Making his own Studio

Today Bruce started painting mosques, from a bright colored photo, its what interested him to paint that day.  His wife, Betty spends everyday with her husband visiting him at Medway Country Manor, his home for now. 

"I can't walk and I can't stand, so I paint" Bruce said to me.

After lunch if Bruce feels like it that day, he will paint. Over the summer he painted mostly outdoors. He will set up a studio inside now, as long as he's warm. When its too cold, its difficult for him to move his hands.  On the back of his wheel chair is a bag where he has all his supplies if needed. When he's ready he asks Betty to get a specific color, she puts a little dab of a color or 2 on a piece of paper, and any mixing of colors is done directly on the canvas, it works for him. He doesn't draw it out first, that's not the way he creates. 

He plans it out in his head, thinks about the composition. He feels the dark colors should be towards the top and lighter colors at the bottom. If he's not happy with part of the work, he waits for it to dry and paints over it.

He has an impressionism style of painting. Some techniques include short, thick paint brush strokes, emphasis is on color and light rather than details. 

Betty shared some of his art work. They have many more at their home, but a few here at the Manor.

Bruce's color studies.

Bruce has dementia but as I sat with him he recalled many stories of when he painted in oils in the 70's, when his kids were young. He was an accountant but had many creative outlets. He loved to refinish furniture. He would buy a piece at an antique store and bring it back to it's natural beauty and just add a polyurethane finish. Bruce said he would love to do that again but isn't able to use all his tools and wouldn't be able to handle large pieces of furniture.
I'm on the hunt now for a small wooden antique of some sort, for Bruce to refinish. He is fine with just using sand paper. He said they (at the Medway Country Manor) would have a place for him to work.