Don Keenan
Painting a subject without their knowing it, a surprise portrait, is always fraught with danger… and in the case of Don Keenan, doubly so. A larger than life character, electrifying, the trial lawyer community with his “Reptile Theory” of practice, a TV personality, renowned children’s advocate, often to be found unshaved wearing shorts, T-shirt, and always those sunglasses. An ex-marine of Irish blood and creator of the Kids Foundation and Bono aficionado. All this and more went into this painting. It was with relief that I saw it was warmly and enthusiastically received at its unveiling in Houston. Kudos to the courage of the man brave enough to commission this painting!
Painting a subject without their knowing it, a surprise portrait, is always fraught with danger… and in the case of Don Keenan, doubly so. A larger than life character, electrifying, the trial lawyer community with his “Reptile Theory” of practice, a TV personality, renowned children’s advocate, often to be found unshaved wearing shorts, T-shirt, and always those sunglasses. An ex-marine of Irish blood and creator of the Kids Foundation and Bono aficionado. All this and more went into this painting. It was with relief that I saw it was warmly and enthusiastically received at its unveiling in Houston. Kudos to the courage of the man brave enough to commission this painting!
Don Keenan
Keenan, Don. 16" x 20". 2015. Collection of Keenan Law Firm. Atlanta, GA. Portrait on canvas. Commissioned by HMR Funding, Dean Chase.
Keenan, Don. 16" x 20". 2015. Collection of Keenan Law Firm. Atlanta, GA. Portrait on canvas. Commissioned by HMR Funding, Dean Chase.
Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny
Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny 4 June 1976 – 16 February 2024 A Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist. He organized anti-government demonstrations and ran for office to advocate for reforms against corruption in Russia and the government of President Vladimir Putin. Navalny founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). He was recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International and was awarded the Sakharov Prize for his work on human rights. Through his social media channels and the FBK, Navalny and his team published investigations detailing alleged corruption by high-ranking Russian officials and their associates. They also organized political demonstrations and promoted advocacy campaigns. In a 2011 radio interview, he described Russia's ruling party, United Russia, as a "party of crooks and thieves," which became a widely used description. Navalny received two suspended sentences for embezzlement charges in 2013 and 2014. Both criminal cases were widely viewed as politically motivated and intended to prevent him from running in future
elections.
In the private collection of Lauren Ann Walsh. Sarasota, FL.
He ran in the 2013 Moscow mayoral election, receiving 27% of the vote, but was barred from the 2018 presidential election.In August 2020, Navalny was hospitalized in serious condition after being poisoned with a Novichoknerve agent. He was medically evacuated to Berlin and discharged a month later. Navalny accused Putin of being responsible for his poisoning, and an investigation implicated agents from the Federal SecurityService. In January 2021, Navalny returned to Russia and was immediately detained on accusations of violating parole conditions while hospitalized in Germany. Mass protests were held across Russia following his arrest. In February 2021, his suspended sentence was replaced with a prison sentence of over 2.5 years, and his organizations were later designated as extremist and liquidated. In March 2022, Navalny received an additional nine-year sentence after being found guilty of embezzlement and contempt of court in a new trial described as a sham by Amnesty International. His appeal was rejected, and in June he was transferred to a high-security prison. In August 2023, Navalny was sentenced to an additional 19 years in prison on extremism charges.In December 2023, Navalny was missing from prison for almost three weeks before re-emerging in anArctic Circle corrective colony in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. On 16 February 2024, theRussian prison service reported that Navalny had died at the age of 47. His death sparked protests both in Russia and various other countries. Accusations against the Russian authorities in connection with his death have been made by many Western governments and international organizations.