"Bashfully Bedazzling" Oil on Canvas 18 x 24
On our way to Hong Kong for Chinese New Years (The
year of the Dragon), Rhonda and I had a layover in Japan's Tokyo airport. It
was a three hour layover and being bored I left Rhonda in the waiting area
where she was deeply immersed in her Nora Roberts romance novel.
I strolled the airport and took in the sights. It was raining outside so I
didn't go out but instead viewed the street below from a window two stories up.
It was a large window that was being pelted with rain, which ran streaking down
the window and blurred the view. It created the perfect atmosphere for a cold
and rainy day with me stuck waiting in a noisy, crowded building.
At one point, the hard rain stopped leaving only a foggy drizzle. That's when I
saw far-off figures along the side of the road. From that distance, I could not
make out details except that they were approaching. Closer, I saw two female
figures holding umbrellas. As they approached even closer, I could make out an
older woman and a young woman, the older slightly in front. I judged the young
one to be in her late teens or early 20's. They looked like mother and
daughter. I studied their approach and, of course, focused on the young woman.
As they came into clear view, the sun broke partially out, and light sparkled
off the young woman's wet umbrella. I could see she wore traditional Japanese
clothing.
The picture of her was so burned into my mind, that I sketched it on the plane
as we headed for Hong Kong.
