A day that was nice and pretty

When my daughter Lulu was little, painting was one of her favorite activities but in the flurry of friends and her teen life it had been relegated to art class only. During our quarantine she started to draw and paint digitally and then was inspired to start exploring a kit of paints she received as a Christmas gift from her cousin Zelleppa. I wanted in on the fun and convinced her to watercolor with me outside on May 7, 2020. It was the first time we painted together in years we both enjoyed it. Lulu wrote “A day that was nice and pretty was spent self isolating with only my family to keep me company. My mother and I brought out the watercolors and we tried to process the emotions with art. It was a fun and joyful experience.” She showed me a technique of making blobs and then using ink to add patterns and outlines. We shared our creations by text with my Aunt Nancy, who lives alone in California, because she likes to paint. Nancy then sent us several pictures of her paintings, including one she’d made the same day, so we felt connected through art. I wrote a note on the back of my painting and sent it to my Aunt Denise, who recently suffered the loss of her husband. Painting together helped us to connect to each other and to our extended family. Here are pictures of the paintings Lulu and I did along with a leaf painting made the same day by Lulu’s Great Aunt Nancy Weeks.