In my previous Shan Do Forever post I shared how I had been working on a very special art piece of Shannen Doherty and her Mama Rosa to gift to her at Fan Expo. To recap, I had been working on it for weeks and was in the process of sketching in Mama Rosa when I got the devastating news of Shannen’s passing. With that I stopped picking up my pencils as my heart was broken hearing that she had lost her battle, but also because I would never get the opportunity to gift it to her. I was not upset for my adult self but for my inner child that always dreamt of one day crossing paths with her and telling her what a bad ass she was to me.

Since her passing, I have been reminiscing a lot about all the ways I have admired Shannen and my intuition was telling me to finish the piece. It was devastating looking at it unfinished and on top of it working on it had started to be very therapeutic to me and my own journey. As someone who lost their mother to breast cancer I always wish I could share things with her, I wanted to give her something special that she could share with hers. A symbol of the unbreakable bond between a mother and daughter. Something that nothing, including cancer, could ever break. Something I myself am all too familiar with. I had hoped the heart and soul I put into making the art would transfer into a sense of joy and peace that would remind them both of the strength that emerges on the darkest of days because of the spark that is ignited from the love they both share.

So with that here is the finished piece. I have decided to call it Unbreakable. Not just because of the mother daughter bond but also because of Shannen’s strength to always endure.

The art piece was done in pencil and chalk pastels. I chose the brown background because to me it gives it that country girl Tennessee charm, reminds me of her love of horses, and it also gives the the art piece a sense of warmth. I considered pink for breast cancer awareness, but I didn’t want the piece to be just about her battle with cancer because, just like my Mom, cancer doesn’t define her as a person. What does define her are all the amazing qualities she shared with the world while she was here.

Maybe someway, somehow I can still get the art piece to Mama Rosa one day. Especially since my original plan was to gift it to Shannen so she could share it with her. I just have to trust my intuition that it was meant for me to finish this piece. Until then if Mama Rosa ever comes across this post I hope it brings a smile to her face knowing how much her daughter was loved by so many.

Stay Spooky & Magical!
LDG Nicole

See more of my portrait art on the Spitting Image page of my portfolio website.