This past Sunday, Ryan August was on his way home from Atlanta with his son Declan. During the trip, a storm caused his car to slide off of the interstate and strike a tree. Declan was in the back fastened in his car seat and survived with minor cuts and bruises. Ryan died on impact. He was 34 years old.

His wife Sarah, one of my oldest and dearest friends, is now facing the unfathomable task of dealing with this tragic loss. One can only wonder how you cope with something like this. I don't have any idea.

Ryan was a kind and gentle soul who loved his family intensely. He was a quiet man who cherished his wife with a passion and thought his son hung the moon. He was a talented artist who was admired by a huge social circle both online and in life.

A PayPal account has been set up to accept donations for his wife and son. If you would like to send a donation and message of support, please send it through PayPal to ryanaugustdonation[at]gmail.com.
If you would like to help but do not have PayPal, please contact me at magpienight[at]gmail.com.
Ryan designed the cover art for the 7 inch that my husband Sean's internet parody band put out last year. Ryan screen printed each cover by hand with help from my husband and Declan. The records features guitar by Stephen Egerton of Descendents and ALL. The proceeds from the sale of the remaining records will be donated to the fund set up to help his wife and son. Find out more at Masters of Punk Rock. If you make a purchase, please note that it is for the Ryan August Donation Fund.
The sales proceeds from this art print will also go to the donation fund.

I wish I could write a more fitting and eloquent tribute to him but I am at a loss for words other than what has already been said. You can follow this facebook page to share memories of Ryan and find out ways to help his family.
You can see Ryan's work here at I Want Your Skull and on his website, ryanaugust.com. A thread on one of the message boards he frequented has grown to more than 20 pages of posts about him. A friend has written a beautiful blog post about him. Another blog post features artwork in his memory. A post here shows an example of Ryan's generosity in his support of artists. I'm sure there will be more to come. Right now we are just trying to help Sarah and Declan with the struggles they face, and holding them in our hearts as we remember a man who was taken from us too soon.