Zaneta Pernicova painted this piece after her husband was diagnosed with a brain cyst that altered his mental and emotional state. Pernicova also noticed changes in her husband’s eyes after the diagnosis, as the shape of one pupil often enlarged while the other was dilated. She writes:

“With his diagnosis came much fear, as I did not know if this was something that could potentially be life threatening for him. Being the romantic that I am, I started research and reading and painting his eyes just in case I would loose him.”