Journey Home

So this entry is going to be something a little different, nothing tattoo related at all. As some of you know I have a degree in Graphic Design and I am heavily into photo manipulation. Some images turn out better than others but I still love creating something with multiple pictures. I know I have been kind of quiet lately as far as posting here but I’m about to explain why..

Back in April or so my uncle was diagnosed with cancer. He went through Chemo and Radiation and all of that and it actually seemed to be helping. Over the course of a few months he had started loosing some weight which was somewhat good and somewhat bad. Eventually it was coming down to it being hard for him to breathe which sent him to the hospital a couple of times. My aunt continued to keep every single one of us as updated as he could. They had to drain fluid from his lungs and was sent home the first time and things were looking alright until about a week later. He again was having problems breathing, his oxygen levels were very low and so my parents and I made an emergency trip to their little mountain town to see him in the Hospital. I will say he did not look good at all. He didn’t look like the man I was used to seeing every summer when we went camping but I knew he was still my uncle regardless. We were hoping we all had more time together but sadly, two days after our trip to see him he peacefully passed on in his sleep. The cancer had spread to rapidly to stop. Doctors said no chemo or radiation would help. It shook my family to the core, we are still dealing with the pain even two weeks later.

My uncle I could definitely say was a mountain man. While he grew up here in Denver, he moved to a little town in the mountains called Buena Vista where he lived til the day he passed on. He had so many hobbies. He loved cars, planes, motorcycles, and trains just to name a few. He had built his own little plane and got his pilot’s license. He was a man of many talents, many passions. Now to the reason behind this posting. My uncle had a small little shed set up on his property that he filled with all kinds of train sets, all of which would run around the room on their own little tracks. The walls were painted in mountain scenery, there were buildings and towns and all of that. It’s something I will always remember about my uncle. I knew I needed to do something to help put my mind a little at ease hence the image you will see posted below.

The journey home, a title fitting for his passing. A train to symbolize his passion, the track taking him to a better place where he would no longer feel pain or have to suffer through the hardships of cancer. The eagles sending him off beneath the setting sun to better things.

This is for you Uncle Wayne, you’ve made your journey home to a better place. A place where you have all the room you want to fly those RC planes, and ride your motorcycle beneath perfect skies. You are loved and missed dearly, July 30th, 2013 will forever be a date I will never forget.

Credits for the things in the image are as follows and can be found on deviantart.com. I own no part of this image beside the final production and the beam of light from the train itself.

Train: http://raindroppe.deviantart.com/art/Train-2-158476808

Sky: http://leeorr-stock.deviantart.com/art/Sunset-Sky-Stock-001-106517238

Mountains: http://burtn.deviantart.com/art/Summer-Mountainscape-388732095

Bridge tunnel: http://fairiegoodmother.deviantart.com/art/Covered-Bridge-Stock-8-114590088

Bridge: http://fairiegoodmother.deviantart.com/art/Blue-Ridge-Mountains-Stock-45-126908399

Eagles: http://sbg-crewstock.deviantart.com/art/Bald-Eagle-5-273023526

Steam/smoke: http://frozenstocks.deviantart.com/art/Realistic-Smoke-132565611

Beam of light my own creation