Veterans Find Solace and Connection Through Art Classes

By November 15, 2026 / 9:27 AM EST / CBS News
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The USS Yorktown, located in Charleston Harbor, serves as a poignant reminder of military service. Now operating as a museum, it has been the chosen site for the past five years for Mary Whyte’s painting classes for veterans. Held the Saturday before Veterans Day, these classes draw around 30 veterans in person, with many more participating online.

Mary Whyte, an artist known for her large-scale watercolors, emphasizes the importance of art as a means of connection. Traveling the U.S., she painted 50 veterans in 50 states for her “We the People” exhibition, touring since 2019.

The exhibition’s recent display at Milwaukee’s Grohmann Museum was a backdrop for one of Whyte’s complimentary classes for veterans. Within the seven years it took to complete these paintings, Whyte realized the potential to aid veterans.

“As an artist, I can create art and do good,” Whyte stated. She founded the Patriot Art Foundation aiming to support veterans. A veteran’s words ring true, “Drawing is the only thing that quiets my mind,” a sentiment Whyte understands as an artist.

Carissa DiPietro, an Army veteran, found her comfort in painting at a Milwaukee class. She joined the Army on April 15, 1999, and experienced trauma on her first day. More devastatingly, her daughter, Ashley May, was murdered by Ashley’s father, also a service member, just before the 9/11 attacks.

DiPietro explained, “I didn’t handle it; I buried it.” Art became an outlet for her grief. “Painting makes me reflect on my daughter and grief, freeing me,” she shared. The classes provide a safe space to process her experiences alongside fellow veterans.

Whyte encourages veterans in her classes, emphasizing understanding over critique. She challenges them to paint their combat boots, a form of “watercolor boot camp,” representing a self-portrait through their boots’ journeys.

Navy veteran Jeffry Peterson, who served in the Pacific in the 1970s, finds emotional resonance in painting combat boots. For him, they symbolize absent comrades and the sentiment “Welcome home.”

To extend her reach, Whyte offers video tutorials and weekly online “art musters” for veterans seeking advice or camaraderie. She envisions a nationwide “Great Veteran Paint-Out” one day near Veterans Day to underscore the gratitude felt for their service.

“No veteran should be homeless or hungry, not after all they’ve given,” Whyte believes. When asked about the debt owed to veterans, she firmly replied, “We owe them our lives.”

Story produced by Jack Weingart. Edited by Emanuele Secci.

For more info:
– Mary Whyte (Official site)
– Touring Exhibition: “We the People: Portraits of Veterans in America”
– Patriot Art Foundation
– USS Yorktown, Charleston Harbor, S.C.
– Thanks to the Grohmann Museum, Milwaukee