Three Metallic Canvases and a Hairdryer: A Tribute to My Mom, Dad, and Grandma
This painting isn’t just for my mom. It’s for my dad and my grandma, too — the three people who made up so much of my world, and who all somehow managed to visit me in Arizona at the same time… and not kill each other. That alone is worth a tribute.
Time for a story!
I tell lots of details about the trip, watch the video below to see!
The idea for this painting came from that trip: a weeklong visit after I’d moved into my new house. I wanted to make it special, so I planned a “choose your own adventure” hangout day for each of them.
Grandma? Botanical gardens, because she loved cacti and weird desert plant life. We walked, we lunched, she was happy.
Dad? I took him suit jacket shopping and probably bought him shirts and ties he didn’t need. Then we went to lunch. (Lunch is a theme.)
Mom? She wanted to go clothes shopping, which is my personal nightmare. But it was her day, so we hit the racks, and yes, we lunched after.
I remember the way each of them smiled. The things they said. The quiet moments in the car. The laughter in the most random places. They’re all gone now — my mom, dad, and grandma — and I miss them every day. So I painted something to remember them by.
🎨 The Pour Process
Go big or go home!
That third one isn’t really purple! You’ll have to watch the video to see what it looks like when it dries!
The triptych is titled Awesome Arizona Adventures — a fitting name for a piece that captures one of my favorite weeks of all time.
Each panel has a different metallic base:
One with 24k Gold
One with Fire Opal
One with Antique Copper
Then came the blues and metallics:
Metallic Blue
Metallic Cobalt Blue
Manganese Blue
Prussian Blue
Metallic White
Metallic Silver
I poured them in ribbon-like lines from one corner to the other, making a sort of “U” shape on one end and an upside-down “U” on the other. No tilting. No rotating. Just me, a canvas, and a hairdryer. (The best kind of chaotic control.)
What was I talking about?!
This was a pretty animated part of my story, I wonder what I was talking about!?
It’s a Dutch pour, but with a deeper meaning — and way more metallic shine.
There are stories behind every color and every swipe of paint, even if I didn’t say them all out loud. I think art can hold the pieces of a memory long after you’ve forgotten the exact words.
If you see this painting and feel something — maybe joy, maybe love, maybe just a warm memory of someone who made you laugh — then it worked.
📷 Want to Watch the Pour?
You can watch the whole thing unfold — no music, no editing magic, just the process, the story, and a little talking-to-myself therapy while the paint flows. It's part tribute, part therapy, part art.
🛒 This Piece Is Available
Awesome Arizona Adventures is currently available for purchase. If it speaks to you — whether for the colors, the meaning, or the energy behind it — it’s waiting for the right home.
🎨Contact us here with questions.