This year's Prince Tribute hits a little different. The day before Labor Day our house caught on fire while I was in Massachusetts getting my daughter settled in college.  A neighbor called and told me to get out of the house because the back of it was on fire. I called my siblings and watched our home burn on FaceTime. As the fire raged through our home, I lost many paintings and personal belongings.  If it did not burn, it was covered in smoke and soot. The very first painting I did after Prince passed away and several others were severely damaged. Many more were covered in soot. As I have begun the process of sorting through the remains of our home, I feel blessed to be alive and able to create something that marks this momentous occasion. I am told that 12 fire trucks and over 50 firemen worked tirelessly to put the fire out in our home. I feel like I am living proof that God will give us beauty for ashes as described in Isaiah 61. The firemen told my siblings that had we been home- my daughter and I would have died.  In arriving home after the fire, while I was devastated, there was a painting of my parents that was covered in soot, but the debris settled just enough to see them looking back at me- reminding me of family, love and legacy.  The paintings in the Glam Art Gallery represent my sheer admiration for the life and creative genius that was Prince. One of my fondest memories of Prince was a New Year's Eve concert that I was watching with my Mom. During the concert Prince was rocking out in his full royal badness fashion and then the atmosphere shifted. He started to worship God. I read an interview where he talked about wanting to talk to God. I think about the impact of his life, his work and his spiritual evolution.  I hope to honor him through the live painting that will be created tonight. The painting below is actually the first painting I painted live in 2016 at Gage Lounge for PrinceDayHou.