The Unbeatable Glow of Sunsets and Friends
Last Christmas, I commissioned an artist I know to paint a picture for my mother. Mary is a wonderful artist. She is also my mother’s oldest and dearest friend. The painting depicted the two of them standing in the cold, clear water of the Rainbow River. Praying.
It is beautiful.
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| Yes you can see everything in the cold water of Rainbow River |
This past week my mother moved into her new home here in Florida. We’ll soon head back to Ohio to collect her things. Including the painting.
I love the way Mary uses her talent. As a self-taught artist, she has captured beautiful scenes on canvas. Paintings of children swinging from trees and playing in the river. The flora and fauna of Florida.
Mary is native to the area and able to capture the best of Florida’s nature coast. Though she is no longer running it, her artistry is spilled over the walls of the family business, the Front Porch Restaurant in Dunellon, Florida. The family keeps her art as well as the tradition of her famous pies alive in the restaurant.
Mary has a God-given talent.
When Mom returned to Florida to house hunt a few weeks ago, one of the first items on her list was to contact her dear friend, Mary. We met in Inverness at Stumpknockers, one of our favorite local restaurants. Mary wanted to see the house Mike and I call home, so after lunch we all headed that way.
Our house is situated on a quiet cove of a large lake. We have a few fruit trees and palm trees in the front. The backyard is dotted with large oak trees and a variety of flowering shrubs. The Spanish moss sways gracefully from the large old trees with the slightest breeze. It is beautiful to watch, but the view we embrace each evening is the spectacular sunset across the water behind our house.
I’ve posted several pictures of the sunset on my Facebook page. It seems each one is more beautiful than the last.
Mary looked at my page. She must have. I know. Because on that day she came for a visit, she handed a gift to me. A wedding present? A housewarming gift?
No. It was a gift of love. Mary studied the pictures I posted. And then? She painted the sunset. Our sunset.
