A friend kindly sent me a photo of this touching scene, and I felt compelled to paint it because I was attracted to the simplicity and profoundness of the gesture. Aged, weathered hands, gently caressing a fresh, delicate pink rose, evoking in me an unfortunate reverie at how long it’s been since I felt, smelt or even saw a live flower, weed, blade of grass, and I may never be able to again! Prison has a way of allowing me to truly appreciate what I once took for granted mindlessly.

Regrettably, since I hadn’t seen this picture in a decade, it’s perhaps my worst color applications in acrylics, but I’ll cut myself some slack since I was just learning to paint. Let this be a lesson to you novices, not to get discouraged by failing to accomplish what you want at first. As they say, every long journey begins with a first step. Practice does make perfect.