This body of work is a reflection and study of my mother, Sandra, who died at the age of fiftytwo from aggressive colon cancer. Painting can serve as an interpretation of the past and present, allowing me to see how things were and how things are. The act of making these paintings is a post-mortem conversation; this is the closest thing I can describe to what it would be like to communicate with my mother. None of these paintings represent a specific literal moment, but a collection of emotionally driven moments surrounding my mother’s death. These collections of moments are created by mining family photos, journals, shared experiences, and meaningful objects. The paintings start as drawings and monotypes, serving as a peacemaker between memory, the reference, and the final painting. This creates a language that gives my paintings space from their visual references. The finished piece is figurative, colorful, and contemplative.