Things that gain by being painted

Sei Shonagon lists  “Things that gain by being painted: Pines. Autumn fields. Mountain villages and paths. Cranes and deer. A cold winter scene; an unspeakably hot summer scene.”

For Elizabeth, my mother, it was leopards chasing a gazelle. A bicycle race in Italy. A courtyard. Peonies in bloom. Goats.

For years she wanted a show of her work. When she moved to the nursing home I invited her friends to come over and choose something from her work to remember her with. She had her show at last.