Mimi Torchia Boothby

It’s a long story that started back in 1972, and I’m not going to tell the whole story; but David is the reason I married a Boothby and became a part of the Boothby clan. I married David’s little brother, to be exact.
David and I didn’t get along very well. But his little brother, Donald, loved him. So for that reason, David was occasionally in my life. Not a lot, we distanced ourselves by moving a long state away. But Donald held him in his heart. And David had children. Beautiful children. Paolo and Megan; two brilliant souls that I had the opportunity to get to know; Donald’s beloved nephew and niece. And they loved their father. Well, that makes us family, of course.
And then we lost Donald. David flew out here for Donald’s last few days; the only time he was ever in my house in Seattle. And then David died too. Another family bereft, as if we weren’t bereft already. But in these deaths, there was healing, family bonds rebound, the reality that we were even more precious, as we were now fewer.
But I still didn’t like David, even though now he was our dearly departed.
One day, his daughter indicated she’d like a painting I did of her father, which I gladly gave her. I didn’t think it was a great portrait, so I started looking for another photo of him so I could try and paint him again. One of David’s quirks was that he didn’t like to be photographed. So there weren’t many. And I had the mother lode, all the pictures David’s and Donald’s mother had ever gotten from her kids. Her 5 children who all lived hundreds of miles away; they each sent pictures when they could. Including David. As I searched for a nice picture of David, I found photos of him with baby Paolo, and of him with baby Megan. And I could see without a doubt, that he truly loved these children. Somehow seeing those pictures of an extremely young David loving his baby boy, and a still young David loving his baby girl, it melted a part of my heart, and instead of painting the surly David that I knew too well, I painted the other David, the one that his children knew. And maybe that healed me a little bit.

Twenty five years ago, a group of us wrote out a grant for city funds to buy enough trees to populate a huge open grassy field that surrounded Wing Luke School. We invited neighbors, teachers, boyscouts and students to help plant the trees. We even got a landscape architect to help, and we got some very nice trees from a nearby nursery. None of the trees were very big, they were all just about 1″ in diameter. They grew and grew, and today, this is what they look like. They are majestic, and they are full of singing birds. They shade the grounds and cool the entire neighborhood. They are all scheduled for demolition in 2018. I want to honor them while I still can. These two Hungarian Oaks are on the west side of the school.

I went out to paint Mount Si on a day when there was rain in the forecast. We were certain that Old Si would stick his head out long enough for us to paint it, but that did not happen. The painting got a wonderful spotty effect from the rain. It’s interesting enough that I thought I’d share it here. Of course, it’s for sale, all proceeds go to wildlife conservation.

If you asked me what I liked best about Bulgaria, besides the fresh fruits and vegetables, it would have to be the fact that people there still use horses as a means to get from one place to another. The best part about these horses was that they were obviously well loved and well cared for. Every horse I saw was in optimum condition, well fed, with glossy coats. These two young men were bringing some fresh hay home in their cart. I bet it was itchy. In the distance, you can see a cell tower. I included it so that there was no mistaking that this is a modern scene. This is a quarter sheet painted on fine Arches watercolor paper. It is for sale.

Ok, I said I wasn’t going to paint any boats. But a friend suggested we go to the Center for Wooden Boats, so I did. At first I struggled with horizons and greenery, but then I discovered this boat. It was glowing in the sun. The reflection was glowing in the water. The dock was even glowing. It was a beautiful day to be outside in the fresh air.