I’ll be starting over as an artist here. We’ll see where the journey takes me

This painting of my oldest daughter Ruth, is how it restarted at 65 after 23 years of not touching a brush or thinking about painting. But after 40 years of parenting and 43 years of marriage (as of June 2016), the nest is empty, so here we go.

My children have bugged me for years to start painting again. But, between work, family, homeschooling, volunteering etc. where was I to find the time? Well, “timing is everything.” Days after my last adult child moved out for Chicago, I received a text from a dear friend of mine, Tami. Not knowing my history as a wannabe artist, she asked if I would join her in a watercolor class. We both needed the therapy and the company. During the first lesson we were assigned to bring a project to work on back to class the next week. I knew right away exactly what I was going to do.

25 years ago I started a painting of my daughter Ruth. I still had the original sketch and photograph image dated 1981. Ruth is now 41 years old. At the time I originally started, she was in high school. The picture is of her when she was 4 up in an apple tree in the back yard . . . Day Dreaming. It captures the essence of her melancholy thoughtfulness.

Once the class was over and I had finished the work on this painting, I looked at it and decided I must have been doing some painting in my head for all these years because, although I have a long way to go, the painting shows some insight and skill.