24″ x 24″
Mixed media Oil

“Cherish” honors the unsung heroes in our lives who loved without condition and offered support just by being there.

When I was a child, we visited my grandparents in Flint, Michigan. One day, my grandfather took me to a museum. I’m sure he had been there many times before. But he didn’t rush me through it. He patiently walked beside me, waiting while I took in everything I saw. He gave me the freedom to stop, look, wonder, and experience the museum at my own pace.

At the end of our visit, we went into the gift shop where I found a little furry zebra figurine I absolutely fell in love with, and my grandfather bought it for me. I remember holding that little zebra in the car on the way home, touching its soft fur and feeling so happy. That little zebra became connected to the entire experience—the museum, the time I with my grandfather, the feeling of being patiently and lovingly accompanied, and the happiness of discovering something beautiful.

If I hadn’t had that little zebra to hold onto, I have wondered if I would remember that day so vividly. Would I recall the feeling of being with my grandfather in quite the same way? I’ll never know. But I do know that decades later, zebras carry the memory.

For me, Cherish is ultimately a painting about remembering what matters… the people who love us, the little things that somehow become enormously meaningful, and how a moment we might never have expected to remember can remain with us for a lifetime—sometimes because of something as simple as a little furry zebra held in the back seat of a car.

Cherish has sold but you can see my other zebra art or explore creating a custom painting.