Descanse en paz Alicia

Digital art using  phone apps and Photoshop
In March of 2018 our dear friend and neighbor Alicia had a stroke and then a seizure. Out of the blue she was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease at the young age of just 56. This dreadful prion disease strikes with no warning and there is no treatment or cure. She died just three months after her first symptoms of forgetfulness. We visited with her the day before she passed away and that night I took to the computer in an attempt to process my emotions around her sudden illness. Alicia loved bright colors, purple in particular. To me she was always smiling yet she also had a wonderfully sharp wit and dry sense of humor. When I found this photo of her on Facebook it provided the perfect starting point. Later, at her memorial service, we spent time with her daughters and beautiful family, some of whom wore traditional Oaxacan dresses.  I was really honored by her daughter's kind words about the portrait of her that I had made. 

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"I'd like to use the photo you posted to my mom's facebook page for the invite I'm creating for my mom's memorial. It's just such a lovely picture and I feel the artistic styling capture my mom's spirit." ~ Ana Maria Liriano