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Sunday, May 10, 2009

I'll have this painting completed by this time tomorrow


This is the painting I started a few weeks ago of my son sitting in Panera's glued to his laptop when Ashley, his wife, said, "Hey." He looked up and this was the shot taken on her cell phone. I instantly loved the feel, mood and expression in his face. I've seen this expression a 1000 times. I wanted to preserve it forever by painting it as a portrait.

I know it's not quite finished. It's Mother's Day. And this is my baby, my youngest, my third generation musician. The one who at 9 years old begged me to teach him to play the guitar. My father played with Hank Williams SR, Johnny Horton, and Hank Snow...all great stars from the 50's. Jake inherited his ability to hear something once, and play it. He inherited his ability to sing and write lyrics from me.

When he was just a little guy I saw he had a natural ability to write. I told him early on to stop whatever he was doing to write the idea, story, poem, lyrics, etc., down before it was swept away in the universe--forgotten. Oh... he used this one on me years later when I'd go upstairs to his room to see if he was doing his homework or why I still heard him up at 3:00 am. I'd find him hunched over his guitar, paper and pencil close by scribbling furiously. Sometimes I'd feel forced to do the Mom thing and say, "You should be doing your homework." Or, "Jake, it's 3 in the morning you have to get up for school in 3 hours!"

To which he'd always reply, "But, Mom, you told me whenever I had an idea or a song in my head to write in down that moment or I'd forget it." I could never argue with that. Never. How can you argue with creative genius, inspiration that comes to you when you're open to receive it? Certainly, not I. I'd smile walking back down the stairs, knowing I'd have a hell of a time getting him up in the morning for school. But I'd smile, nonetheless. An artist was following his heart upstairs, and there is no sweeter sound than that.

I'm smiling now looking at this painting because I know he is researching "something" to do with music online. Music is his passion, his drug, his art. For me as his mother, there is no greater Mother's Day present that to see her child living his dreams.

Check out his band, Eternity Lost.

1 comment:

  1. I like your painting! And I remember Hank Snow too. I used to go to his live concerts when he came to town back in the 60's.

    ReplyDelete

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