On March 5th, 2016, Frank Omier died of sepsis. His two-month-old daughter was in his arms, wearing a yellow and white striped cotton pajama. His mother and father, his brothers, his mother-in-law and father-in-law were all there, and so was I, his wife. He was gone, at age 43, after a seven-month fight with lymphoma that went from bad to worse to absolutely horrendous.

When Frank was diagnosed with lymphoma, we were told he would likely be fine. Frank kept repeating that he needed to be well again by January, when the baby was due. At first, everyone we interacted with seemed to think that was a reasonable expectation. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.

While Frank was sick but expecting to recover, he would often remind me to work on his website. “I must be feeling better, because I’m thinking about my website,” he said in an e-mail in October, when he was hospitalized for a colon obstruction. I was his webmaster, so he was reminding me to get to work. Unfortunately, between trying to do work myself, managing the fatigue of pregnancy and taking care of Frank, the website didn’t get the attention it needed.

I’m remedying that problem now. This website is a place to showcase Frank’s art, something that he was only just starting to do in life. It will also be a place to tell more of Frank’s story and the things that mattered to him. Lastly, I hope visitors can learn and be inspired by Frank’s final wishes: To have his skeleton used for art students to learn artistic anatomy.

I’d like to sell prints of some of Frank’s work in the future, but I’m still working on making that happen. In the meantime, the galleries here give a fairly comprehensive overview of his work. I’m also hoping to have two art shows of his work in 2017.

I’m immensely grateful for the many people who contributed to my GoFundMe campaign. If you feel moved to help me and Sofia financially, you can do so here.

Frank wanted Sofia, our daughter, to appreciate beauty around her and to always strive for excellence. I hope his life and work inspire you to do so as well.

 

— Emily Liedel

In Frank’s own words, from his original website:

I’m a classically trained artist based in Portland, Oregon. I usually work in oils, although I also do occasional watercolors and produce drawings in charcoal pencil.

On this site you’ll find:

Zen paintings: Small meditations on the beauty of everyday objects

Landscapes and cityscapes: I enjoy finding beauty in both nature and the built environment

Portraits and nudes: My primary training is in portraiture and nudes, and I am also available for portrait commissions

Animals: The challenge of capturing the personality of a dog or a chicken intrigues me

Still Lives: While I often do simple still lives as part of the zen paintings, I also like to experiment with more complicated paintings of everyday objects

If you’d like to find out about new works for sale, upcoming events like shows and workshops and learn about the story behind my paintings, please sign up for my newsletter below.