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He plans to paint 41 portraits of the people who have cared for and supported him through his illness. He invites his subjects into his tidy studio, attached to the home he shares with his wife in San Rafael, then spends two hours with them, painting and talking and just sharing a thoughtful energy.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s a gift, Vincent said, for the sitter and for himself. The first hour is usually quiet as he focuses on their face and thinks of all the ways this person has shown up for him. He silently thanks them as he paints, his gratitude becoming a part of the portrait.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just so incredibly moved and touched by how much care and how many people have gone into my recovery,\u201d Vincent said. \u201cThat\u2019s essentially what sparked this idea. I didn\u2019t know how to express how much gratitude I had and how thankful I was for their time and what they\u2019re doing for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
A different kind of recovery<\/p>\n
Vincent\u2019s brain surgery was about as successful as he could have hoped, and the surgeon was able to remove all of the tumor he could see. It took him months to recover from the operation and some complications after the fact, but he\u2019s feeling good now. He goes for walks daily and out on his bike once a week, and he said he\u2019s recovered much of the strength he lost after the surgery.<\/p>\n
Still, Vincent may die of glioblastoma\u00a0\u2014 most people with this cancer do within a year. The tumors are vicious, spreading rootlike into healthy brain tissue. Though his surgery went well, there probably are microscopic cancer cells still in Vincent\u2019s brain. He\u2019s undergone radiation and chemotherapy, and is currently wearing a device that delivers electrical fields to his brain designed to interrupt cancer cell division.<\/p>\n
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He\u2019s been treated at Sutter Health\u2019s California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, which has been boosting its neuro-oncology program in preparation for a new center opening in 2028.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Artist Vincent\u00a0Serritella, who had a brain tumor removed,\u00a0paints a portrait of Dr. Akanksha Sharma, his neuro-oncologist, in his San Rafael home studio.<\/p>\n
Lauren Segal\/For the S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Indeed, three months before Vincent showed up at the hospital, Sutter had hired Dr. Akanksha Sharma, a neuro-oncologist who also specializes in palliative care for people with brain cancer. Being assigned to a palliative care doctor can be upsetting for some patients, she said, but the idea isn\u2019t to prepare for death so much as to live life as well and fully as they can amid a horrible diagnosis.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to live your life. You do your best, you still talk about the future and plan for the future,\u201d Sharma said\u00a0\u2014 but she also talks with patients about their legacy, and what they want to leave behind.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe majority of my patients are not living in any illusion that they will have the same full life. They\u2019re taking the time to learn to live in the moment,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople will say to me that they seem almost too happy. And I\u2019m like, \u2018You\u2019re allowed to be happy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cBoth things can live together,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can accept that \u2018this is a terrible thing that might shorten my life,\u2019 but we can also do things that make you happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Living with glioblastoma<\/p>\n
She talked with Vincent and his wife about communication, and how much Vincent wanted to know about his own illness; he\u2019s decided he only wants positive news, or major changes in his condition, and his wife will handle all of the updates, good and bad. She also talked with them about gratitude, \u201cwhich some people think is flighty and woo-woo,\u201d she said, but Vincent latched onto.<\/p>\n
He was on board with Sharma\u2019s way of thinking from the start. The first time they met, the day after Vincent learned about the tumor and before she knew he was an artist, Sharma recommended he tap into his creative side. She explained that art, music, dance and other creative endeavors can improve neuroplasticity and help people recover.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m like, I\u2019ve got you covered,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Vincent Serritella, shown with wife, Marissa Serritella, at their San Rafael home, said he\u2019s recovered much of the strength he lost after brain surgery.<\/p>\n
Lauren Segal\/For the S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
The seed for his portraits was planted when he got his diagnosis. Vincent can recall in stark detail the moment he learned he had a brain tumor and how his world shifted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never felt so present than that moment,\u201d Vincent said. He remembers sitting on a gurney in the emergency room with his wife by his side. A neurosurgeon came in with results of his MRI and pointed out the tumor. It was dark in the room, and cool, and \u201cI just felt the entire world tune into this moment\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then everything disappeared that didn\u2019t matter,\u201d he said. \u201cThe only thing that mattered, suddenly, were the people I cared about and the people I loved. Everything else was so insignificant, like a dent on your car or scratch on the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n
