Sad news about Rich Cartwright

[demotlj]

I couldn't see the site that @Johanna-Kim posted for sending condolences so I have emailed the funeral home sited in the obituary to find out if there is another place to convey our sympathies. If they send another link, I will post it here (or if someone has an alternative link, could you post it?) Otherwise, I will see if at least I could compile everyone's comments in this thread and email it to the funeral home to give to the family. I'll let you know what I find out.

[Judy Elizabeth Wilson]

Rich was a star on the forum. He helped a lot of people with his advice and I know he will be missed by many of us. Very sad to hear this.

[Spencer Hale]

I can tell that Rich really made an impact here in our SVS community. Sad news indeed.

[KathrynAdebayo]

@demotlj and everyone,
It's so wonderful that you emailed the funeral home... thanks for being a spokesperson for our community.

I've been floating an idea around in my mind that I wanted to share here to consult about: could we also send artwork that we do in his honor? It could be a simple sketch of a paintbrush or flower or something else that is done in his honor. Or it could be a full piece like what @lmrush posted in the contest thread. I would be willing to have them all printed if we could track down a physical address to send them to. Otherwise, perhaps they could be sent as attachments to the email? All ideas to build on this welcome.

[peteolczyk]

That’s really upsetting, he seemed like such a talent and a gentleman, I wish I’d got to meet him. So sorry everyone, deepest sympathy and respect to all his friends and family.

[julian beresford]

Just waking up to seeing this now, I'm sorry to hear this news and would like to pass on my condolences to the family and thanks @Chip-Valecek for letting us now.

[chrisaakins]

I just saw this. I am saddened by the loss. He was a great friend to all of us on the forum. He will be missed. I will be praying for his family.

[peteolczyk]

@KathrynAdebayo I think that’s a really thoughtful idea.

[Eli]

@KathrynAdebayo Really cool idea

[Kevin Longueil]

@Chip-Valecek This was his last post https://forum.svslearn.com/topic/7059/here-is-my-rough-sketch-for-love
Super sad - it makes me think of Tom Wait’s “ Green Grass”.

[Chip Valecek]

@Kevin-Longueil maybe we should all take his last sketch and finish it in our own styles.

[Kevin Longueil]

@Chip-Valecek i was thinking the same, super heavy image though...

[demotlj]

As I mentioned earlier, I emailed the funeral home to see if there is a place we could send condolences and this is what I received from them today:
+++++++

Hi Laurie,

Your information is correct, we have been handling the arrangements for Richard Cartwright. The family has requested that the online obituary not go online until the paper obituary has gone out on the 28th, it will be available for condolences at that time. I'm sure the condolences will be appreciated and welcomed from the online art community.

Regards,

Skye Peterson
Office Administrator
Thompson Funeral Service
613 Ward St. Nelson, BC V1L 1T2
Phone: (250) 352 - 3613
Fax: (250) 352 - 1745
+++++++++

I will try to compile the things that people have said about Rich in this thread and post those to that site next week. (If you don't want your comments added, let me know.)

For those who want to post their own condolences to the funeral home website after they add Rich's page on the 28th, the link for the funeral home is https://www.thompsonfs.ca/obituaries/

[Whitney Simms]

I’m not sure what I think would be the best way to honor our svs member. I have so many mixed emotions. They range from my own legacy and message that my art will leave to my loved ones when I am no longer here, to wonder about rich’s Last sketch he shared here. I’m not sure a flood of images from the cemetery is the best thing for his family (this family I know nothing about). But maybe for those that want to finish the drawing let them do so. (Which i still think is a great idea on the other hand). But how about finishing the message that we interpret from the sketch. How do we keep those who have gone on before us close to us. Like a “gone but not forgotten” concept. I personally feel my family members that have passed closer in settings that we always shared. At the beach or at the lake. That’s where I feel my mother in law and my nephew. Not at the cemetery. But every person is so different when it comes to this.

I don’t know, but I know next month I would like to do something. What do you guys think.

[Heather Boyd]

Wow that’s a shock and terribly upsetting.

[Heather Boyd]

@Chip-Valecek that be a grand idea to say goodbye.

[nasvikdraws]

I am so sorry. My deepest condolences to his family. I saw his rough sketch for the "Love" contest from a few days ago. I can't believe it. His passion for art was really inspiring!

[Sas]

@Chip-Valecek It is a good idea to draw something for him although his last sketch makes me so sad, with the child in the cemetery. It kind of rubs me the wrong way to do particularly that one, if you know what I mean. But that's just my two cents.

[demotlj]

Given that his family may not know that his last sketch was of a cemetery and that it might cause them additional grief to know that, I agree with those who don’t think it would be a good idea to use that sketch. I do think, however, doing our own interpretations of “gone but still present,” in his memory would be very nice or even, as @KathrynAdebayo said some very simple paintings of a flower or something to post with the condolences. For the family, it’s really going to be the fact that you reached out that is most important and adding a simple visual image to it will be even more touching. (I hope I’m not sounding too much of a know it all here but I’ve dealt with a lot of grieving families in my ministry. I remember one man who laid every card he received out on his dining room table so that he could see those cards whenever he felt lonely. The other advantage of keeping it simple is that we might actually follow through on our good intentions.)

[demotlj]

Here’s an idea: riffing off of @KathrynAdebayo’s idea, we could send “flowers” by everyone posting a flower drawn in your own style, as simply or as elaborately as you want, which could be either posted to their condolence page or even better if someone could figure out how to do it, we could put them in a separate thread to be printed off and sent to the funeral home for the family from the forum.