Look Into Their Eyes And See Yourself
Engaging people is a dance of trust can take years. As I walk through Venice Beach, West Los Angeles and Skid row asking who wants to be painted, I give out money, food, and supplies. I have witnessed physical abuse, drug deals and unimaginable squalor.Their lives break my heart. 

One of many movie theater and public exhibitions of paintings with biographies.

Roy, 53, was a successful electrician in Arizona, making a very good living. When his mother, with whom he was very close, became terminally ill he came to Los Angeles to take care of her.  
While in LA, life spiraled out of control for Roy. He was hit by a car and the accident left him crippled.  One leg is useless, the other impaired. Then his mother eventually succumbed to her cancer. Roy inherited his mother's house and the rest of her estate however he was swindled and evicted. He has a lawyer but the legal system is slow. He ended up on the streets shortly thereafter.
Roy spends most of his time lying on the sidewalk in West LA.  Occasionally “someone from an agency” comes by and gives him a bath and a haircut and then returns him to the sidewalk.  Roy desperately wants to get his legs fixed and get back to work.
4 feet x 5 feet, oil on canvas
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Wendy, 46, wears a wig because she is dying of stomach cancer and her hair fell-out. Many people on Skid Row call her "Mom". 
Wendy’s mother died when she was 5 years old, leaving her with an abusive father. When her grandmother died 3 years later her “life went to hell.” Grandma was the only person who cared about her.  At 14 the court emancipated Wendy from her father. There were no social services so  to survive she dropped out of school and became a prostitute. She has had 2 abusive husbands, lost 2 children to a drunk driver, and has been on the streets, addicted to crack, for 20 years.
Wendy just wants to be happy, but that has eluded her: “God doesn't seem to want me to be happy... I’m still really a child, wanting to learn to live and love.”
4 feet x 4 feet, oil on canvas