After my 20-year-old-sister died in 1999, my art took on a new purpose: to comfort myself with images of the hope and healing I wanted to feel, hear and see. It is easy to forget what I most need to remember in this life of pain and beauty. But quiet messages do come, like seeing beautiful decaying apples, or finding a frozen woolly bear caterpillar who will later revive and live on. Painting what I notice—and sharing about what I paint—is how I stay focused on life-giving reminders: You will get through this. You are more than this body and mind. Love is right here with you.