A Work in Progress

After my brother realized he was not long for this world, he started trying to convince us to take his tattoos. Or make them into drum heads. Or at least, taken literally, that's the words he was using. I think he was trying to get us to realize he wouldn't be with us very long (though he died suddenly, and before even he expected it to happen).

After he died, and his other sisters got an autopsy (it is some comfort that even if we had been sitting in the room with him and even if he'd been in better shape, the heart attack that took him from us so quickly was of a type that had less than a 10% survival rate), his daughter had him cremated.

But after his memorial, while spending time with family, I borrowed my youngest sister's paints and brushes, and she gave me a canvas to use, black for mourning, and I started to paint him. It's still a work in progress, there's lots of details to improve on, but as I painted, those tattoos kept springing to mind, and I started adding them to the painting, his companions in making the music that he loved and played and taught.

When I get this into better shape, I'll share the updated painting. But for now, here it is, a painting in progress to accompany my mourning in progress.

Pictured are The Lorax, Annubis, Yoda, and Kokopelli.