Three Paintings of the Bean

I usually do newsletters, not blogs. But in a newsletter a couple of months ago, I reiterated my policy to do portraits for my subscribers mourning the loss of a pet. You might think I've had so many responses by now that I'm backed up for months in my painting schedule.

Actually, only one person took me up on it.

Our friend Jessica wrote me several wonderfully moving letters about Reuben, her beloved Chihuahua who died at the beginning of this year at the age of nineteen.Because of his diminutive size, Jessica and her partner Paul began to call him Reuben Bean, and gradually he became known around the house as just the Bean. 

Jessica also sent me tens of photos of him. The immensity of her love for her Reuben over almost two decades made me feel a single portrait would not be enough, and that's why there are three watercolors of the Bean in this newsletter. When a person gives me the opportunity and the trust to create something that could both help alleviate the pain of such a loss and bring back the joy in memories turned sad, that's a call that just steels me. I only hope what I've done helps bring solace.

I chose images that would show how Reuben transformed over the course of his lifetime. The first portrait of him is from when he was a young man, calm and wise. He sits on an invisible pillow on one side of a whole sheet of white paper. Yet he's a little inscrutable with one eye clear, the other a bit in the darkness, both behind a little robber's mask.

As life moved on, his expression changed. In this next portrait, his eyes are nearly black, and his stance and direct gaze show the developed strength of his character.

But then there's this one: the old-man Bean during his last summer. Jessica and Paul had taken him to his favorite outdoor cafe in Carmel for one more of the doggie meals he enjoyed there. He is blind, deaf, and weak. He may not be able to walk. Yet, as Jessica holds him, he radiates peace and gratitude for a life well-lived. He has been blessed beyond measure by the love of his humans.

So, Jessica and Paul, these three are for you. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to spend a little time with the Bean.