The neurosurgeon told Vincent that he would stay in the hospital and they would operate in three days. \u201cI just went to see why I was having flashing lights in my eyes, and later that day I\u2019m scheduling open brain surgery for Monday,\u201d Vincent said. \u201cIt was like a super whirlwind, things were moving so fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Almost immediately, people started showing up for Vincent and his wife, and he decided he wanted to capture that support in a series of portraits. Also, he said, \u201cI\u00a0 just really wanted to get back in the studio. It was my happy place, my comfort zone, and I knew if I came back it was going to be healing.\u201d<\/p>\n
An act of faith<\/p>\n
The first portrait was just a month after surgery, and his vision was still blurry; painting was like an act of faith. The portrait was of a neighbor, Steve, and at times Vincent felt as though he were painting from memory more than sight. His vision is much improved now, though he still has a pie-shaped blind spot in his left eye.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some ways they\u2019re here and they\u2019re in front of me, but I\u2019m painting them from what I remember of them,\u201d Vincent said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s where the emotional part comes out. I\u2019m not focused on their likeness but more like their spirit, who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Artist]()
<\/p>\n
Artist Vincent Serritella plans to paint 41 portraits of the people who have cared for and supported him through his illness.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lauren Segal\/For the S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
He\u2019s painted 30 portraits so far, all quick, colorful studies in a mix of mediums\u00a0\u2014 graphite, acrylic-gouache, charcoal and oil. They\u2019re very different in style from his better known pieces, which are more of a pop art mixed with hyper-realism.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore all this, I would always ask, \u2018Where do I want this work to go? How does it fit in the context of contemporary art? What gallery might be interested in this? Could I submit it to some museum curators? \u2019\u201d Vincent said. \u201cYou\u2019re always kind of thinking of the career of the art or the artist.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I truly, truly, for the first time, just threw all that aside. I just wanted to make.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an intimacy to the portraits, which hang in neat rows on his studio walls. Walking into the space, their faces are like a physical presence\u00a0\u2014 Vincent said he can feel the support emanating from the walls.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means so much to me to walk in this room every day and see and be reminded, every morning, who is there for me, who at any moment I could reach out to,\u201d Vincent said.<\/p>\n
The first rows of portraits are of his neighbors and family. There\u2019s Steve, who visits with Vincent when his wife goes out, in case he faints or has a seizure. Roger helps with chores around the house, and his wife, Jan, takes Vincent on walks. Mike, who lives up the street, is 81 and insists on dragging their garbage cans to the curb every week.<\/p>\n
![\"Brain]()
<\/p>\n
Brain cancer survivor Vincent Serritella, who worked as a visual effects artist at Pixar studios,\u00a0has exhibited works at the de Young Museum in San Francisco and galleries across the country.<\/p>\n
Lauren Segal\/For the S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Vincent painted his wife, Marissa, and his mother and mother-in-law and sister. The portrait of his wife brings him to tears now, because he can see in her face the curiosity as she watched him work, but the love and fear too.<\/p>\n
The first portrait of a doctor is Vincent\u2019s neurosurgeon, Dr. Michael Zhang. He\u2019s painted in civilian clothes, a red shadow framing him. His portrait hangs between another of Vincent\u2019s neighbors and his mother. Vincent already has painted his radiologist, and he did Sharma\u2019s portrait on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love that my mom is next to my neurosurgeon,\u201d Vincent said. He noted that most of his subjects have never had their portrait painted, so in that sense his work is a gift to them. \u201cTraditionally it\u2019s wealthy folks who can afford to get a custom oil-painted portrait,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m just taking the everyday person and humanizing the whole situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
At some point, Vincent probably will paint his own portrait, too, he said. But he doesn\u2019t expect to hang it with the others. Their faces, and his hand and vision in their creation, tell the whole story.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like all of these paintings are my portrait,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Artist Vincent\u00a0Serritella, shown in his San Rafael home studio, was diagnosed with brain cancer last December after a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[329,65739,184,1570,101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-340384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-arts-and-entertainment","tag-arts-and-exhibits","tag-bay-area","tag-health","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}