![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkycpYrjvECHWmCJVl-5JqRkeTceS_2sYNtSGJ5uIrC3bVcy51DKX_dSi6BorQIXCh-frKUHaHLZL0UNo2gdN-RturnPKLCgqZyq_ygfctJdZjBOWLPCqBtSiciXFqIG89VhwEXx9d0o/s400/100_8361.JPG)
My Aunt Ann, whom my father and I visited last week in Friday Harbor, Washington, is an artist. Everything about Aunt Ann is spacious, ordered, and full of color and light.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8oklHTUFl1l2nMEntpZnX9XTkVb0hrjQm1GWaGPKAKAFHOT_R_CyFOHO3oDKlzI6BYajI88jRXDzBkO0IcD5ZukCZw1DR_4x7d-NVHgEuEQEVv1-QYoPlD6_R7x1p4lng8JI0FxfYaTY/s400/art4.jpg)
She has spent her life with sketch pad in hand, recording life with lines and curves the way I do with words.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKD__jfe5uybkASCUw5FqshxCiZ5QLNznWzFLZVeth5AWgv6UDYLgG8e1yxD0hSnAeWcp9FKTOQar3woXbZXIu_TPgveJu2abKqoZ1HM_oyGoXYECtjhh5XpbQPYmp1n5rQJHH5OCEN5Q/s400/art7.jpg)
When I think of my aunt, I think first of flowers, saturated with color in paintings or fresh in her garden and on every table.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbvycTZ7XBwPKHSFRNaWbb0STmdNprOyZGJ31VDTFfYyI3tCoySsddUScpasSFshNLeoHxyiHg2l20xAmUJ3zoGPyD1yq7ZalZ9dkhQNoh3HABuw6O2OKNjNb5bg6npoDUc3NHqiWG0Y/s400/art1.jpg)
These last days of her life she spends ordering, remembering, and recording.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiceHaU9kQlYOnoG0ItaWtt-Un_QMN3-mlO_It4u6q5dBB53kTWb8_MXAd5oawcgON21czE80c6fRbD834j6-9e3mPzE3LhCA7_NEnBOi2Navdll_EF3Dm6EjTTe8rE96kqHQyyOouaGrM/s400/art2.jpg)
She is going through a lifetime of sketchbooks, filling black-and-white drawings in with color, adding dates and locations and sometimes a word or two of description.
This pile of books—just a few among the dozens—look like my own stack of journals, but hers are filled with the most intricate renderings of a life lived in full color.
I am honored to have watched my aunt work, to be part of her painting life if only for short periods of time. I am more determined than ever to always have fresh flowers in the house. Such beauty can be added to our lives with a burst of bright color.
What a treasure! So bittersweet.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me want to go out and get some flowers to beautify my space right now!
Beautiful! What a tribute to a life of loveliness!
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice tribute! your aAunt has a beautiful outlook....
ReplyDeleteYour aunt sounds like an amazing woman! :)
ReplyDeleteWW: Fun With Nigel
Yes, your aunt sounds like an amazing woman.
ReplyDeleteJoyce M
What a beautiful post! A lovely tribute to your Aunt Ann.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. x
ReplyDelete