I began understanding the verse ' beauty for ashes' a year after my mom and brother Joe, two of the people I was closest to in this life, were in a fatal car accident.
I painted four pieces which were given to the hospitals that cared for my brother. Many times it was through tears that I would paint; allowing the pain, raw grief, burning rage, anger, and frustration be felt.
I am amazed that from those dark emotions that the canvas wasn't left tattered, torn, and blotched with black darkness. Each resulting painting wasn't ugly, but beautiful. It seemed that with each daub of paint to canvas that here inside my heart God was applying a salve to the pain.
It's my hope that my works will inspire people in the midst of their darkest sorrows in life too." |
