The Long Good Bye

“The Long Good Bye”, “Life in Reverse” or whatever you choose to call it - it all means the same thing.

In 2004 my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It’s one of the most devastating words anyone can hear. A disease for which there is no hope.

My mother – a woman who loved art, was independent, creative and appreciated a good laugh. A woman with personal grace and charm. A woman who fiercely loved her family and was a great mother.

Waiting and watching became part of my life. Always hoping against hope that she would not have to live with the indignity of this disease. Six months ago everything changed. My refined, proud and self-assured mother began a quickening descent into her personal darkness.

Another person has emerged. Someone I know but do not recognize, someone who no longer seems like my mother but is my mother.

The photographs in these paintings, which I have created with a profound sadness and sense of loss, are of her in her 20’s.