FRIEDA
I have to tell you about Frieda. She was one of my all-time favorite students. She came to me at the age of 89. Whatever was done on her canvas was super to her. Course her favorite instruction for putting a few final strokes on the painting was always “Put a little sparkle in it
All the other students loved her. So after a few years (I would guess about 5) she became a little weaker and had to go to the hospital and eventually to a nursing home. We loved to visit her and feel of her enthusiasm: we came to encourage, we went away buoyed up!!!!!! Her final word to me after each visit was always, “I’ll see you Tuesday.” But Tuesdays came and went and Frieda lay somberly in her bed instead of sitting in the far corner of the studio.
Eventually she went to Serenity House. They don’t walk out of there. I went to visit her there. She was in a coma, but as I opened the door, she jerked in the bed, surprising her attending relatives. I leaned over, kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “I’ll see you Tuesday.”
That was the last time I saw her alive.
The next day, I was painting in my studio. It was 3:00 in the afternoon and I had put some final strokes on a sunset seascape. I lifted my head and looked around as I felt some one else in my upstairs studio. No one was there, but I felt the presence of Frieda.
No words were audibly spoken, but she said, “Paint a portrait of me.” I responded that I would some day, when I had more time. She said, “Do it now.”
Well, I had taken a video of some of my students a couple of years ago, and Frieda was one of them. I searched for the DVD, found it, and in two hours painted this portrait of Frieda.
I took it to the memorial and set it near an easel which had some memorable material placed on it.
The family offered anyone a chance to say a few departing words. I shared with them what I have just shared with you. It was a great way to say goodbye.
She sure put sparkle into my life!
posted by Buck Paulson @ 5:39 PM
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