Our last lesson was a disaster. Chitose and I had a huge fight. She arrived at the studio smiling and said, “Look Grandpa, I painted this portrait of you.” The man in the portrait had a lot of hair,

I gave the portrait of Chitose to her parents thinking they would appreciate it. I had done the portrait a couple of months before Chitose started changing her style, and I think it shows the high school student I taught for two years. When I painted it, she still had her natural curly hair, not her straight perm. She was not wearing all the accessories she has now, including the ring-shaped earrings she loves. She also never wore makeup then. This was a Chitose with a fantastic future who knew she was still an amateur artist. I understand that she is getting older and wants to act and look more like an adult. However, she seems to think that being an adult means that you stop listening to others. She will never become a great artist if she stops learning.

Dear Grandpa Sal,

I know this is late but I wanted to say that I am sorry for what happened the last time we met. In our last lesson, I didn’t listen to you because I thought that you still saw me as a kid. I looked at how you painted me in the portrait and this confirmed my belief. I was so hurt that I just left without taking your gift.

You don’t know this, but Mom secretly put the portrait into one of my suitcases when I left home for France. When I found it, I was still upset so I hid it in my closet. I didn’t think about the portrait for a while, but I rediscovered it by chance a couple of months ago. Looking at it, I saw a Chitose who was willing to listen in order to improve her art. I realized that the Chitose I’d become was different. She wanted to prove to everyone that she was an adult and had stopped listening to others. Until then, I’d been really struggling in my art classes, but after I realized my weakness, I started learning again and my art got much better. You will always be my teacher, Grandpa.

I remember the portrait I showed you in our last lesson. You didn’t like it and told me to paint you as I saw you. What you taught me that day makes sense to me now. I should paint things as they actually are and then their true beauty will shine.

I’ve painted a portrait of us and am sending you a photo of it. It actually won first prize in my city’s young artists competition. As you can see, I’ve painted myself like you did, as Chitose the high school student with a lot of potential. I’ve also painted you as I really see you. Your wrinkles are proof of your wisdom. The cane shows your will to overcome your physical challenges. Your bent back shows that you have poured all your strength into what you love the most: your art and me. Thank you, Grandpa.

　　　

Love,

Chitose

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