In the Eye of the Beholder, 2012


Oil and gold leaf on panel


14” x 18”



I did this piece when I first found out I had the degenerative eye disease called keratoconus.

I was full of fear.

Losing my eyesight had always been one of my great terrors, and now it looked like having serious vision challenges was going to be a part of my life forever.

This painting began a series of works that turned into my first solo show, Beauty in the Eye, which was all about vision loss and eye diseases.

My family and community, and even total strangers, rallied around me in extraordinary ways during that time and donated enough money that I was able to go get the then considered experimental treatment epi-on cross-linking done and an intac implanted into my left eye.

I look back on my life at this time as a time of great miracles and filling of my soul with a solid reality of the goodness of people and love that is available in the world.

I would need to draw on this well deeply in the next few years of my life.