Sitting on the Inspiration Side: Art, Grief & the People Who Walk Beside Us

🩵 This is me with my husband, Juan—my person, my encourager, and the one who prints, engraves, and co-designs much of my artwork with me.

Several years ago, I found my way back to my artwork while grieving the loss of my brother.

Painting became part of my therapy—a place to put some of the emotions I didn’t always have words for. It gave me moments of peace and purpose, and a place where my mind could let go of thoughts long enough to begin to heal.

T

hat season is part of the reason I named my business Cheryl Zapata Art & Inspiration.

Most days, what I share falls on the art side of that name—a new watercolor, something Juan and I have created from one of my paintings, a glimpse of the Delaware coast that inspired me, or a piece that has found its way into someone’s home.

But there is another side to the name.

The inspiration side.

And every so often, I feel drawn to sit there for a while.

Because there is always someone who needs encouragement.

Someone quietly carrying grief.

Someone struggling more than they are saying.

Someone whose smile may not tell the whole story.

Someone who simply needs to be reminded that they matter and that they do not have to carry everything alone.

So today, this is for you.

✨ Keep going.

🌿 Give yourself grace.

🤝 Let someone walk beside you.

🙏 It’s okay to ask for help.

💌 Reach out to someone you trust and let them know how you’re really doing.

Sometimes encouragement doesn’t arrive as a grand gesture. Sometimes it looks like a phone call. A cup of coffee. A hand reaching across the table. Someone willing to sit with us when there aren’t any perfect words.

And sometimes it looks like your person.

Juan has been that person for me through so many seasons of my life. He encourages me, creates alongside me, and has helped turn my paintings into many of the pieces that now make up Cheryl Zapata Art.

So if you have a “Juan”—your person who stays close, listens, encourages you, and helps carry some of the weight—hold them a little tighter today. 🩵

And if you are the person carrying something heavy right now, please remember this:

You matter.

Your story matters.

And asking someone to walk beside you is not weakness. Sometimes it is the very thing that helps us find our way forward.

With love and encouragement,

Cheryl

Cheryl Zapata Art & Inspiration