Letters to the Void
A non-voluntary exploration of all aspects of grief.
I started telling people I wanted to be an artist when I was four. For the past twenty five years I spent as much time as I could traveling and drawing and painting pictures of landscapes. I always had a “real” job to go along with the art and never really explored selling art very much.
About a year ago, my wife was diagnosed with cancer. It was terminal. Suddenly I had no time for art. I tried to spend every moment I could with her, and my studio grew dusty and my paints dried out. If I tried to do some art, the place where it comes from was in a drought.
I found myself acting as a caretaker for her. We did go on some fun trips, but mostly we found ourselves in Rochester. I started looking at artwork wherever I could, local galleries and hotels. The Mayo Clinic has an extensive collection and I started giving impromptu tours to family and friends to entertain them when Maria was at a procedure or an appointment.
In December I told Maria that I wanted to take a year off after she passed to work on artwork and to heal. She thought that was a great idea.
Maria passed away on Christmas Eve 2023. When things calmed down, I found myself at the easel fully expecting to work on a landscape. Instead the following is what came out.
I call them “Letters to the Void.”