Brian from Kroger

Mixed media portrait

Brian is not depicted as an idea, a symbol, or a story about what may come. He is rendered as he is — present, open, and unmistakably human. The drawing focuses on what cannot be measured: kindness held in the eyes, familiarity in posture, joy that rests comfortably in the body.

For thirty years, Brian worked at Kroger. Not as a footnote, but as a constant. Over decades, he became part of the fabric of a place — someone people expected to see, someone whose presence quietly mattered. In that constancy, the ordinary became sacred.

Created immediately upon returning home from Washington, D.C., this work was born out of a quiet but unmistakable calling to honor a life that radiates love in everyday spaces. At the height of a professional milestone, the artist felt compelled to pause, turn outward, and respond not with words alone, but with hands.

Visible cross-hatching, layered marks, and restrained color emphasize time, patience, and care. The portrait does not idealize or sentimentalize. Instead, it stays close — allowing dignity to emerge through presence rather than performance.

Brian’s uniform, name tag, and gentle expression situate him firmly in the everyday. This is not a portrait of fame, but of faithfulness. Of showing up. Of love practiced daily, over a lifetime.

This work is paired with an original song written to live alongside the portrait, extending the same intention through sound: to honor a child of God whose life bears fruit through kindness, warmth, and human connection.