Sitting Still

We were gathered around a table painting with watercolors in an Alzheimer’s unit. George came into the activity room and walked around the table and out again. This happens over and over. I asked him if I could paint a watercolor portrait of him. “Would you be willing to sit down in this chair and face me, so I can see your face?” He sat right down and looked straight at me for 30 minutes as we sat. He looked straight at me, as I would catch his eye and talk to him about his features as I drew. This gentleman, who is not able to make himself understood, looked at the final results. “I look mean,” he said. I used my brush to turn the corners of his mouth up just a little bit. He smiled approval.