Butterfly

In 2024 I went to visit my mom who was in hospice care at my childhood home in Prescott.

She was in very high spirits when I saw her, mostly because she loved all the attention the nurses gave her. The head nurse said “We call her Princess because that’s how she needs to be treated.

My mom liked to collect antique dolls. The last time I saw her forty sets of creepy doll-eyes were staring at us from around the room - every inch of dresser space was covered in dolls or pill bottles. Everyone else found them creepy, but she loved them.

When she passed away I saw a doll with beautiful blue butterfly wings flying off to heaven in my mind. This painting took months to finish, because a couple of times I really believed she didn't like it and I had to erase the face and start over. In the face of the doll I tried to capture my mom's dignity.