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Portraits by Peter Bucks
Tributes to officers from the CPD Officer, Lodge 7 member and renowned artist
‘Art has been my safe place’
■ BY AMBER RAMUNDO
Sitting for this portrait was a new experience for Chicago Po- lice Department Officer Audrey Duerson-Carter. Unlike most of the law enforcement subjects who have added to Peter Bucks’s collection of portraits, Audrey is familiar with the creative pro- cess. The difference is, she’s usu- ally the one who sits behind the easel.
In fact, Audrey has been wielding a paintbrush even lon- ger than she’s been wearing a duty belt. Before becoming an officer, this Chicago native’s in- spiration to leave her mark on the world began with strokes of acrylic and graphite.
“There’s something about capturing a person’s spirit through art that’s my passion,” explains Audrey about what motivates her as a portrait art- ist. “Anything to just lighten up someone, even if it’s just for the moment that they’re looking at the painting.”
DUERSON- CARTER Star #11721
the South Side of Chicago in the 003 District. She was further challenged with getting to know the unfamiliar area in the dark while working midnights on the job.
“I was totally out of my com- fort zone,” Audrey says, remem- bering the late-night shift she worked in order to be there for her two girls during the day. “It was like I was totally blind. I had to use my instincts and just learn everything fresh.”
Audrey later transferred from the 003 to work for headquar- ters, where she played a vi- tal role collecting data for the Districts and installing in-car camera equipment in patrol vehicles. It wouldn’t be long, though, before Audrey returned to the 003, where she remains on the job today.
No matter what role Audrey has played in the CPD through- out her career, her passion for art has remained consistent.
“Art has been my safe place,” she stresses. “I lose all sense of
AUDREY
Growing up on the West Side
of Chicago, Audrey never expected that one day she
would be wearing a uniform and driving the patrol cars
that she often saw driving down the streets of her com- munity. But after graduating from art school and taking on the responsibility of raising her young niece and a daughter of her own, Audrey knew she needed a job that would support more than just herself.
“For me to become the police was totally out of character,” she says. “It was something I wanted to do because I had two girls to raise.”
Equipped with a strong lay of the land and a genuine desire to connect with the community, Audrey was confident that she would be a successful officer. It also didn’t hurt that in addition to being an artist, Audrey had experience teaching at a Montes- sori daycare. Her hope in becoming a law enforcement officer was that she would be able to continue making a positive im- pact on the lives of young people.
“It was not just about becoming a cop that would enforce the law,” Audrey clarifies. “I wanted to enhance some lives and be able to teach and nurture some of the people on the street.”
All confidence in her sense of direction shifted, though, when the young officer was hired on Nov. 30, 1998 and assigned to
22 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ FEBRUARY 2019
time when I’m with my art. It’s definitely therapeutic.” Her creative niche has inspired Audrey to intertwine art with the badge by memorializing fallen officers with portraits that she gifts to their loved ones. Painting portraits of officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty provides a powerful experience for Audrey, who gets to know the officer
deeply throughout the process.
“I’m thinking so much about that person and that person’s
life,” Audrey explains. “I’m able to step into who I think that per- son is just through that portrait that I’m doing.”
When it comes to accomplishing her goals as an officer and connecting with the community, Audrey believes creativity is the answer here, too. The 003 veteran hopes to give children and members of the community an opportunity to get to know law enforcement on a deeper level through participating in creative projects that will humanize officers on the job.
“I want to figure out a way to really bridge the gap between the community and police officers so that they can see us in a different light through art,” Audrey says. “I want to be able to show how we feel: We hurt. We cry. We have emotions. We actu- ally care about our community because we actually live it every day.”