For Mama

  My mother recently moved for the winter to an apartment in town. It's a lovely one bedroom in a quiet area and all things are perfect.  Except that the walls are bare.  Now, I am not sure my mother really minds the bare walls.  She fills her days with jigsaw puzzles, computer work, reading, crossword puzzles and all sorts of communication and mentally engaging activities.  But that was the first thing I noticed when I went to help her unpack. The walls were empty.

The next time I went up to see her, I brought her one of my paintings.  It was bright, colorful and abstract.  Very abstract.

     My mother is wonderful.  She wants to support her kids in whatever their pursuits are.  She has listened to more fledgling musicians, has read more original poetry and/or other written pieces, has ooh-ed and aw-ed more homemade gifts and sewing project than you can shake a stick at.  So, when I brought her my abstract brightness, she tried.  She really did. But I am no dummy. I could see by her questioning face that she wasn't really sure WHAT this was I had painted.  And knowing WHAT it was seemed important.  So, I very quickly said something along the lines of, "Oh, wait, I have a better idea.  How about I bring several up and you can choose the one that YOU like.  I brought this one because I like it a lot and it is bright and sunny but I can bring several and you can choose."  Her smile and laugh while nodding her head confirmed that this was probably the right idea.

    Okay, so here's the problem.  My paintings don't come out of realism.  I didn't have any that I could take up to her.  I decided that I would have to do my best and create something she could read.  My mother has always had a flower garden. I decided that I would give flowers a go.  I loved playing with backgrounds and the colors and trying some different combinations.  What you see below are the four finalists.  Remember, the photos cannot show the real painting.  You cannot see the fine points nor the texture.  The lighting is not the best either.  Paintings are always so much more alive in person.

    When I told her I would bring some paintings back, Mama said, "Oh, don't paint just for me.  That wouldn't be right.  Paint what YOU want to paint.  It's not the same if you paint something that you are trying to paint for me.  You have to paint what you want to paint."  I got what she was saying but I think I proved her wrong.  I painted something that she might like yet I still had fun.  They are not my favorite of all time paintings, for sure, but they were fun to paint.  It was sweet to paint with Mama in mind and to still play with colors and textures.  I would have gone more abstracty but I wanted her to like them too.   Do you think she will?



Oh, and just for fun, I am including this one because , oh I don't know, I like it?