Remembering Pip

Today marks three years without my brother. I think about him daily and miss him constantly, but my intent with this post isn't to invoke tears. Rather, I'd like to remember Pip for the kind and creative person he was; my hope is that folks smile as they read this.

Although my brother didn't live the longest life, he lived an incredibly creative life, and I am fortunate to be able to surround myself with his art. Phil stopped by my house the other day with his daughter and while looking around my living room, Zizi said, "I've never been in a house with so much art." It was a huge compliment. Of course, much of the art is mine... but nearly an equal amount of it was painted by Pip. I've chosen some of my favorite pieces (there are many hanging on the walls that I haven't included, believe it or not) to talk about today. He was prolific in his splatter-painting and off-the-wall ideas.

The first piece I'd like to showcase is a green-and-blue chaos that I wake up to each and every morning. It hangs beside my bed. For a while, it hung in my parents house (when Pip was living there the year before he died) and I admired it every time I was over. It didn't look right on their wall, though. My mom's palette is gold, and with the exception of some yellow paint thrown into the mix as a pop of unexpected color, this piece just didn't work. Eventually, it came to live at my house and I love it. It looks like it belongs here, too. It's hard to tell from the photograph, but there's silver amongst the splatters. A hint of shimmer.

My favorite piece of all time is one of Pip's monsters. You know how people occasionally say, "In the event of a fire, the one thing I'd save is..."? Well, in the event of a fire, after I got the cats and dogs out of the house, the one thing I'd save is my Peace Out Like a Mother Fucker. There's a story behind this one, not surprisingly, and I'm going to share it with you.

While living in Carlisle, Pip painted a monster that hung in his apartment. It was a lot bit creepy and a little bit cute. I loved it. Every time I saw it -- or any time we talked about art, for that matter -- I'd ask him to paint a monster for me. (If I'm being honest, I wanted that monster; I thought it was the coolest thing.)

Pip always said, "I'll get to it, Sis" or "Someday, Sis. Just be patient."

I tried to be patient, but that didn't stop me from pestering him from time to time. And do you know what? My pestering paid off because I ended up receiving my own monster for Christmas.

Pip and I used to have hours-long phone conversations. I do understand that this is possibly not the norm for brothers and sisters -- especially brothers and sisters who are five years apart in age -- but we frequently talked on the phone for long stretches of time. And when I say long stretches... three hours or more. We had a lot to say and rarely got sick of one another. We participated in a marathon phone call at least once a month, sometimes more than that.

One time while communicating about what could have been any number of things, Pip wondered, "What's your favorite phrase?"

I asked for clarification. "D'you mean my favorite quote, or just, like, my favorite thing to say?"

Pip: Just something you say frequently. Something you like to say.

Me: [Thinking long and hard] Well... I guess "Peace out like a mother fucker."

Pip: [Snorting with amusement] Wait. What?

Me: Peace out like a mother fucker. I say it every morning to the pets when I leave the house. "Okay, guys. I'll see you after school. I'm gonna peace out like a mother fucker."

For Christmas that year, I received a teal monster (my favorite color!) with the words "Peace Out Like a Mother Fucker" (my favorite phrase) incorporated into the design. And that is what I would save in a fire.

My teal monster wasn't the only piece of Christmas art I received over the years. Another time, Pip showed up with everyone's gift except mine. I mean, he had some small stuff for me (that might've been the year he gifted everyone in the family with his/her own box of moist wipes for the bathroom... he couldn't stop giggling!), but when we concluded our gift exchange, he very nonchalantly was like, "I still have one more thing for you, Sis, but it's in the car." He then proceeded to leave my house for a few minutes, returning with a gigantic canvas.

When I say "gigantic," I mean it's 48 x 36 inches. It's BIG.

A splatter-paint masterpiece is what he gifted me that year, complete with a broken plate in the mix. He'd been using the plate as a palette when it slipped from his hands and crashed to the floor, shattering into big shards and settling amongst the paint. Believing that it was meant to be a part of the art, Pip allowed it to dry there.

I get more compliments on that artwork than any other piece, I believe.

Pip had been working on another piece for me, and he'd wanted to give it to me for Christmas, but it wasn't done. He wasn't happy with it and if you look at it, you can sort of see that he wasn't really happy in general at this point in time. It's dark... and scary... It reminds me of The Upside-Down World from Stranger Things. He never officially gave this one to me, because he passed away before he deemed it complete, but I love it regardless. It hangs in my living room, across from the splatter-paint masterpiece.

Last but not least, I've got some pieces that Pip and I made together. He loved to draw what he referred to as "Bar Monsters." In fact, if you ever sat beside him at the bar, odds are he pulled out a sketchpad, a zippered bag of Sharpies, handed a marker to you, and told you to "Draw a line."

From that line, Pip would create the most bizarre monsters. Many were inappropriate, all of them were weirdly adorable, and we made a series of three that hung in my first art show at the Garryowen. Only one sold (It's Oli've Ever Wanted), but I still have Should've Watched More Grey's Anatomy (Pip accidentally gave the monster two left hands) and Dizzy Dad's Disco Disaster. He drew the monsters; I turned them into stencils and created cut-paper canvases from them.

Since his death, I've taken a few other drawings of his and kept the Sis 'n' Pip art alive. Sometimes I scan them and turn the images into stationery that sells on my Etsy page, but I keep the originals. They hang in my kitchen with the two he designed specifically for my art show... and each time I see them, I am reminded of Pip and his creativity and all of the amazing art he and I made together over the years.

I love that boy so very much. I always will.

I hope that he has found peace.