From an early age, artist Claudia Bicen questioned how she should live her life. She wanted direction. Answers. So she decided to talk to people who were dying with the hopes of gaining insight on life and how to live hers.

She decided to interview hospice patients in the San Francisco Bay Area and paint intricate portraits of them. What resulted was a beautiful exhibit she calls Thoughts in Passing, which was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. as one of the winners of the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition.

We caught up with artist Claudia Bicen in San Francisco for this week’s Full Frame Close Up.