Easing Our Troubles Away

Friday, Sept. 23rd, 2011: I'm realizing that I'm doing these entries in a "day after the fact" kind of way in that I am blogging about today's blessings with yesterdays events! Hahaha...anyway, after work yesterday, I went over to my roommate's agency and ate dinner with them and hung out with her "clients" a little bit afterwards. I sat down next to a man* let's call him Arnie, who is dying of lung cancer. He was so feisty and funny, I didn't quite know what to make of him. When I went to put my dinner plate away, I saw Arnie outside on the porch and I went and joined him. When I got outside, Arnie had an entire still life set up, props put just where he wanted them and tons of art stuff outside like charcoal, pastels and pencils. I felt like I walked into heaven. He was smoking a cigarette, with his canvas firmly placed on his lap...I looked at the sketch and was blown away...he's an incredible artist. So I asked him, "what do you usually use?" He looked a little startled at his sudden company and said, "well, ya know, mostly charcoal, or pastels, I'll use anything I can get my hands on really. Why, you an artist?" I laughed and said, "well I used to be." He looked at me and said, "well, shoot, you know you never lose it. It never goes away." I laughed again...he caught me...I responded, "Well, Mr. Arnie, I haven't done it in a long time so I'm afraid I'm a little rusty is all."

We went on chattering about what I medium I used and how long I had done it for and why I stopped and he finally said, "I have enough stuff for you to borrow, here, take this." And he handed me his half finished sketch. "I'm going to wrap mine up and then we're going to get you something and get you going. No use wasting a talent, I wanna see what you got." I tried to talk him out of it and tried to tell him I didn't want to, but he knew, he knew the itch I had, the longing to have the stain of charcoal on my fingertips and trance-like state of mind so focused on shapes and scale and color. He wrapped up his sketch and said, "OK, baby girl, now it's your time. Let's see what you got."

I began to sketch the lattice with it's bright lime green leaves exploding from it's base and deep purple leaves interwoven between the greens. It was so vibrant and eye-catching. Mr. Arnie had to go inside to take his meds and while he was gone, my fingers had at it...I just dove into my trance and let my hands do the talking. When Mr. Arnie finally came back he said, "I don't know why you ain't doin' this no more. You a damn artist and you could be makin' money at that." I smiled and laughed. My roommate came back out and said, "so Mr. Arnie, how is she?" He said, "I don't know what she was talkin' about or why she ain't doing it no more but she is an artist. That's beautiful right there." I laughed and just kept to my work; I was in the zone.

About 20 minutes later, I realized how late it had gotten and realized it was time to go. Mr. Arnie asked, "well, you comin' back now, aren't ya?" And I smiled and said, "of course, I need you to teach me some things." He said, very seriously, "I can't teach you nothin'. You better than me" (not true a true statement at all) and he continued, "I'll save this for you so you can finish it next time you're here." I said, "that sounds like a deal, Mr. Arnie. It was great to meet you."

People find joy in so many different things and I continuously am happily surprised when I meet someone, who in any other lifetime, on paper, shouldn't have any similarities to me and low and behold, they do. Mr. Arnie and I shared something so neat last night, beyond whatever the easel depicts later and I am beyond grateful for that gift today. He re-ignited my passion for art and re-ignited my need to love complete strangers. Thank you, Mr. Arnie...you are incredible at just being you and drawing it like you see it.

*Names have been changed for obvious reasons.