Grateful Dead Portrait

The Grateful Dead's music has been an instrumental part of my life since my teenage years. While it's hard to summarize in words the ways in which their music has influenced me as a person, I have a vivid memory of writing the lyrics to "Attics of my Life" in my journal as a teenager in high school and being completely blown away by the beauty and depth of a single song and thinking, "wow - I get it." (thank you Robert Hunter). While I never had the pleasure of seeing the Dead live with Jerry on account of when I was born, getting to see their 50th anniversary Fare Thee Well shows in Chicago in 2015 was a close second and a dream come true. As my love for the Dead's music and culture has continued to grow over the years, I thought it only made sense to illustrate a poster of the core members. I love how the cosmic blues brother, Pigpen, is prominently pictured in the center. A highlight of my life will forever be walking down the aisle to marry my best friend to a beautiful instrumental rendition of "Mountains of the Moon" played by Tom Constanten on piano. I hope this piece resonates with fellow deadheads.