LIVES AND HOLES IN PAINTINGS CAN BE REPAIRED

LIVES after
DIVORCE OR DEATH
or holes in paintings
CAN BE REPAIRED



This painting

began many years ago .....

The first strokes of paint were applied

a short time before we sailed away from

Winchester Bay in

KHARAH, a 30 ft Tahiti sailboat.

I had a display of my paintings

(some as seen to the right)

at a friend's Grand Opening

of her ice cream parlour.

I was dabbing away at the geraniums, trying to get them to look more realistic

when I heard two ladies behind me discussing my work.

I didn't turn around

but sharply perked up my ears to hear their comments.

"I don't like that painting," lady one said in a Southern accent. "It's got a cat in it ... and I hate cats!"

Whew. Okay, I thought, not everyone likes cats.

It could have been one of three paintings she didn't like because of the furry creature in the scene.

I love to paint cats into my scenes.

"Oh I love all the cat paintings!" lady number two responded.

I didn't turn around ....

just keep working on the geraniums, I told myself.

And then I realized lady number one (the cat hater) was leaning over my shoulder and watching me make globs of red and green paint look like geraniums.

"Now I like this one!" she happily exclaimed. "No cats and I love geraniums ... and the people in the  ................."

She was silent for a moment

then leaned right over my shoulder, her hair brushing against my head and asked,

"Is that a black girl in that picture?"

"Hmmm," I uttered. "I ummm ............."

Well, to be honest, I didn't realize the mother in my painting was appearing to be anything other than a white pioneer lady with her family.

BUT YES!  She was looking like a black lady.

And lady number one (cat hater)

was herself a black woman..... so she should know!

I turned my head and smiled and said,

"Well, yes she is a black lady."

My newfound-friendly art critic then said,

"Well now .... I love that painting!"

...........................................

Sometimes complete strangers can see

things we are doing in a totally

fresh perspective.

Such as it was in my painting "Family Treasures".

Such as it is in our lives.

I sold many of my paintings at the

Ice Cream Parlour Grand Opening

and had prints made for those

who missed out on buying the originals.

I also distributed some of my originals

to my children.

Family heirlooms to be passed onto their children.

But "Family Treasures" lived it's life in

an assortment of family members' closets

while Eldon and I went sailing.

After  we aquired a larger boat,

a 45 foot Columbia motor sailer,

I picked up "Family Treasures"

and made a little studio in the

v berth cabin .... lots of room for painting

and guests who visited while we were in

Baja Mexico, the Sea of Cortez.

In all that time of the painting living in closets, from one family

to another,

down to Mexico in our motorhome,

sitting on an easel in a sometimes

rock-n-rolling, sea worthy  v berth

it held up very well.

Until one day the unthinkable happened!

"Family Treasures"

was damaged!

I was transporting my unfinished painting

to put on display at an art show .... unfinished as it was,

I was encouraged by other artists to display it

for people to get a glimpse of an unfinished work.

And my dog stepped on it in the back of my car.

Initially I was shocked,

then disbelief

which turned into anger at myself

and sadness at the damage to something

that had been a part of my life for years

and years.

I beat myself up because I had transported it in a way

that damage could happen.

But in the back of my mind

I forced myself to realize

this damage could be repaired .... at a $$$$$  cost.

However, repair......

healing

is not that simple after the destruction

of a relationship or

death of a loved one.

Eldon's memorial candle first lit

at Jill's Baptism in 1959

and then at Eldon's

celebration of

accepting Jesus

two days before

they met

Feb.3, 2009.

To be continued ..............

July 21, 2011

Continued

....... and then there's

shipwrecks,

or in this case

ships   wrecked

ON DRY LAND!

What's wrong with this picture?

For some boat owners

the damage to their dreams

can never be repaired ....

bits and pieces of their

beloved "homes of the sea"

can be salvaged ....

were salvaged.

The plans and

dreams these boat owners had

were disrupted or destroyed in a few hours

due to the destructive fury

of a hurricane in the Sea of Cortez in 2001.

After the storm

the sun came out,

a soft gentle breeze strewn about

keepsakes and valuable memorabilia,

now dissolved into trash, or scattered out

into the sea

never again to be found.

Loss by death,

divorce,

or shipwreck .............

In time

all can be healed .........

never the same

but healed.

Capable hands worked together

to sort out the wreckage and destruction

done to the yachts ..... grand or humble.

Some sailed again

others were only valuable

as scrap to be used on other boats.

The sailors got on with their lives ...

"Family Treasures" has been

sent to an

art conservator and is

ready to pick up ..... at a high cost,

hole repaired

and ready for me to apply paint

over the

"wound."

It now has a history..

a story to tell.

While Eldon and I were cruising

"landlubber" friends often asked

why I didn't write a book about our

sailing adventures. A "story to tell."

My reply,

"We never sank,

were shipwrecked,

lost at sea,

or  ............

actually,

cruising is

80% boredom

10% hard work

and

10% sheer terror!

And what's the story to tell

after the loss of a loved one?

You are the same

yet different.

Life goes on

but is changed.

There is acceptance and peace,

a new you.

But it all takes time to repair,

heal and restore

that which was destroyed,

damaged,

or removed from your

life ......

but never removed from your heart.