I met Sue through a mutual friend, Carla. In retrospect, it may be clear that we were always going to be friends since we had so much in common, but what brought us together initially was painting. Carla had a little outbuilding in her backyard, and we converted it into an art studio where we could get together on Saturdays to paint. The studio couldn’t have been more than about 10’x15’, but the three of us would crowd in, with our paints and easels, with the model that we’d hired, with the park bench that the model could sit on, and we’d try not to trip over each other as we worked. Despite being cramped, it was a really pleasant space, with a big window looking out into the garden, and the smell of grass and flowers wafting in through the door.
We kept up our painting sessions for nearly five years, until Carla decided to move to the East Coast for law school. But even after losing access to the tiny studio, Sue was determined to continue our painting sessions. She suggested her garage as an alternative, which, although perhaps a little bigger than the studio, wasn’t nearly as pleasant. We still tried for a little while - touching up old paintings that we hadn’t quite finished, or doing still life with whatever happened to be around, which in one case included garden tools - but the garage never quite had the same ambience as the studio, and eventually, even Sue admitted defeat. It’s been years now since I’ve painted regularly, but the high point of my ‘artistic career’ was definitely those Saturday afternoons with Sue and Carla, painting and laughing in the little studio.
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