Mitchel Coffman brings veterans and their experiences to life through massive abstract oil paintings on canvas.
When an Army Ranger is killed in action, the 75th Ranger Regiment honors their legacy in many different awe-inspiring ways. That’s how Mitchel Coffman first connected with the close-knit community of Rangers, which led him to use his unique talents to honor fallen service members.
“Man, those [Rangers] are just the dudes that do the fucking thing that they say they’re going to do,” Coffman said. “I always admired that about them.”
Coffman never really fit in throughout his school and art career. He came from a blue-collar family and transferred from community college to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). He and his close friend, Zach Walters, dealt with similar issues because of their love of sports.
“We weren’t the norm. We both had an athletics background at art school. We had a hard enough time fitting in as it was because of that,” Coffman said. “The majority of my painting professors never liked me because of that. It was this uphill battle the entire time.”
Coffman grew up playing sports and was a founding member of the SCAD Lacrosse team. He was the first assistant strength and conditioning coach in the athletics department during graduate school. Walters trained in an MMA gym and regularly rolled with some of the guys from 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and he asked Coffman if the Rangers could train with them at the gym.
“Being someone that’s super duper competitive, I’m always trying to prove myself,” Coffman said. “I was like, ‘Hell yeah, man, bring those special forces [Ranger] guys, I want to see how we stack up against these dudes.’”
The group forged a strong friendship early on, bonding over the grueling workouts, and going out together in Savannah’s busy downtown. But once Coffman graduated, he moved to New York City to continue his art career. Sgt. Roberto “Rob” Sanchez, one of the Rangers who became friends with Coffman, was killed in action during a deployment to Afghanistan in 2009.
The Rangers had a lasting impact on Coffman, and he always wanted to depict their experiences through his art to show the world how incredible these hard-chargers were.
In May 2022, Coffman and a designer unveiled a massive presentation at Hunter Army Airfield (HAAF), home to 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, dedicated to fallen Rangers.
