Ella
Ella: Artist Statement
This painting encapsulates my journey grieving family members who have died from alcoholism. In 2023, I lost two family members within three months, including my Uncle Aaron. The color in the middle of the painting is the color of my uncle’s tongue drum, and below that is the color of his eyes. My handprints, from left to right, represent him playing his drums, and they fade gradually showing the slow loss that took place even before he died. The phrase on the painting is a six-word story I wrote that helped me process the family troubles that come from losing someone. I am trying to live my life to reflect what I learned from my Uncle Aaron. I am trying to live my life in a way that genuinely honors him and his attempts at recovery.
