When Covid shut down the world, my father—a tough-as-nails Marine and Vietnam veteran— had just been diagnosed with lung cancer and was facing what would turn out to be the last year of his life.

Today, we take virtual meetings for granted, but in April 2020, they were a novel and much-needed lifeline. Forgotten Coast was one of the first to embrace this new way of connecting, offering a sense of community when isolation threatened to consume us.

And so, from the back porch of my dad’s rural Louisiana home, I found myself meeting with friends, fellow artists, and collectors from across the country and around the world. I had been a professional artist for over a decade, but my father had never fully grasped what I did—nor was he remotely familiar with even the basics of technology. Yet, in that strange, surreal moment, he sat beside me, watching as I participated in a live quick-paint event.

Sharing that experience with him was an unexpected blessing in what would be a very hard year. When I won the quick paint and sold the piece, my dad, ever the blunt observer, turned to the online audience and declared, “She couldn’t have made more money if she had robbed the convenience store!”

That painting, Low Country Boil, wasn’t just a work of art. It was a divine moment—one of connection, laughter, and love in the midst of chaos. And in a year filled with loss, it remains a priceless gift.