By Jennifer Jensen
Avondale sculptor honors the fallen
More than 20 years ago, something caught Cliff Leonard’s eye, and he decided to try a new hobby.
The object was a life-size sculpture of a carousel horse created by an Orange Park woman.
“I thought, I’d love to do that,” Leonard said.
He visited the artist and saw that she also had sculpted a rocking horse. He asked her if she could teach him how to sculpt. She obliged and the first thing he created was a rocking horse, which still sits in his home in Avondale today.
When Leonard first started learning to sculpt, he created whimsical, woodland-type creatures. After a few years of sculpting, he decided he wanted to portray real people. But sculpting portraits was a bit more challenging than fictional characters, so Leonard took classes and workshops whenever he could to learn more.
“I got to the point where I wanted it to be a little bit better, so I can have it look more like a person,” he said. “I learned that having a good teacher is important as well as practice, practice, practice.”
His joy of sculpting portraits and his time in the Marine Corps led him to his current passion: sculpting Marines and Navy corpsmen who were killed in action. Leonard served in Vietnam, where he lost many friends, and now sees all Marines as his “little brothers.” As he’s gotten older, he said it might be more like “little grandsons.”
His time in the Marine Corps and passion for sculpting all came together about 17 years ago when he created his first bust sculpture of a Marine killed in action. He presented it to the Marine’s grandparents.
“I saw how much the grandparents appreciated it. It meant a lot to me,” Leonard said. “But I have to admit it, it wasn’t very good.”
His art has grown a lot since that time, thanks to the help of other seasoned and talented artists.
After that first bust, he decided to create one for all the Jacksonville Marines and Navy corpsmen who were killed in action. During that time, he also became a member the Semper Fidelis Society, which was helpful in his search for these Marines.
“In one of my past lives, I was a private investigator, so I have good skills of tracking down people,” he said. But even with his skills, there were several he couldn’t find or didn’t want to be found.
Once he finds the names, he contacts the parents or loved ones to see if they would even like to have a sculpture created of the deceased. He makes them free of charge and donates them to the family.
“I also have to convince them I’m not a shyster, that I’m not trying to get something from them,” Leonard said. And he also understands those who may not want the gift he’s offering. For some people, it could bring up old wounds and experiences they don’t care to revisit.
He created about five or six sculptures of Jacksonville natives who were killed in action. Then he decided to be even more ambitious and find fallen Marines and Navy corpsmen from Georgia and Florida. He found nearly 100 Marines who were killed in action.
Working from his art studio in his garage, it takes him about 2.5 months to create a bust. In the end, he ended up creating about 50 busts of Marines who were killed. Along the way, he also sculpted some of his friends from Vietnam and a few Medal of Honor recipients.
To create the bust, he enlists the family to submit photos – specifically, a Marine’s boot camp photo and a profile shot. The boot camp photos show a young, serious Marine, which is what he tries to recreate with his sculptures.
It can be difficult to capture someone’s likeness, especially if the person looks somewhat different in each photo. His overall goal is to create an accurate likeness rather than a caricature.
When a sculpture becomes challenging, he isn’t afraid to bring in an expert to help him get it right. He also calls in his wife, daughter and two grandsons to share their opinions.
“He’ll say, ‘Oh, his nose is too big,’” he said. “And the next day, I’m like, ‘He was right.’ Kids are honest. They’ll give it to you straight.”
The entire process has been a moving experience for Leonard, his family and friends. It can be difficult and extremely emotional sometimes when dropping off the busts to a Marine’s family.
“I really enjoy people getting to know these guys,” he said. “They all have their stories and something to say.”
