Mother's Day is a special occasion to celebrate the incredible women who fill our lives with unconditional love, warmth, and support. Keira, a 4-year-old girl who loves to paint wanted to express her gratitude and appreciation towards her mother. As an art-illiterate dad, and a hobbyist photographer, I wanted to help my daughter create something that the whole family can enjoy.
Just a year prior, we had visited a lavender farm in Sequim, WA. "This is it!" I thought, looking at the moment I had proudly captured with my camera. It's a moment of mother-daughter bonding in the lavender field - a moment of a caring mother showing her spirited daughter with an insatiable curiosity for the world around her. As the gentle breeze wafted the sweet lavender scent to the surroundings, the perfect moment was forever captured before a swarm of bees startled the pair, causing them to run for their dear lives.
The plan was to convert the photo to a painting using technology, print it on a canvas, and let Keira embellish it with her creativity. Armed with oil paint (which I later found out to be a poor choice for this project - I'm art-illiterate, remember?) Keira painted with joy and innocence, dabbing purple and pink onto the canvas to capture the lavender's beauty. Her eyes sparkled with each stroke of the brush, and her laughter filled the room as she added beautiful colors to her hair, her dress, and her mother's sunglasses. It was a family centerpiece in the making, filled with love and genuine appreciation.
We display Keira's painting proudly in our family dining room. It is a timeless treasure that constantly reminds our family that the most precious gifts are those that come from the heart, created with love, and given with gratitude. Keira's painting is not just a work of art; not only it's a testament to the power of a child's love, but also proof of how with a little help from technology, inexperienced folks (or in my case, a complete art dummy) can have amazing experiences in creating masterpieces that enrich our lives. This little painting also sparked the idea of enabling others to enjoy these experiences too. As Keira, now a 2nd grader says - "all my friends will love it!"