My love of Roses

It's no secret that I LOVE ROSES. I never get bored painting them. Sure every girl loves roses, but I love them on a different level. I love the complexity of the layers leading to the center. It is my favorite thing to paint. But my love of roses I think actually "stemmed" from a connection with my grandmother Eloise who died just weeks before I turned 8. She was beautiful & elegant, talked with a southern accent, always looked so put together. I really wish I could've spent more time with her. I always felt special when people would say I looked like her. I don't think I really do, but I definitely have her brown eyes. Which are also my dad's, my sister Leah's & now 2 of my children have them.

I never associated roses with my Grandmother when she was alive. Surprisingly, it came about 10 years after she died. It was October 1995 & Homecoming weekend at my highschool. I had graduated the spring before, but I was back as the retiring Queen. (Trust me I'm not trying to toot my own horn, it's part of the story... stay with me) I had a gorgeous bouquet of red roses. My little sister, Leah, was a sophomore & she was a Homecoming Maid. She, too, had a gorgeous bouquet of red roses. It was a beautiful fall day. My granddad who was in his 80's came to stand at the side of the road to see us as we rode by in the Homecoming Parade. He was so proud to see 2 of his granddaughters participate in something like that. He was grinning ear to ear & it was so cute to see him participating in something like that.

We gathered back at my parents house to relax & regroup after the morning's festivities. I remember my Granddad saying something like "I sure wish Eloise was here to see this." Just moments after, my mom came in from the backyard with tears in her eyes. A rose bush that my Grandmother had given to my mom over 10 years ago had 1 fresh, bright red bloom on it. What makes it even more special is that it had never bloomed in all the years she had it. My mom cut the bloom off & added it to the display of our bouquets so all the roses were together. I will never forget that & the feeling I had that my Grandmother Eloise was with us that day afterall.

My granddad had always told me that one of my grandmother's favorite songs was "Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming." Traditionally it is sung & played around Christmas. For those of you that know my family, you know that in May 2001 my dad had a terrible accident. He was not supposed to live through the first night, then it was questionable for the next few weeks, but every hour that he lived God slowly healed his brain & body. He was in a coma for three weeks in the ICU. We had a small radio that we kept in his room because he just loved classical music & we hoped it was comforting & soothing for him. We had it set to a classical station with the volume at a very low level, right above his head. One day when I was at my dad's bedside while he "slept", I heard "Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming" play on the classical music station. It stopped me in my tracks, knowing it was an odd song to be played in the end of May and that it was "her song". I felt like it was my Grandmother trying to comfort her son, as any mother would want to do. I stayed and listened to all of the song & I know she was with us during that time as well.

When I started this story, I didn't think I had any memories of my Grandmother and the Roses from before she died in 1985. But as I read over what I wrote, I recalled that she & my Granddad lived in Pasadena/LA. We visited them at Christmas & got to see the Rose Bowl Parade and even went to tour the facility & watch the floats being constructed - most of them whose designs of the float were by made by layers of different colored roses. Being only 7 the last time I saw my grandmother, I do not have too many memories, but the Rose Bowl Parade is one of them & I can't believe I never made that connection before until now.

The rose has many attributes that I love. The scent is breathtaking and as an artist, I especially love the assorted colors they come in, their smooth velvet texture & the complex layering of the petals. But for the last 20 years, the rose has helped me grow closer to someone dear to me & create memories with someone that I just didn't have enough time with.

"There are flowers everywhere, for those who bother to look." - Henri Matisse