This was painted as part of my Mantra series. 

At the time I had just lost a childhood mentor and it really hit me in my heart. The lesson I found in that was that nothing is permanent and you have to be willing to loose everything. It really makes you appreciate what you have. So I wrote this on my canvas and painted around it. I've included pictures of the process so you can see where it came from. 

The outcome was easy, bright and cheerful. But the emotion the painting began with was sorrow.