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I got to thinking about the family members I have who've passed on. Someone...left what they thought was an innocent, harmless comment on a picture someone else drew for me, and it struck a nerve. Members of my family have died because of substance abuse, and while most days I ignore bullshit, some days it really, REALLY gets to me.
I was doodling Chai while thinking about it all...and this just sortof started itself. :P Was originally gonna be my dad, aunt and myself-as-Chai on that rock, looking across to everyone who's passed on...but it looked cluttered, so now it's just Chai and the deceased.
From right to left: my maternal grandfather, who's first name is my middle name...my paternal grandmother, with whom I was VERY close for over twenty years of my life...my mother, who died of alcoholism-related complications...her two little ones, my older brother and sister, who died young of a fatal inherited genetic flaw...and the most recent death, my kid brother Michael who died from complications arising from drug use. He got high and went swimming, passed out and drowned.
Just a few months ago.
Hence I drew him on the pathway between the two rocks..."crossing over" as it were.
Gonna ask that folks not offer crit for this one. I'm feeling a wee bit touchy about the comment that sparked it anyways and I can't guarantee that that would allow me subjectivity.
The moral of this story: don't do drugs, kiddies.
I was doodling Chai while thinking about it all...and this just sortof started itself. :P Was originally gonna be my dad, aunt and myself-as-Chai on that rock, looking across to everyone who's passed on...but it looked cluttered, so now it's just Chai and the deceased.
From right to left: my maternal grandfather, who's first name is my middle name...my paternal grandmother, with whom I was VERY close for over twenty years of my life...my mother, who died of alcoholism-related complications...her two little ones, my older brother and sister, who died young of a fatal inherited genetic flaw...and the most recent death, my kid brother Michael who died from complications arising from drug use. He got high and went swimming, passed out and drowned.
Just a few months ago.
Hence I drew him on the pathway between the two rocks..."crossing over" as it were.
Gonna ask that folks not offer crit for this one. I'm feeling a wee bit touchy about the comment that sparked it anyways and I can't guarantee that that would allow me subjectivity.
The moral of this story: don't do drugs, kiddies.
Category Artwork (Digital) / General Furry Art
Species Lion
Size 750 x 535px
File Size 243.8 kB
I'm sorry to hear about your family members I agree that drug abuse isn't something to be joked about (if that was the jist of the comment that got you upset); my stepfather was a heroine addict for a few years and while I've been fortunate in that he didn't die from it, he did O.D. at one point and lapse into a coma for 4 days--it was the most horrible experience i never want to be involved in again. Drug use leaves a mark on everyone in the family's soul, and I can't imagine how absolutely devastating loosing a kid brother to it is ;_;
Very thoughtful piece...and wonderful of you to give them a tribute like that. I would say I'm sorry...but I never understood why we should be sorry about death. If I'm sorry for anything then...I'm sorry that they dealt with the respective pains that they did...and I'm sorry for you that they're no longer here. But your picture makes the truth clear enough...whether you're the last one standing or not...they're always with you.
I have yet to have the strong blows of death in my life save for my grandparents when I was young, and my favorite pet in the universe. My last grandparent died one week before my youngest daughter was born. he wanted to see her very badly. I hope that some day I have a shoulder to lean on when my family passes on. I know I will need it as everyone in my small family has touched my daughter and my lives.
Thank you for this piece, and thank you for sharing it with us. It shows the true depth of your soul.
Thank you for this piece, and thank you for sharing it with us. It shows the true depth of your soul.
Ive been there . . . tehcnically i still am tho, ive lost both my biological mom and step-mom . . . still tears at me, this pic is wonderful. Even tho the many others i have lost may not have been of the same reasons . . . i still wish they were here . . . . . u.u thank you for sharing this . . . . . i just hope that in one way or another, by doing this memorial, some of the emotional pressure has been lifted from you.
You don't know me, but I felt I should say something. My own maternal grandfather, who practically raised me for the first two years of my life, died suddenly just last week, and when I saw this I just couldn't hold back the emotion any more.
There's nothing that we can really say to those who have lost as much as you have. Only those who have experienced the same thing can even begin to know how you feel, and I am not one of them. I won't say I'm sorry, because that seems like such a shallow way to express the deep feelings that this picture, and the story behind it, evokes. All I can say is that it isn't right that someone should have to suffer so much in life, and I'm inspired by how strong you are in the face of so much sadness and pain. I also wanted to thank you for this, as it reminds me that not only am I not alone, but my grandfather isn't alone either. All his friends and relatives who went before were there to greet him on the other side, just as he'll be there to watch over me for the rest of my life and greet me when the time comes.
So thank you, and you have my admiration. Know that I'm sending good thoughts your way tonight.
~ Liz
There's nothing that we can really say to those who have lost as much as you have. Only those who have experienced the same thing can even begin to know how you feel, and I am not one of them. I won't say I'm sorry, because that seems like such a shallow way to express the deep feelings that this picture, and the story behind it, evokes. All I can say is that it isn't right that someone should have to suffer so much in life, and I'm inspired by how strong you are in the face of so much sadness and pain. I also wanted to thank you for this, as it reminds me that not only am I not alone, but my grandfather isn't alone either. All his friends and relatives who went before were there to greet him on the other side, just as he'll be there to watch over me for the rest of my life and greet me when the time comes.
So thank you, and you have my admiration. Know that I'm sending good thoughts your way tonight.
~ Liz
*hugs softly* I don't have anyone on my dad's side of the family because they all smoked and drank, and my mom's side if the family is so large that there's a death every 6 months to a year, so I kinda know what it's like to go through that... but I am not really close to my family since they have always been really mean and abusive, so maybe I don't know at all what it's like. Looking at this picture, I feel like crying half cause I want to feel that closeness even if it gets broken, and half cause I hate death no matter what they did in life to die. *hugs tighter* The fact that they're all drawn as lions makes me think of how lions live in a close group, and they are proud and strong...
The look on the faces who have passed on suggests that they are still watching over you. I hold much sorrow and grief for your loss, for they are true tragedies. Its good that you can express your grief through art, because it spread your heartbreak to everybody, and makes us all aware of what really matters.
Hold strong. Live strong. *hug*
Hold strong. Live strong. *hug*
Rembrandt is the most famous, but there was a whole school of artists back in his time that made magical use of light - often from a single candle or a tiny window - and glowing darkness. Most of their art was commissions of rich families - boring compared to the great variety of furrys - but their paintings are beautiful in spite of their very mundane subjects because of their use of light and darkness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_.....n_Age_painting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_.....n_Age_painting
Hoooow was this not in my favourites already?! Augh.
This is one of the first pieces that always comes to mind when I think of you. I don't know, it always struck a chord with me. I still love this to pieces. So meaningful, and so beautifully done. <3
*goes back to hunting down Chai refs*
This is one of the first pieces that always comes to mind when I think of you. I don't know, it always struck a chord with me. I still love this to pieces. So meaningful, and so beautifully done. <3
*goes back to hunting down Chai refs*
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