heaven's gate

my cousins live right next door to my aunt in flagstaff, arizona.  on my recent visit, in addition to getting to see the grand canyon for the first time and the red rocks of sedona, i think the most important part was getting to know one another better.  there was time for, as my friends in hawaii say, "talking story."

what was it like being a missionary in south america for over 35 years?  what did you learn from growing up in boarding school?  and i had time to look at my cousin gail's artwork.  being the "baby" cousin, i was little when they would come home on furloughs.  gail (who has since passed away) is the one who taught me to draw and who gave me a cross stitch and wrote on the back, "being an artist takes practice, so keep practicing" that i keep in my current art classroom.

she loved to paint scenes from ecuador, especially blue doors and open gates.  her last sketch, "heaven's gate" which she did in the hospital, is the one her husband asked me to watercolor in memory of her.  always colorful, her pieces seemed to brighten with time and experience. 

just during this trip did i learn that gail had wanted to be an art teacher!  what a colorful mystery...

"heaven's gate"