Gouache, cut vellum paper on watercolor paper

3' x 2'

"For Lawrence" is a painting inspired by the gas explosions that occurred in the Merrimack Valley. I live in North Andover, Massachusetts, and my house was impacted by the gas explosions. Even with all the loss my family experienced, it was even worse for the families in the town next door, Lawrence. Lawrence is one of the most impoverished areas in Massachusetts. So people there did not receive as much recovery support as we did in my town. I wanted to make a painting inspired by the explosions that occurred there. I used a picture that I took following the explosions for reference that included one of the houses that caught on fire, their light post, the mills, and a child that lost his home to the flames. I skewed everything and made the colors desaturated to add a somber, smoky mood to the scene. I hope that one day after the citizens recover, I can give this piece to the city of Lawrence to show the difficulties that the community was able to overcome.