“Two Birds”

Before anything else, please check my previous post and progress painting for this artwork:

Day # 1 progress painting
Day # 2 progress painting

Thankfully im able to finish this painting and its ready to be given to my patient. Her name is Kim and we both share the same passion for painting. She uses her mouth to paint, and i find it amazing that she is able to create painting on a regular basis using that skill. Despite being paralyzed from the neck down, she always find a way to make and share her art. I am really careful on using photos of patients or anywhere in the hospital. And I’m fortunate to have kept one of her greeting cards where she has her photo at the back. She has a friend that helps her make copy printouts of her art works and use it for greeting cards and post cards, and she use to receive $50 a month for it, and she use it to but her art supplies, but unfortunately her friend is very ill and unable to help her out. I do sometimes get her the supplies she needs and give her some of mine as well.

this is the greeting card she gave as she knew im a family man with 3 very young kids

this is her favorite post card, i borrowed it just for a week to make her this painting as a surprise

I work as a Charge Nurse in a Sub acute unit, with an 72 bed capacity unit, im in charge of all my staff and patients as well, most of my patients are there for a long time and most till their dying days, most of them are on life support, and tubes for eating and peeing, a very sad unit in a sense but we make the most out of it, i consider them family as its my second home, and i see some of them depressed because of their condition and each has patient has their own room, and nothing much to do but to either stars at the tv all day or worst staring at the 4 corners of the wall.

I like spending time with each one of them as i can, and thru art im able to heal their souls and bring out the creativity in them, it excites me when making a painting for them and letting them participate on what they want, mostly a favorite animal or favorite place that they want to be in, and it brings me joy when they tell me that they love looking at my painting which calms them in time of stress, or put them in a good sleep thinking that they could be in it at least for a dream. I am so thankful to have developed this skills that im able to share with others,

Life is too short, and its such a waste for focusing on accumulating worthless materials, for me the true essence of life is what you can contribute or what you can share with others.

this is Kim i used the back of her greeting card photograph with her permission