Recently, very good friends of ours asked me if I would be willing to paint something for them. I immediately burst out into tears and complete fear. “I am not a professional artist; I am just learning. My work is not that good.” The tears continued to flow, and our friends said they would be honored if I did, but there was no pressure.
A few weeks passed, and I was relieved that the subject didn’t come up. All I kept thinking in my “always thinking and analyzing brain” is that I am not good enough. I am not a painter or an artist. Why would they want me to paint this meaningful picture for them? I am nobody. What if it’s not good enough? What if they are asking me out of pity? Yes, my brain goes there.
Then one night, we randomly stopped by, and my friend handed me this very well-organized red plastic flexible folder with all the information I needed to begin the process. “No pressure”, he said. “Really, no pressure. If you don’t want to do it, it’s ok. If you do, that would be amazing and our family would really appreciate it”.
I took the very well-organized red plastic flexible folder home with me, set it on my desk, and continued to ask myself, “Could I do this? “
One day in the second week of October 2025, I sat down at my desk, facing the outdoors, and began reading the documents in that folder about a man I had met only a handful of times before his passing in 2024. His name was Dennis.
One of the items in the folder was a program for his celebration of life service, held a year after his passing. On the front of the program was a picture of Dennis, and on the back was a picture of Dennis and his friend Gaylord walking along a path that stretched out to Lake Superior, Michigan, in September of 2022 – this was the painting my friend requested I do.
Inspired by beautifully gathered memories, encouraging words, and graceful quotes, I looked at the picture of Dennis on the front of the program and said, “Okay, Dennis, work with me here. I want to do this right and maybe add just a little touch of me in there somewhere, if that is okay.”
I turned the program over and began. Before I knew it, hours had passed. I was in the zone. That is what happens to me when I am “in the zone”. Time disappears, and I am totally focused on what is in front of me. I guess you could say it’s my creative process.
The next thing I heard was, “Oh my God, babe, that is awesome.” Many hours had passed, and I was almost done. And yes, I felt like Dennis permitted me to add a little bit of myself in the painting.
Words Are Powerful.
As I was finishing up the dune beach grass, I began to see words in the grass. They were not actually there yet, but the vision was. Seeing it before it was actually there felt like permission to add them, and so I did.
The words so beautifully spoken about Dennis were:
| · Joy | · Hope |
| · Friendship | · Fidelity |
| · Compassion | · Gratitude |
| · Strength | · Spiritual |
| · Faithfulness | · Courage |
| · Endurance |
· Love |
All words I felt bouncing back directly to me as I was painting this picture. Thank you, Dennis, for giving me the courage to do this. I could not have done it without your presence.
Am I surprised that his presence was with me? No. From what I’ve read and from the person I had the honor of meeting a few times, I am not surprised at all.
He was a loving, supportive human who lifted others, even when they felt unworthy or not good enough to paint a picture of him and his friend.
Dennis saw what was the worst and what was the best in everyone, and loved all of it. Even the crazy brain, sometimes fearful, learning artist, whose eyes are filled with tears, and whose Heart is Home on the Water.
With love,
Julie
