something's missing ashley

I started the painting many years ago, during a time that I was doing very little artistically. My life then was consumed with providing for a family of five. That said, I still needed to express myself as an artist, so I set about to create an abstract painting of my family using articles of clothing from each of them. After attaching a great deal of clothing on the piece it ended being one of the largest works I’ve made since college. For numerous reasons, I stopped at what I felt was about a quarter of the way through. Friends told me that, for them, the piece was complete. It hung in the hallway of my house for years even though I always felt it was unfinished.

Years went by, a lifetime for some. Ashley, my wife, passed.

I put the painting away but never forgot about it.

I have since remarried. My loving wife encouraged me to have a painting studio to fill something that she recognized as missing in my life. Since 2020, I have been happily plugging away in the new studio. During this time, this unfinished work has been patiently waiting for me to address.