It was the grace a family member held until the very end that inspired Kate McCormack to embody that through art.
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The painting, titled Flow, was created to capture the essence of life that still flowed through the terminally ill woman even in her dying days.
Ms McCormack entered the painting in a competition called Life in Death, run by Palliative Care Australia in conjunction with the ACT branch of the organisation.
Palliative Care Australia chief executive Liz Callaghan said the competition, being held for the first time this year, was designed to draw attention to the Dying to Talk initiative.
Introduced in 2015, Dying to Talk is designed to get Australians talking about dying and their end-of-life wishes with their family, friends and health professionals.
"We often have people tell us that talking about death is difficult," Ms Callaghan said.
"Art is one way to express important and deep feelings that we may struggle to talk about. Despite being something that touches all our lives, death does not receive a lot of visibility in Australian society," she said.
Through the competition, the organisation hoped to address the sensitive issue in a non-threatening way.
"Through sharing their art, competition entrants are sharing their reflections on death and the important place it has in all our lives. With more conversation comes better support for people who are approaching the end of life, as well as their families," Ms Callaghan said.
For artist Ms McCormack, the competition was a way to remember her loved one.
"In all the times I saw her, she smiled and obviously it was a hard thing for her, but she just seemed to have this spark about her."
Ms McCormack said the brush with death had made her look into the issue a bit more.
"I think that while death is an eventuality for all, it is good to be able to talk about it and what our wishes are.
"It brings such sadness, and I think that's why people don't normally talk about it. But palliative care is what is there for us in the end, to assist us in making us comfortable," Ms McCormack said.
Entries for the art competition are open until August 14, and there is $2000 in prizemoney up for grabs. Shortlisted works will be on display in Canberra at the M16 Artspace from September 29 to October 9.
See dyingtotalk.org.au/art to find out more or to enter.
