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A Graceful Death and Father Dominic

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The A Graceful Death exhibition and I need your support.

I am painting my brother, my youngest brother, Father Dominic Rolls, as the last and final painting for the A Graceful Death exhibition.  

The A Graceful Death exhibition is a loving and profound, difficult and challenging, uplifting and inspiring collection of portraits and words of, and from, people contemplating the end of their lives. The exhibition has grown to include 53 paintings, and I have decided, that with the paintings, the music, the videos, the poems, the essays and the interviews, that it is big enough. It is an event, an experience, and the time has come to paint my last portrait, interview my last person, and let the exhibition speak for itself.

Enter Father Dominic Rolls. Not quite in the way we wanted, but step forward all the same, Fr Dominic Rolls, and thank you.

Dominic was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer at the beginning of this year, has undergone radical surgery and is undergoing intense and prolonged chemotherapy.  Dominic is an ordained Catholic Priest with a large parish to run, teaching posts to fulfil, and endless people to look after day and night.  I wrote of Dominic here in a blog at the time 

http://antoniarollsartistextraordinaire.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/father-dominic-rolls-julia.html

It is no exaggeration to say that when news of Dominc's cancer became known, the whole of the western hemisphere broke out in prayer for him and his recovery. Dominic really touches people, and makes a difference. His parish love him, his friends love him, and all those who come into contact with him remember his humour, his wisdom and his kindness. And his toughness; Dom does not suffer fools gladly.  And he works very, very hard.

And so, it turns out that a member of my own family will be the subject for the final A Graceful Death exhibition painting.  I have interviewed Dom once, will interview him again, and have everything ready for the painting to begin.  I may even do 2 paintings of him, one now, and another later.  I may add too, that I am finding this painting and our interviews very painful indeed.  Dom knows this, and is supporting me, and every one of his family, in his deeply compassionate, wise and loving way.  Dominic, and all the wonderful, brave, inspiring people who have come into the A Graceful Death exhibition and left their images and words behind with it, Dominic and those past sitters, are teaching us quite simply, about life and death.

I am asking for help from all of you to help pay for this painting.  The A Graceful Death exhibition and project does not charge anyone to take part, I make no money at all for each work, and rely on the kindness and support of all those who can and do, contribute.  I so want to end the paintings for this exhibition that is so deeply connected to my heart and soul, with a wonderful tribute to Dominic, my brother, and his journey.  I want to pay tribute to and remember all of my sitters, all those who let us listen to them and see them for a short while, before they passed on to the next and final stages of their lives.

Thank you.  It goes without saying that I will post updates and progress reports as often as I can.  Thank you! 

www.antoniarolls.co.uk

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antonia rolls
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