About fifteen years ago I started a drawing of a nature spirit. I am not sure why but I got tired of the drawing and never completed it. I thought that I had disposed of the drawing as I have with many drawings that I lost my passion for. I don’t know I guess it’s an artist thing and you would have to be of an artist’s temperament to relate to losing passion for something that you created. So fifteen years go by and I forgot about the unfinished art.
As many of you know a careless driver killed my father in November of 2008. About a year after the accident my mom decided to downsize and move to a new place. So some friends of ours and we had the daunting task of cleaning out my fathers workshop. Saying goodbye to the material items of a lost loved one is almost as difficult as losing them. In the blur of emotion as we sorted through my fathers things we came across a tube. I opened it up and was in absolute shock to see the unfinished nature spirit drawing that I thought I had discarded so many years ago. OMG my dad lovingly kept this drawing for fifteen years in hopes that I would some day regain my passion for it and finish it.
I took it home and tucked it away with the intention of completing it some day. I couldn’t deal with it then it was all just far too emotional! Recently we have been framing some of my older work to display in my gallery and decided that I was ready to start working on the nature spirit. So David and I looked and looked and we couldn’t find it anywhere and I was completely devastated. It upset me so badly that my dad had kept this drawing all this time and now I couldn’t find it! I thought maybe it got lost in the move.
Last night while working on one of grandpa’s book illustrations I ran out of pencil leads so I started to look for the package of refills. As many of you know I use a 0.3 mechanical pencil to do all my pencil artwork. I couldn’t find the refills and was getting frustrated so David started helping me look for them. I reached my hand on the shelf under my workbench for the third time and felt a tube of paper there. I pulled it out and to my absolute astonishment it was my unfinished nature spirit drawing. Now you have to understand I have looked in this spot many times and all that was there is a roll of brown paper that I use to wrap my original artwork in when I sell it and nothing else. However, when I put my hand there I felt two rolls the paper and the drawing beside it. I swear to God that the artwork was not there before and I had looked there many times. Even David can confirm this and is a bit shocked by it.
Of course I am delighted and will start working on the drawing to finish it in the honor and memory of my dad. To make this situation more uncanny I had a dream last night and at one point I walked into a restaurant and saw my dad sitting there at a table smiling as he always does when he comes to me in my dreams.
He said to me, ”Did you bring your artwork? I have been telling them about your art.”
I told him that I didn’t. Then he told me, ”You are going to get cold dressed like that.”
I had short sleeved shirt on, I said, ”No I will be fine I have a jacket.” I had my gray sweater in my hand and I put it on the table in front of him. Then I woke up at the same time as David did he woke up laughing he had a funny dream that he told me about later that morning before he went to work.
So I know that I have a very close connection to my dad via this drawing so I must complete it and that is just what I intend to do just for you dad. Thanks for keeping my drawing for all those years and for believing in me.
This morning while David and I were discussing the unusual event that had taken place. David mentioned that several years ago dad had shown him the nature spirit and told him that he hoped I would finish it some day.
As many of you know a careless driver killed my father in November of 2008. About a year after the accident my mom decided to downsize and move to a new place. So some friends of ours and we had the daunting task of cleaning out my fathers workshop. Saying goodbye to the material items of a lost loved one is almost as difficult as losing them. In the blur of emotion as we sorted through my fathers things we came across a tube. I opened it up and was in absolute shock to see the unfinished nature spirit drawing that I thought I had discarded so many years ago. OMG my dad lovingly kept this drawing for fifteen years in hopes that I would some day regain my passion for it and finish it.
I took it home and tucked it away with the intention of completing it some day. I couldn’t deal with it then it was all just far too emotional! Recently we have been framing some of my older work to display in my gallery and decided that I was ready to start working on the nature spirit. So David and I looked and looked and we couldn’t find it anywhere and I was completely devastated. It upset me so badly that my dad had kept this drawing all this time and now I couldn’t find it! I thought maybe it got lost in the move.
Last night while working on one of grandpa’s book illustrations I ran out of pencil leads so I started to look for the package of refills. As many of you know I use a 0.3 mechanical pencil to do all my pencil artwork. I couldn’t find the refills and was getting frustrated so David started helping me look for them. I reached my hand on the shelf under my workbench for the third time and felt a tube of paper there. I pulled it out and to my absolute astonishment it was my unfinished nature spirit drawing. Now you have to understand I have looked in this spot many times and all that was there is a roll of brown paper that I use to wrap my original artwork in when I sell it and nothing else. However, when I put my hand there I felt two rolls the paper and the drawing beside it. I swear to God that the artwork was not there before and I had looked there many times. Even David can confirm this and is a bit shocked by it.
Of course I am delighted and will start working on the drawing to finish it in the honor and memory of my dad. To make this situation more uncanny I had a dream last night and at one point I walked into a restaurant and saw my dad sitting there at a table smiling as he always does when he comes to me in my dreams.
He said to me, ”Did you bring your artwork? I have been telling them about your art.”
I told him that I didn’t. Then he told me, ”You are going to get cold dressed like that.”
I had short sleeved shirt on, I said, ”No I will be fine I have a jacket.” I had my gray sweater in my hand and I put it on the table in front of him. Then I woke up at the same time as David did he woke up laughing he had a funny dream that he told me about later that morning before he went to work.
So I know that I have a very close connection to my dad via this drawing so I must complete it and that is just what I intend to do just for you dad. Thanks for keeping my drawing for all those years and for believing in me.
This morning while David and I were discussing the unusual event that had taken place. David mentioned that several years ago dad had shown him the nature spirit and told him that he hoped I would finish it some day.
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