Tragedy Strikes, October Newsletter

I have been avoiding writing this month’s newsletter. With no work completed in the last month, and to be honest, I’ve needed a break to step away. I felt guilt in not painting as much, but when I take a moment to reflect and realize the roller coaster I’ve been through this past month, it’s been well deserved.

A lot happened. A lot of good and a lot of bad. Great experiences with exhibits and shows. Horrible moments that I will very likely paint on, and could potentially affect my future with the time I have to set aside to paint.

The Good

September 5th - My studio’s grand opening went well! A LOT of people in different waves. To be honest, I was pretty socially exhausted by the end of the night. I would like to thank my lovely girlfriend for the cookies she baked for the event.

September 12th - In The Dark was on display at the Rod Meadow’s Canton Art Call at the Juilliard Art Gallery! I’m still waiting for the reward’s reception.

September 13th - I’ve been looking forward to The Stark County Bar Association’s Law in Art show for a long time now. With my personality and past associations, it was the best way to express myself with a couple of narrative artworks I already had in the pipeline.

September 20th - Watercolor Ohio 2025 was an amazing show! Springfield Museum of Art was a beautiful facility, and I met a lot of lovely people. The fact that the painting of mine featured there was the one I have to honor my late fiancée, with her favorite flowers, gives me a warm feeling in my stomach to wonder how she would feel about seeing what I’m doing now through life’s challenges. With the painting now going into the traveling show as well, I couldn’t feel any more sentimental.

October 4th - I helped set up and run the Pine’s Healthcare craft show and car show. This was a show I missed last year, since it fell on the same date as the Massillon Artober Fest. I did set up a table with a selection of limited reproductions, but had 0 expectations to sell anything. It just wasn’t the right demographic. To my surprise, I was wrong, and I sold more reproductions than at any event I have attended before.

The Ugly

Now for the bad…

September 2nd - The cousin I grew up next door to, Jake, was murdered by an intruder in his own home. The faceless coward who was behind this atrocity is still at large. Initially, it was incredibly disturbing to me, and it still feels so unreal. I hope they find who was responsible. I have a lot of unresolved feelings I would like to explore in my work on this subject. It’s the only thing I can do at this point.

September 15th - A man who has been nicknamed “bike guy” by the neighborhood and Stark County Sheriff was caught on camera attempting to break into my girlfriend’s car. I dealt with filing the police report, since I was there that night. And no, this isn’t known to be a bad neighborhood.

October 3rd - I actually skipped Downtown Canton’s First Friday this month. I think you will all understand I needed a well-deserved break.

October 5th - I was woken up at 4 am, with my girlfriend screaming out the door, “I have you on camera!” This time, a different man was caught trying to break into both of our cars, running into the woods. We immediately called the Sheriff, and they were at the house with a drone almost instantly. This time, they caught the man, and it’s now a pending criminal case. I’ve been taking extra time to be there to comfort my girlfriend’s uneasiness over this, and doing my best to make her feel safe again.

Lastly… One year ago, my front tire was clipped while out bicycling. I went down going over 30mph. I suffered a lot of damage that day. Life is funny though… This last month, I finally gave in to go back to the doctor because of the shoulder and neck pain I continue to experience from this accident. After pulling my ER visit information, my doctor informed me that they had told me a year ago in the ER, they spotted a mass in my neck while running the other tests. I vaguely remember this, but I was distracted too much by the trauma at the time to remember to do a follow-up. The doctor wanted to have it looked at sooner rather than later.

The ultrasound measures a 3cm nodule in the left side of my thyroid, a 2cm nodule in my right side, and several other nodules less than 1cm. I’m currently waiting for a biopsy. However, I remain positive. The worst-case scenario, if it is the C-word, is that it should be easily treatable. I’m very stubborn, and I say I’m going to make it through this fine. Regardless of the case, this will consume a lot of time and emotional energy from me. So if you see a slowdown of finished work from me the the near future, this is why.

Work in Progress: “Together Again”

I’m very touched by how popular One Last Walk With Izzy has become, with a quickly selling out limited reproduction, and it continues to gain attention. I felt like Izzy deserved to be featured again in another positive moment to reflect on. Here’s my work in progress:

“Together Again” is about just what the title implies. In the beginning, Izzy was very nervous and uneasy with me, having been saved from a prior abusive owner. I remember when I first let her loose in the countryside, she jolted off, and I feared in that moment I would never catch her. With some quick thinking, I pulled the car up to her running away, and she took the opportunity to jump in for her favorite activity, a car ride. Though after AJ’s death, she quickly grew close to me, as if I needed her to. We both formed trust with one another, and for another time, I attempted to let her have some unleashed freedom in the countryside. As I nervously sat waiting, she walked off, had a few sniffs, and in a relieving moment walked back right to me to remain sitting by my side. From that moment, I knew she didn’t want to leave my side, and she would freely follow me to make sure we were both there for each other. Everywhere we went. This painting is not just about the feelings of seeing her come back, but the longing of missing my everyday partner.

Congratulations to Mark D. from Cincinnati, OH. Mark has been selected to pick and receive any reproduction, as apart of being subscribed to this email newsletter. Mark will receive a separate email from me personally, and I will continue to pick winners each month.