The Artist's Assistant
The subject of the piece is Young’s cat, Princess. She was not just a pet, but a daily witness to his creative process—and, more importantly, to his healing. Painted from life, she is shown sitting faithfully beside him on his living room floor, watching as he painted in watercolor—often refusing to leave his side.
At her feet lies a childlike stick figure drawing: a family, hand in hand—except for two figures dangerously close to the wheels of an approaching car. This is no ordinary sketch. It’s a depiction of Ben’s greatest loss: the death of his fiancée and unborn daughter in a tragic car accident. The remaining figures—the artist himself, his son, and their dog Izzy—are those who survived. Izzy, the dog shown in the drawing, was Princess’s companion—her friend, whose absence she too came to mourn when Izzy passed away from old age.
“Princess would sit with me whenever I would paint,” Ben says. “She would keep me company, faithfully sitting close by, as I used painting as a medium for healing. I would have a habit of sitting on the floor while doing it, so she could join me.”
This painting captures that moment—when words fall away, and grief is processed not with language, but through quiet rituals: the brush moving on paper, the cat nearby, the memories close.
The Artist’s Assistant reminds us that sometimes, the smallest presences bear witness to the heaviest moments. It is a painting about grief—but also about loyalty, tenderness, and the silent strength of those who stay close when we need them most.
