I got a phone call a few years back from a lady who had been following my work for some time and wanted to make an appointment to come to the studio to look at what paintings I currently had available. When she came in the next day, she seemed to have something specific in mind. Not necessarily a specific painting, but definitely a specific idea.
As she perused through my work, she began to tell me that one of her brothers had passed away and they were in the middle of making funeral plans. It had been unexpected and I can only imagine the whirlwind of emotions she and her family were going through.
She went on to tell me that a love of flowers was something that ran through her family. She shared some wonderful stories of her family working together in the garden planting bulbs, and of her own wedding being celebrated with flowers harvested from that garden.
She then told me that her desire was to purchase one of my paintings in honor of the brother that had passed. I was shocked, I'm not going to lie! I had never heard of someone doing something like this. She said she would rather not go the traditional route of buying flowers or a plant, that would only last for so long. But she loved the idea of having a painting of flowers that she could hang in her home, to remind her on a daily basis of her brother.
Although this was not an idea I had ever imagined, I loved the thought of it. It was a long term way to honor his memory. And of course, I felt so honored that she would choose one of my paintings to remember him by. The thought was incredible to me!
She recently told me that every day she passes by that painting and it makes her think of her brother. She also reminded me that grief is both beautiful and unique. It's so true. To walk down the path of grief is a painful journey, but there is beauty in both the memories and in the way that grief changes a person for the better, making them more aware of the shortness of time and the need to press in towards those they love. And the journey of grief is unique to every person walking it. How each person processes their loss, will be different than the next person.
I felt so fortunate that something I created was used in even the smallest of ways to help someone in the process of grieving a loved one. And this collector's beautiful story was something very special to me. Little did I know that there was more of the story to come...