Description

18×24 Acrylic on Canvas

This painting has layers. On one level, it’s a beautiful common loon with its baby chick. On the next level, we see that there’s a colorful background and some text that reads, “I AM LOVED AND I AM WORTHY.” And one more level up from that, we see the allegory of a mother bringing her child into a world of love and acceptance and understanding.

This painting also has a back story. I set off to make a series of paintings that included positive affirmations because that’s the way I felt drawn to do that kind of inner work. Having dealt with both physical and emotional abuse in my past, I have nagging little problems with self-esteem and self-compassion here and there. I figured it would make sense to make a painting that I could hang up, especially at art fairs, to remind myself that I am indeed loved and worthy.

I showed it off to my wife Grace, and after telling me how much she loves it, she told me that she was pregnant and we were expecting our first child. After freaking out a bit, I started to realize that this painting was, in a sense, prophetic. It was Grace bringing our child into the world.

The Loon has many meanings to many different cultures. A visitor at an art fair told me about how, in certain First Nations traditions, the Loon ferries the dead to the afterlife. The painting suddenly had more layers to it than I made in the first place.

It was also still prophetic.

On August 21st, 2024, Grace’s water broke. 20 weeks early. It was a terrifying and traumatic experience for both of us. Violet Fritz was born and died on Thursday, August 22nd, 2024. She changed our lives more than we can ever know or I could ever express. And she never got to take a single breath.

We are eternally thankful for all the support we got from our friends and the hospital staff. We had a little memorial service for her in early September.

Violet is Grace’s favorite color. It was also my late grandmother’s name. She was so very loved.

The affirmation is in violet. I don’t know how to feel about that.

I don’t know how to feel about any of it.

Contact me if you would like to set up a viewing of this painting.