The passing of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna in a terrible helicopter crash here in California in January affected me greatly, and I wanted to paint a tribute to this man whose efforts to be all that he could be inspired me in my own work. The setting for the painting is from the dining terrace at El Encanto Hotel in Santa Barbara. Two tall eucalyptus trees reach into the sky above a coastal city. The lights of the city reflect the starlight of the heavens.