Portrait of Kenny by Roberta Hill

2010 Christmas is past, and it has yielded a lot of pure joy and a lot of work.

One thing I must pay tribute to is this picture. To my utter amazement my wife Roberta painted this in her secret times, and gave it to me on Christmas morning. I was overwhelmed. I still am.

She has only been painting for a little over a year! She has painted pictures of our grandchildren that would slay you, her mother in perfect joy, the heartbreaking fall leaves from the backyard maple trees, many other moments, but I never expected myself to be so discovered by her eye and her paint brush in this way.

This particular moment is from a time on a boat on the Soane river in France last summer, a perfect, perfect time. But this picture is about the guitar, and the hands. How did she do this? The guitar looks more beautiful than anything I have ever made, idealized, but familiar, like mine. And the hands, so familiar I think I know the moment those notes were played. I was writing new music. Those painted hands look exactly how these playing hands feel. How did she do this?

This girl's got talent. That's not all she's got, but talent she has. In the face of the picture I can't help to see my old uncles, my dad, my mom, and barely recall the not yet forgotten young guy I used to be, the one my beautiful kids reflect now, but yep, that's me.

So, in spite of the "too much information" tilt of this article, I seriously wish to honor my wife Roberta for her amazing accomplishments as a recently discovered painter, without even approaching her sublime qualities as a companion, counsellor, thinker and beauty. Perfect. Thank you.

KH