Over the last couple years, I began painting on the stairway and upstairs walls. There’s the koi pond, One Fish, Two Fish and the almost completed Seussian giraffe on TAB’s study door. He had special affinity for giraffes – they were tall and graceful. Like him!
The last one I’d begun, Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose is on our bedroom door. I was doing these whimsical murals to entertain, to cheer him up. It worked. He loved Dr. Seuss.Also too – I did these in order to stay upstairs, close by in case he needed anything. His health, his mobility was on a major downswing these past five years. I wasn't comfortable being away from him, not even to go to the grocery store.
I also drew animals in Illustrator on my little laptop. I could sit with him in our living room, doodle away and then show him the results. It made him happy. I brought the laptop to the hospital so I could doodle for him there. Above left is my last one, a turtle, the only one I did there.
We talked of more Seuss – as he was spending more and more time in bed, I told him that I'd begin painting teetering stacks of Yertle the Turles around our wide closet door. He laughed. He was delighted. I lived to inspire smiles and giggles in him.
I’m moving my painting studio up here to the living/dining room now. My next big (4’x6’-ish) stretched canvas (and this may be the last one on canvas as I’ve been planning to switch over to all water based medium on paper) will be of that last scene in TAB’s ICU room – the Avalon-esque one.Some of my artist chums’s have, in turn, given me some of their work and, boyhowdy, they've given me big fat smiles.
Linda Baker Cimini sent me two mega awesome prints – Grande Jette and Toadalisque. Christ almighty, I love her work!
Holly Sears made me a wild, bittersweet yet waggish pair of earrings. Chagall, very happily, always comes to mind when I see her work.
Ellen Huie brought me this gorgeous, dream-like plate (below)
God, I'm lucky.
Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.
~ Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island
One eye sees, the other feels.
~ Paul Klee
Bob's not the only one delighted by your doodles. I've printed a copy of the reptile to post on the wall at the spot where our tortoise Maya chows her lettuce. We also post any turtle-related comics we see. She's thrilled at the new addition.
ReplyDelete