Surrounded by her vivid, beautiful paintings, Victoria was sitting on the floor with papers and brushes, bowls and trays, water, alcohol, different kinds of paper, and India ink.
Agile with youth and yoga practice, she's able to move about on the floor with an ease I envy, painting and reaching and dipping.
She gave Elena and me some pre-cut Yupo paper and brushes and we set out to paint, delighted with the action of inks on Yupo, the ways circles bloomed like magic on the page and unexpected dances of color happened.
My own efforts are prosaic by contrast, but I'm a kindergartner in this realm. I'm timed with materials, careful not to break any rules (of which there are none in Victoria's studio), and I tend to make light little lines. Victoria says, "Do you mind if I show you something?" and she takes a great big fat brush and smudges more pigment onto the page. Wow! Now that I see what that feels like I could do this all day!
Elena is pleased with her three paintings, as excited as I am--but as a seven-year-old, she's also wanting to go inside Victoria's house and see Reyna and Mugwort again, so we do, taking Paco along for a bird play date.
I wish I had captured the look in her eyes as Mugwort landed on her leggings. Paco, a baby after all and new to playing with other birds, "hissed" at Mugwort but to no avail. "This is my house and I'll do what I want," said pretty little Mugwort.
Will and Kent looked on, all the while talking fish and camping sites and boats.
"What was your favorite thing?" Will asked Elena in the car as we headed home.
"Everything!" she said.
Back at my house, Elena and Paco....
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