CC's Chair
Oil on canvas
11 " x 14"

"CC's Chair" is a tribute to Charles Christopher, better know as CC to his cousins. CC was always a little bit different … sensitive, creative, with an alternative perspective on everything. When he announced that he was gay, no one was particularly surprised.

CC did not get involved in most of our island projects. So we were surprised when, returning from an off-shore adventure, we found that he had re-built a chair in an old maple tree where his mother used to like to go. All of the pieces had been found, and not cut, yet the seat was solid, comfortable, and beautiful. The year we learned that CC was dying of brain cancer, Tony made two quarter-moon faces for the back of the chair to spell out "CC". He took a photograph and brought it to Boston. CC loved it.

I painted this soon after CC died. To me, the negative space looks like a heart, with the limb of the old maple tree tearing through the middle of it. It broke my heart when he died. I still miss him.