So on May 26th, my father unexpectedly passed away. He had been fighting stage 4 lung cancer for a year and was beating it. Friday the 16th he was diagnosed with pneumonia and it was a strain that was completely resistant to all anti-biotics. He went quickly and peacefully 10 days later.

I am an only child and my family is extremely close. My mom and dad had been together for 53 years and married for 46. She is being very brave, but I know how this has and will affect her for the rest of her life.

I decided to do a piece for her that represented the love they shared. The first version seemed like the type was a little too strong…so I redid the entire piece to represent more of a calm feeling. The final piece is the first image. The original is beneath it.

I used a photo of my parents from 1971 when they closed on their first house. The balloon is there because it floated into my dad’s room when he was in hospice and hovered over the 2 of them. (*nobody knew where it came from)