How Love, Music, and Art Help Us Keep Them Close
This is the one...the painting that took me almost a year to create; the painting I cried through, fell apart through, got lost in for days, and got excited for when I spent two hours painting his cute butt and got it just right. Somewhere between the painting and the memories, I found a little healing—a quiet place where grief and love could exist together.
This is a painting of Jeffrey Paul Ulbrich - the man I fell in love with, the man I shared my life with, and the man I wanted to grow old with. Life doesn't often work out the way we want it to, but I don't want this painting to be about his death. It is about his life, his amazing talent as a musician, and the legacy he left behind through his music.
Jeff was an extraordinary guitar player. He dedicated his life to music - lived it, breathed it, and made sacrifices that most of us wouldn’t, to keep creating and to keep playing. While he created and loved many different genres of music in his lifetime, I can only describe his latest work as hauntingly beautiful. It’s the kind of music that speaks to your soul, sends shivers down your spine, and for those sensitive souls like me, moves you to the point of tears.
Jeff had a presence that most people dreamed of - he had this insane gift of connecting with so many people in the deepest, sincerest way possible. He touched the lives of many, both with his music and with his compassion for others.
Most importantly, he was the kindest soul, passionate, intelligent, insanely funny, and loyal to a fault.
What Jeff left behind was more than music. He left behind all the best parts of himself through the people that he shared his life with; through all the people that he loved so dearly. It is up to us now to share his story, to listen to and share his music, to share his kindness and compassion with others, and to honor his legacy.
I don’t know why exactly it is so important to me that he is not forgotten, that his musical legacy lives on long after he is gone. We didn’t have a chance to say goodbye, to tell each other what we wanted after we’re gone. But I just know in my heart that Jeff would have wanted his music to be heard, to be felt, and so until I see him on the other side, I am going to keep telling his story and keep sharing his music.
It probably goes without saying that I will be keeping this painting in my personal collection. In time, I’ll make fine art prints available for anyone who feels a connection to Jeff and would like to keep a little piece of his story close. More to come.
Thank you for letting me share his story with you. If you’re carrying your own loss, I hope this story offers you a quiet place to pause, remember, and perhaps feel a little less alone.
With much love and gratitude,
Daniela
Please see below for links to Jeff’s music. Please listen, share, and listen again. It’s that good! I highly recommend sitting in a quiet room and turning up the volume to take it in completely.
From Beyond These Walls -
Listen HERE on Spotify
Listen HERE on Pandora
Listen HERE on YouTube.
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To shop fine art prints, click HERE.
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