Remembering a Dad Lost to Testicular Cancer

Welcome Home Dad - Francis O'Connell

Frankie O'Connell Jr. passed away in April 2004 after a ten month battle with testicular cancer. With his passing he left behind 3 children, Jaclyn, Frankie III and Ryan. Nine years later, as a freshman in college, Frankie III, composed a charcoal drawing that really shows a glimpse into how testicular cancer and the loss of his dad has affected his life.

In Frankie III's words:

Welcome Home Dad - Francis O'Connell

This piece was a charcoal drawing done for my Drawing II. The prompt was a transgender self portrait, but I pushed that to be more of a metaphorical sense. The hammer and beer bottle symbolize the things I never got to do with my dad for the first time, build or fix things, learn how to construct, and have my first beer with my dad. My dad passed of testicular cancer when I was nine and that what the misshapen and deformed genital area represents. So to fit the transgender guidelines, I feel that I missed out on learning these things that society says makes you a man. This piece is 6 feet tall by about 2 and a half feet.