Recently, I was informed that a good friend tragically lost his 19 year old daughter. While watching the video montage of a lifetime of pictures of this individual, I was moved at what a beautiful person she is, and also felt such sadness for her parents who now are trying to determine how to move forward, to find hope and healing. I'm always at a loss as to what to say, or what to do. You want so desperately to take away their pain, or to say something meaningful;something that would supply succor and encouragement, while at the same time you don't want to pry or be audacious enough to think that you are capable of reducing the pain. So, I do what I can...I paint. Their beautiful daughter loved insects, particularly spiders and tarantulas, with the hopes of becoming an entomologist. So, while a tarantula is not normally an image that one expects on an an envelope containing a sympathy card, this is what I am sending to them with a few thoughts, and condolences.
Done completely in gouache.
