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RIP - Thoughts on Robbie Rose

Added 2020-01-25 06:29:56 +0000 UTC

Tonight I want to share some thoughts on Robbie. He's modeled for me in the past. Those familiar with my work, might of seen my artwork on him, or his ex boyfriend Jarrod. Both were incredible, and supportive of my work. They sometimes paired up or modeled individually for my projects.

Photo of Jarrod.

Many did not know that Robbie had been battling cancer for many years. We documented some of that journey in my artwork. He wanted to raise awareness about Hodgkins Lymphoma, and sometimes art is a powerful way of connecting people to the message.

You can see that especially in the first photo. The port where they send through medicine was turned into a planet. We didn't want to hide it so we acknowledged it artistically.

When we met nearly fifteen years ago, he was full of life and modeling for others. Long before I was a body artist. I was just painting canvas. I took him on a date once, and we rode my scooter. My Tmobile Sidekick fell out of my pocket during the trip! That's how far back.

We didn't go anywhere romantically (and that's ok!) but we became friends over the years, and kept in touch. I loved painting him, and he helped out at some of my events.

In recent years his health has declined, and eventually chemotherapy and natural healing just wasn't enough.

I just spoke with him a couple months ago when my own brother was looking for temporary housing. Despite battling this disease, he still offered to open up his home (instead my brother moved back to Minnesota) .

Mr. Rose was loved and will be missed. In the end, he fought cancer his way, and raised awareness in the process. If you want more information on him, please visit here:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/robert039s-memorial-fund

Farewell, my dear. May you rest peacefully.

Your friend,
Brandon