Local first responder using art as therapy creates portraits of fallen EPS officers
Local first responder using art as therapy creates portraits of fallen EPS officers
A Spruce Grove first responder artist created a series of portraits in memory of the pair of Edmonton Police Service constables killed in the line of duty last week.
For the past year, Daniel Sundahl, a paramedic firefighter, has created an online memorial page complete with individual portraits for current and former first responders or military members worldwide who have died in the line of duty or because of service-related trauma.
"Once I heard about what happened, I knew right away," Sundahl told CTV News Edmonton. "I needed to create these portraits."
"It's horrible. It's hard to describe. I was thinking, of course, of the two officers and their families," he added. "But then I was also thinking of the other emergency workers that were there that dealt with it, the hospital staff and everybody that's around an event like this."
Creating memorial portraits was part of his own healing journey, he explained. He doesn't charge for the artwork he creates.
"I started doing a lot of artwork for mental health as part of my own therapy," Sundahl said. "It's very therapeutic for myself."
Each portrait takes around an hour and a half to make, Sundahl says, using his digital pen to apply layers of drawing and painting to a photo.
Often he hears from families about how much having a portrait helps them to remember their lost loved one.
"I just hope it helps," Sundahl said. "This is kind of how I process it myself."
As bystanders screamed for help, a man with a knife stabbed four young children at a lakeside park in the French Alps on Thursday, assaulting at least one in a stroller repeatedly. The children between 22 months and 3 years old suffered life-threatening injuries, and two adults also were wounded, authorities said.
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New Brunswick students under the age of 16 who identify as trans and non-binary won't be able to officially change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
Pat Robertson, a religious broadcaster who turned a tiny Virginia station into the global Christian Broadcasting Network, tried a run for president and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America through his Christian Coalition, has died.
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Regina city council has asked its administration to pursue permission from the Saskatchewan Municipal Board (SMB) to increase its debt limit to $780 million.
An official recommendation to wear a mask to protect yourself from wildfire smoke is being echoed by health experts as plumes of smoke make their way across parts of Canada, causing poor air quality.
New Brunswick students under the age of 16 who identify as trans and non-binary won't be able to officially change their names or pronouns in school without parental consent.
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An Ontario man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Claudia Iacono, the daughter-in-law of Mafia associate Moreno Gallo, after she was gunned down at the wheel of her car in Montreal last month.
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The Ottawa Real Estate Board says home sales were up six per cent in May 2023 compared to a year prior, marking the first year-over-year unit sales volume increase since early last year.
Ontario is set to increase the wages of early childhood educators in a bid to boost recruitment and retention amid a staff shortage that advocates warn could hamper the growth of the national $10-a-day child-care program.
Waterloo region and Wellington County remain under a special air quality statement for the fourth straight day Thursday with pollution levels expected to climb back into Environment Canada’s “high risk” zone this afternoon.
Kitchener is hosting a series of watch parties to cheer on basketball star Jamal Murray as his Denver Nuggets take on the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
Romance scams have always been around, but they got worse during the pandemic, and fraudsters continue to use social media and dating sites to find victims.
The hot, dry conditions that are fuelling wildfires countrywide are just the beginning of what summer could look like in Canada this year, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips.
Manitoban and Vegas Golden Knight defenceman Zach Whitecloud is getting plenty of support from his hometown community while he competes for the Stanley Cup.
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The nondescript parking lot at the centre of debate about the future of Vancouver's historic Chinatown is unchanged in the six years since plans to build a condo tower there were shot down by the city's development permit board.
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Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Victoria Sexual Assault Centre has seen an increase in women, trans and gender-diverse survivors seeking support after experiencing sexualized violence.
