Title: “Before the Fall”
Artist: Nichole Montgomery
Size of Work: 30” x 40” x 1” (framed to 31” x 41” x .75”)
Medium: Framed mixed media on canvas w/wood panel backing
Artist Statement: I created this piece in 2021 for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. It reflects the day my unit—Medical Troop, Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment—deployed from Fort Carson, Colorado in 2003. The Twin Towers still stand behind us, a memory we couldn’t outrun. We didn’t know what was waiting—we just knew we had to go and do our job as field medics.
Bio: Nichole Montgomery served in the U.S. Army from 1998 to 2003 with the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea and with S&T and Medical Troop, Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colorado, before being medically discharged. For over a decade, she represented the American Legion at national, state, and local levels, including as a Veterans Day Parade committee as a VFW member as a Section One commander. A mother of two and a mixed media visionary of Oklahoma ‘23, she became a full-time artist in 2024 after exhibiting in Oklahoma since 2007. Her current focus blends neuro-line art and grounding techniques to support veterans, trauma survivors, and anyone seeking healing through creative process.