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The
Watercolors
When all
options for Tina’s medical care had been exhausted, Fred took a
few months off from work to provide hospice care for his wife at
home.
A scientist by profession, Fred selected a new hobby for his own
respite during the hours while Tina slept.
Painting became a calming outlet for the stresses and heartache
of the caregiving for his loved one. The dining room became his
makeshift studio. He accumulated a rainbow of watercolor paints,
brushes and canvases.
During the weeks when I unable to visit Tina personally, I took
photographs outdoors and prepared them as greeting cards to send
to her. The photos depicted tranquil scenes of the rural Salinas
Valley; pastoral rolling hills, dotted with oaks and lupin,
where flocks of Spring lambs grazed from February through April.
Fred selected some of my landscape photographs as subjects for
his watercolor paintings.
In the weeks following Tina’s passing, Fred gave his watercolors
to me. Self trained as an artist, it was evident that he had
been gifted with a natural talent. His keen eye, combined with
his craftsmanship resulted in calming depictions of the local
terrain.
In memory of Tina, whenever one of our fellow patients passes
away, I now prepare sympathy cards for their families, by using
Fred’s watercolor of the lambs grazing along the hillsides of
the Central Coast.. I titled his painting, “The Lord is my
Shepard.”
Fred’s paintings are a beautiful tribute to caregiving. During
times of heartache and loss, he created paintings of peace and
beauty, which we now share, to comfort others.
This is a true story from the lives of PMP Pals and is an
excerpt from "Where the Red Tailed Hawk Flies"
Copyright
2003 by Gabriella Graham |
