My good friend and student, Dick Weber
Dick Weber
in June, my student and close friend, Dick Weber passed away. I met him
two or three times a week for his painting lessons. On June 2nd I went
to his studio and he wasn't there. He always beat me there. I called
and he was at his doctors office. He told me he was being sent to the
ER. The next time i talked to him he had had surgery. He called to tell
me. That was the last time I talked to him except that he immediately
and accidentally Facetimed me from his hospital bed. He was prone to
doing that. Considering his age, he could work with his Iphone pretty
well! My Dad, who was of the same age and a flight engineer in the USAF
couldn't get past his flip phone. Just couldn't work with an iPhone.
I'd tell him to touch an icon and he'd punch it. Fun times.
Anyway, Dick showed up at his studio every day. Sometimes twice a day.
On the days I was there, we stood at our respective easels with a
narrow glass top tablle between us for a shared palette. He said he
loved to watch me paint so he provided me with the easel, canvases and
we used his paint and brushes, etc. Dick had furnished his spacious
studio with two winged-back chairs and a recliner. We first sat and
talked for awhile and then painted for a while- then sat back and
discuss what we'd painted. We'd paint again, then sit and talk some
again or he would watch me paint until time for him to go have lunch
with his friends. He always told me to stay as long as I wanted and I
would usually stay and paint for awhile. When I was diagnosed with
cancer on July 8, 2022, Dick was such an encouragement. He had be en
diagnosed 20 years before. He called almost every day to check on me
during my year long treatments. He was usually in tremendous pain due
to his back problems but, he was always smiling and laughing. He was
such an inspiration. Going to meet with him was part of what kept me
going during chemo and radiation. There were ony a few times that I
called to tell him I just couldn't make it to our meeting that day. I
wasn't as tough as he was. After he died I took over his studio. It was
hard going back with him not there, sitting among all his things.i
struggled to make myself paint for weeks. I did'nt want to leave the
house. I'm slowly getting back into it. I have a huge commission of 6
paintings to complete for Hendrick Hospital that has kept me busy. Dick
would want me to keep on going and I will. I'm a pretty determined
person myself. I'm missing him. I am posting a picture of him in front
of his last painting. He finished it and put a blank canvas on his
easel, ready to start a new one on that dreadful day. He never wanted
to stop. He was always saying, "Motion is Lotion"
Painting With My Friend
My dear friend and student Dick Weber in June 2023
Dick Weber in June 2023 This was his last painting. He'd just finished
it and had left a blank canvas on his easel.
Below is the painting I was working on the day he died. It took me a
few weeks before I finally finished it. It was a curious painting. I
wasn't sure what to think of it. Still don't know. It had to have a
title to be entered into a competition so I gave it my best. It could
mean different things to different people. Maybe it's about having a
hero
..
Balancing Power and Dependency IMG_3167
Balancing Power and Dependency IMG_3167
IMG_5798
Here are our dueling easels. The two canvases are commissioned pieces.
They each have several layers of paint on them. I've since added trees
and tomorrow I'll add leaves and grass and flowers.
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