentation details and working closely with Gold Star families.

 

The American Fallen Soldiers Project’s Story

Artist Phil Taylor discovered his calling to serve Gold Star families through the tragic, yet heroic, loss of a childhood friend who was serving in Iraq in 2006. While at the funeral, Phil was inspired by the words used to describe his friend, Army Captain Blake Russell. His strong desire to comfort the Russell family only grew over the following weeks and months until Phil asked if he could provide the family a portrait of Blake.

Upon seeing the finished portrait, and through tears of gratitude, Mr. Russell said, “I feel like you’ve brought him home to me.” This unexpected reaction from Blake’s father changed Phil’s life forever. From that moment, both Phil and Lisa knew they had to continue sharing this gift with as many families as possible…and so began their journey.

Phil and Lisa founded The American Fallen Soldiers Project in 2007 to help provide comfort and healing to the grieving families of America’s fallen military. The 501c3 non-profit organization makes available at no cost to the family an original portrait of their fallen loved one that fully captures their appearance and personality.

The mission of The American Fallen Soldiers Project is to honor, respect and forever memorialize the American military service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation, comfort their mourning families, and inspire all Americans to know and recognize the price paid for our freedom. The goal and heart of The American Fallen Soldiers Project is to serve, comfort and encourage Gold Star families unconditionally and impartially to the best of our ability. Phil works diligently to restore a sense of life and presence of the fallen hero on canvas in hopes to provide a place where families can spend time with their loved one when they need them most. It is this commitment to excellence that defines The American Fallen Soldiers Project’s portraits, its staff and the organization.