I’ve loved this painting since the day I painted it and, other than the neutral earthy tones and lines, the simplicity in the composition, I wasn’t sure it had a purpose until now.

My Dad who is living with dementia is experiencing the simple solitary, existance in his mind, the confusion and exhaustion at the end of his life. There are remnants of the youthful Edward J. Duffy lll in the light in his eyes, his smile and the shape of his face, but the last bits of his vibrancy have been dropping leaf by leaf. 

There’s a beauty to this stage of life. I get very close to his face, smile till he smiles and tell him he need not remember anything or even do anything now. He relaxes, and sighs with relief.

This painting I did well before this stage of his life describes his condition perfectly. The twisted trunk, some branches already dead, but still beautiful in its own right at the end of its life.