Spots and Stripes

I painted these while Chad was sick. If I remember correctly (and that’s a crapshoot!), they are two of the three paintings I completed in 2019.

The zebra was done before Chad’s initial diagnosis but while he and his doctor were trying to figure out what was wrong with his throat.

The giraffe was done much later. After Chad was released from hospital and came back home, there were days when he didn’t have enough energy to stay awake but he wanted me in the room with him. Even asleep, he knew when I was there and he slept better for it.

Some days I would curl up next to him and read. Some days, I would sit at the desk he bought for me and paint. Not often, I only completed two paintings during that time. But I am a slow painter and Chad never napped for long, so each one took me a couple of days.

When his illness became worse and we were up nights and I worked days (split between mornings at the office and afternoons from home), I learned to curl up near him and sleep when he did.

I had seen a colored zebra online and wanted to give it a try. After scouring the internet for a zebra outline I thought I could manage, I came across this outline and fell in love with the shape of it. The original was just black-and-white.

After completing the zebra and being ridiculously happy with it, I got it into my head to do a spotted animal with the same colors as a counterpoint. After looking at a lot of spotted cats, I came across a photo of this giraffe and decided this was the piece.

I rushed it when painting and am not entirely satisfied with the result, but I have no urge to repaint this one. It is the way it is because of what we were going through at the time I painted it. I will honor that and leave this as it is.

This pair now sit on the mantle above my fireplace where I can see them every day.