Lean on Me

by Marianne Arroyo and Dawn Rich

“Lean On Me” is a collaboration by two friends who have gone through loss, met by chance, and have been there to support each other. Dawn lost her husband prematurely and was reluctantly seeking out a grief support group at the library. Dawn wandered into what she thought was this group, but instead it was Marianne's painting group. A wonderful friendship formed. A few years after that, Marianne suffered the terrible loss of her son Eddie. Dawn was there; a steadfast and loyal friend who truly understood loss.

When the theme was announced for the Luna show, we met, brainstormed, and agreed on a concept, medium, size of the artwork, and most importantly, how we would work together to complete our project. We decided on equal roles, each artist working on one of two individual canvases that fit together. We completed our initial rough sketches together, and then we went our separate ways to work independently. Dawn painted Marianne and Marianne painted Dawn.

“Lean On Me” is a collaboration of friendship. We are leaning on each other for love and support. The sunflowers were chosen to represent joy. They move with the sun just as friendships evolve. Our completed work demonstrates the beauty of working together in a partnership based on trust, support, and understanding where both collaborators respect and encourage each other's ideas and differences. Real friendship is like that, sharing the ups and downs of life. The title “Lean On Me”, after the song by Bill Withers perfectly describes this type of friendship.