Homes burned to the ground in Los Angeles County are getting new life—with a paintbrush. Watercolor artist Jordan Heber typically charges $350 to $400 for painting commissions, mostly of beloved homes. After whole neighborhoods burned in California, she created a TikTok video showcasing her work and offering to paint any lost homes for free. A friend sent that video to 19-year-old Charlotte Tragos, who'd lost her childhood home and its contents, including her parents' wedding video, in the Palisades Fire. Hoping to surprise her parents, she sent a photo of the house to Tragos, who sent back a completed painting in just three days, the Washington Post reports.
Heber, who's also completed a painting of the destroyed Palisades' Village School, has many other paintings in the works for those left with little. "It's an incredible honor to create these lasting tributes to the places that held so much life and memory," the 31-year-old Santa Monica resident tells the Post, noting "our homes are so much more than these physical, standing things that we keep our belongings in." For Tragos, the painting "means the world," especially as "we're in a position where we have nothing."
Heber was inspired by other artists, who offered their services for free for those affected by the wildfires. LA-based sketch artist Asher Bingham tells NBC News she's determined to work through the hundreds of requests she's received to sketch lost homes. And House Beautiful reports more than 120 interior designers have donated their time to clients who've lost their homes and are looking to rebuild, while more have collected donations of furniture, bedding, and home goods. But beyond the home, photographers, barbers and hairstylists, bakers, and therapists have also volunteered their services "to offer some reprieve," per LAist.com. "Hopefully it inspires others to use their talents to help people," Heber tells the Post. (More California wildfires stories.)
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