About This Artwork: Dan saved me when he appeared one day in my sketchbook. I had been making art that mostly pertained to my family members which I turned into cartoon characters. I was mainly using my mother and father as subject matter, but after they died, I was not only missing them as people I always tried to avoid, but also as my muse. Then, one day Dan showed up. He was my new muse and saved me and my art. It was finally something happy I could work with, instead of all the disturbing side effects my work had from using my parents. Stories about Dan and where he came from began flowing out of me. For over two years, I had seriously never identified him as a part of me, but something outside of myself that came to save me. So when I realized Dan was ME, I saw that it was possible to return the favor to him by having the ability to save him if he were ever stranded on a mountain top and that's what this painting is about.