"Ride to Heaven"

48x30" Oil on Canvas

This painting began about three weeks before my little brother tragically passed away. My original intention was to support one of my favorite photographers by painting one of the wild horses from her sanctuary-helping to raise awareness and keep these incredible animals out of kill shelters. My little sister, a 12-year-old badass barrel racer, shares that same passion.

At first, the horse was running through a grassland beneath a glowing sunset. Then everything happened. Those days afterward felt endless yet hazy—so foggy. I was really struggling, and the only thing that seemed to bring me any calm was going to the studio. But even then, I couldn’t paint. I’d just sit there for twenty minutes, stare at the canvas, and leave. That became my cycle for a long time.

Then my sister told me something that changed everything. She’d been sitting in his favorite spot, the place he loved to fish, when a cloud of mist suddenly rose up from the water and drifted to the exact spot where he used to stand. For a moment, it took on the shape of a person. It was three weeks after his passing, and hearing that story filled me with a sense of peace, a feeling that he was okay up there.

That’s when I knew what to do. I went back to the studio and transformed the orange sunset into a soft blue mist. Now, this horse carries his spirit -running free, guiding him on the ride to heaven.

I love you forever, Layton.