Patti, Kim and Their Long-Distance Shared Hobby

Mom's and daughters spending time together. It brings to mind walks in the woods, reading stories, chatting over breakfast on a Sunday morning, and - for Patti and her daughter Kim (see photo) - award-winning paintings.

You might imagine that a such a shared love of painting would be the result of talents identified and nurtured from a young age. But, for each of them, painting is a skill pursued and developed as an adult.

How did they become interested in painting? Thinking back, Patti says, "I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t doodling something." Then, in her mid-twenties, perhaps hoping to nurture this untapped talent, her mother gave her a set of paints and brushes. Patti soon found that learning to paint, like learning any other subject, would require both formal and informal help from others. "I started trying to mix colors, and quickly saw the need for assistance." She took her first oil-painting class a few years later.

At the time, "Kimberly was very young... I didn’t envision a time when she would paint with me, but I saw her talent early and tried to encourage her."

Kim started years later, taking a class in her early 20's. She recalls that she "completed three paintings that had promise, but when the class ended I did not pursue it." (see "Floating Fruit", at right)

Then, with Kim not really following up on her interest, and with Patti having spent little time painting for several years, it was time for another gift. Kim recalls, "Heather, my youngest sister, called upon her siblings to take up a collection to buy art supplies for Mom’s birthday, hoping that she would start painting again." It worked! Patti was certainly energized. In fact, Kim says, "After that, Mom started pressuring me to pick up where I left off too. She found out that I had gotten a bonus from work and came over for a specific visit where we went art-supply shopping."

So now, Mom and daughter are painting. But how did they end up painting together, when they no longer lived close-by? Find out in the next posting.