Remember the COVID-19 lockdowns?

During one of my walks in the neighbourhood, I saw a fallen birch tree covered in elkhorn ferns in someone’s front yard. I wondered if the owner still wanted it.

This was when I met Lily for the first time. She was standing on her front porch, wearing a smile that beamed with warmth and kindness. While maintaining social distancing, I told Lily that I’d like to buy the ferns, but she generously asked me to take them for free! I gladly did so, but offered to paint her a portrait in return.

I would have loved to paint Lily from life if not for the pandemic. Instead, Karene, Lily’s granddaughter, sent me a few reference photographs. This was the first portrait I painted exclusively with painting knives. I painted feverishly till the wee hours, and at one point, I felt that I had captured something in the painting. I stood there and cried… maybe Lily reminded me of my own grandmother.

Lily and Karene kindly invited me into their home when I delivered the painting, and that was when I found out that Lily was an artist, too! I remember the delicately painted horses on her wall.

Sadly, Lily passed away 8 months later. The elkhorn ferns still flourish on my balcony.