My name is Hector Elias Samlut, and Art by Elias carries my middle name.

For nearly four decades I worked as a nurse in emergency rooms and intensive care units across Miami and around the country. I stood beside people in their last moments and in their second chances. I learned how fragile life is, and how precious.

In 2004, I found myself on the other side of the bed, fighting for my own life. I survived. Years later came the hardest loss a parent can face: my son Zachary died in a car accident at nineteen.

Grief broke me. It took away every illusion I had of being in control. But in that darkness I was not left alone. Slowly, I learned to trust God, not with answers, but with my whole heart. And something changed in the way I see.

I began to notice His creation with new eyes. A sunrise over the bay. The colors of a storm breaking over the water. The quiet of the marina at dusk. The sky I once crossed as a pilot became something I could not stop looking at in awe. Painting and photography became my way of worship, and my way of saying thank you.

Every piece here is a moment I was given, and now I’m passing it on to you. I hope it brings you a little peace, a little joy, and maybe a reminder that beauty is still here, even after loss.

I also wrote a book, Life After Loss, for anyone carrying grief. Healing is possible, love remains, and life still has meaning.

Thank you for visiting. Stay a while, look around, and leave me a note. I’d love to hear from you.

— Elias