This painting holds profound personal significance for me. It's based on a photo I took in February 2017, just a week after my beloved grandmother passed away from cancer. The image depicts a field on my grandfather's 10-acre property, a place I visited frequently during that emotional time. I had been helping to care for my great-grandmother, who was in declining health after losing her daughter—my grandmother.

My grandmother was like a second mother to me, and her passing was my first experience losing someone so dear. I arrived at my grandparents' house very early one morning, around 6 or 7am, as the sun was rising and a gentle mist settled over the field. This was a place where my grandparents loved to garden, and where I spent many childhood hours playing. The tree in the center of the field holds particularly fond memories for me—it was where I often read books, or played games as a child.

The sight of the rising sun and mist was breathtaking, and for a moment, amidst my grief, I felt a sense of peace. It was a surreal experience, almost as if my grandmother still lingered there with me.

It moment of both presence and absence that left me profoundly moved in the face of creation. Her absence felt overwhelming, and I deeply cherish the memory of this moment.