"A Warrior's Spirit"

I felt compelled to paint him. 

I don’t know if it was just my creativity that hungered for that, or I was just obsessed with the man himself…of what Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines, stood for and still stands for today. He lives on in each and everyone of those who knew him and those, like me, who didn’t get the chance.

To paint a man I’ve never met….but admire so deeply… some would say that it would be really hard to do…but you’d be surprised at what I have learned in the last few years at Southwest Airlines. Every single day I go to work, every moment I walk into Love Field Airport walking through the terminal among the presence of the people who worked alongside him for years, I see him. He is in the faces of the people I work with, the hellos, the smiles, the waves and camaraderie. I can physically see the legacy he left behind.

Every heart I see, on every plane I enter or every single plane sitting at the gates…

Herb is there. 

Preparing for flight attendant training in 2018, I read about the trials and litigation Herb, and those he brought with him, went through to get that first plane in the air. I learned so much in the days to come…

Remembering every name of every single employee he ever met…

His contagious laugh…

His kisses..

His joking banter…

His great ability to genuinely invest in his people..

His love for Wild Turkey…

His relentless love for every single employee…

His “put employees first” mentality…

His humility in treating every single employee the same…

Some would called this painting a “labor of LUV” and they’d be right…but I also call it “a labor of absolute and utter respect.”

When he passed from this life shortly after I came to work for Southwest, I came across an article that said Herb loved to read books of war, of battles fought, and I thought, wow. It all made sense to me that he would love such a thing because of all the things Herb was, he was a warrior first. He was quoted in the article as saying, “ “I love battles,” he said. “I think it’s part of the Irish in me. Patton said, ‘War is hell, and I love it so.’ That’s how I feel. I’ve never gotten tired of fighting. For the past 35 years, my job has been helping Southwest Airlines get through one battle after another.” Herb embodied the true warrior spirit that still holds true with Southwest and it’s people today. You see…a true warrior doesn’t need a sword. He wields his strength by who he is and what he stands for. He then takes that knowledge, drive and dedication and teaches his fellow soldiers to become warriors themselves.

To all my cohearts, my fellow “warriors”, this painting is for all of you…I feel it’s aptly named…

“A Warrior Spirit”

30x30 acrylic on canvas