“Stay In There!”

This commission was done in colored pencil, on 16” x 20” acid-free archival paper.

It was a wonderful tribute to a firefighter who had passed away unexpectedly, not too long before his planned retirement. I had known this man, so it was a very personal piece for me to create. Every image in the piece was personal and reflective of Bob.

The title, Stay In There!, is written on the fire hose in the lower left corner, and comes from a specific training day earlier in Bob’s career, where the chief had ordered Bob and several others to remain in the burning building to complete their training exercise. It was a questionable command at the time, but because everyone survived, it became “one of the good ones.” The “good ones” are stories firefighters love to tell over and over (and over) throughout the years.