I made this piece during a difficult period in the last year. A few months ago my father, who has multiple sclerosis, had a very serious MS attack which made it very difficult to do anything for himself. At this same time, my mother was in hospital for an operation. This left me to take care of both of them as they recovered, as well as the house and our three pets, and myself and my schoolwork. This was a difficult time as I was stressed with the workload and not being able to do enough for my family, and feeling very alone. My art teacher suggested that I draw my father as a form of therapy and this is what came of it. This is one of my favorite pieces as it helped me so much emotionally and I think the emotions I was feeling at the time have come across quite clearly in the pen-strokes and shading and movement.

Ink pen on Paper