Gallery

---

When I painted this scene, I thought I was capturing a single moment in one person's life.  I didn't know that the painting would eventually connect two women, living on different continents, women who had never met -- but who both saw something of their own journey reflected in it.

In March of 2026, I submitted my new artwork for the biannual art exhibition at the City of Hope Cancer Center in nearby Irvine, California. I was grateful to then learn that the painting had resonated with people there, particularly with Karen Henka Minnie, a cancer patient. Here’s an excerpt from the speech she gave at the City of Hope Opening Reception:

“When I was asked to speak to you this evening about my cancer journey and how the art and aesthetics in this building have affected my healing and well-being, I immediately thought of an interaction I had with Nicolas, one of the City of Hope Ambassadors, a few weeks ago… We happened to stop in front of a group of paintings that were mostly landscapes and Nicolas pointed out the painting that most resonated with him - it’s a serene scene by the artist Jim McLoughlin of a woman sitting at the edge of a pond in a meadow as she looks up at a snow-capped mountain. Nicolas told me that the painting induced a sense of peace in him. I was astounded because of all the paintings I was admiring, that particular painting resonates in me the tranquility I feel when I’m at my home in the hamlet of Old Forge New York… That one painting of a young woman staring at a mountain sparked a conversation that not only led to an unexpected connection, but it also helped calm my anxiety and fears and to forget about my health and my plight for a while.”

I emailed Karen’s speech to Katherine, the woman depicted in the mountainous scene. At her suggestion, I had titled the painting Redemption. Katherine’s response:

Dear Jim,

Thank you so much for your beautiful email. Reading your words moved me deeply. I am truly touched by everything you shared about the painting, the exhibition, and the way Redemption has resonated with other people. Knowing that it brought peace, reflection, and even comfort to someone going through cancer fills my heart with gratitude.

I wanted to tell you why I called that photograph Redemption.

The picture was taken in front of the most sacred mountain in Cusco, called Ausangate. It is considered a great Apu, a healing mountain spirit, and the Q’ero people, who live in the Andes, revere it as a sacred mountain. By one of those mysterious coincidences in life, I connected with a woman who lives facing this mountain, and she guided me on that walk. When I reached the lake and looked up at Ausangate, I truly felt an act of redemption.

The closest way I can describe it is this: it felt the way I imagine Moses must have felt when he climbed Mount Sinai to receive a message. That day, I knelt before the mountain and looked at it, and in my heart the mountain spoke to me. It said: “We have walked so much.”

And yes, we had.

The last fifteen years of my life had been very hard. About ten years ago, I went through thyroid cancer, and thankfully I came through it. Then, six years ago, I went through a very painful divorce. After that, I moved from Argentina to Peru in search of peace. I now live in the Sacred Valley, surrounded by mountains, with my daughter, my alpaca, and my little dog.

When the mountain said, “We have walked so much,” I fell to my knees and cried and cried and cried. I released everything I had been carrying for so many years. In that moment, I felt free.

So when I received your painting, I thought: Wow, this is the mountain giving that sacred moment back to me as a gift. Something so intimate, so unique, and so meaningful had been seen and transformed through your art. And now, hearing all the experiences the painting has gone on to create in the lives of others truly amazes me and fills me with happiness. It is beautiful to think that something born from such a personal and healing moment could also bring comfort, peace, and connection to other people, especially women going through cancer.

If there are women who feel called to experience this sacred mountain for themselves, I would be truly happy to take them there. It is a very special place for me, a place of healing, peace, and deep spiritual connection, and I would be honored to share it with others who may need that kind of solace.

Thank you again for your sensitivity, your art, and for reaching out to me. Your painting has touched me very deeply, and it means so much to know that Redemption continues to live and speak to others.

With warmth and gratitude,

Katherine

And, as Karen said in her speech at the City of Hope:

That’s the power of art - it fosters relationships, it allows us to immerse ourselves in other worlds, it stimulates creative thinking, and it births imagination.

Inspired by Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan

Excerpt of Lyrics:

And take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind

Down the foggy ruins of time

Far past the frozen leaves

The haunted frightened trees

Out to the windy beach

Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow

Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky

With one hand waving free

Silhouetted by the sea

Circled by the circus sands

With all memory and fate

Driven deep beneath the waves

Let me forget about today until tomorrow

Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me

I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to

Hey, Mr. Tambourine man, play a song for me

In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you.

                                                                              ~ Bob Dylan