a backward glance

Those are my paintings, and that’s a mom and daughter, both of whom I befriended in a way – the mom with some phone calls, the daughter a time or two meeting for coffee. I don’t remember their names this Monday, it was Portland, Oregon when I was married and painting in that studio in the background, much of its walls and floors and ceilings painted by me as it transitioned from a rented-living space to an art studio for my then-wife and her daughter and me.

I have something of a vague sense that my phone calls and coffee shop meeting(s) were of a helping nature – like I was trying to be helpful in some way(s). It may have been a deep depression with the daughter, the weary living of life’s tangles for the mom. I think that’s close to it.

The painting on the left – titled ‘Donnie’s Cat’ – was actually a sheet of canvas. On the right – I’ll call it ‘Kitties’ now – a regular stretched canvas, looks like a 20 x 24. I sold one for $25 and gave the other as a gift, thankful to those who support local artists.

These are something like memories, from the corner of my mind. It makes me happy they’re both smiling there and then.