Yes, that Picasso.  The painter.

In the countries we have been to, we always enjoyed buying works of art from individuals.  Any small neighborhood bazaar will have artists selling their goods and we have purchased many.  These are not masterpieces, but just works of art that touched us.

A beautiful friend of ours in Ankara has a daughter that follows her own path in Life.  The first time I remember seeing Ayşe was at an Embassy sponsored “Olympics”.  While everyone was running around jumping through hoops, she was busy dragging a tree branch around in the dirt.

When I saw her my first thought was, This little one follows the beat of a different drum.  And as the years progressed, I thought correctly.

I began to see postings from her mother of Ayşe’s paintings on Facebook.  So, I asked her sometime ago if her daughter would be interested in selling some of them.  Ah, no thank you, Ayşe told her.

Recently, luckily for me, she has grown and realized the value of things.  So, when I asked again, Ayşe told her, Yes.

Her mother sent me four pictures of the paintings Ayşe picked out for me, and the one I chose was the one Ayşe said I would choose.  It made me feel good that she sensed which I would pick.

Here is Ayşe’s painting hanging on my bedroom wall, that she did when she was 7½ years old.It is based on Picasso’s painting titled Portrait of Paulo as Pierrot.At seven years old, I was struggling to tie my shoes …. come to think of it, I still do; but put that aside and let me say something here.  A close friend used to paint pictures from the Masters.  He said by doing so, he encountered the same problems they had and learned how to overcome them, and he became a better artist.  Something I never would have thought about.

But then I realized the same can be said for writing.  By reading the works of the Masters, I have learned how they used words to describe all the facets of Life.  Reading the words of Tolstoy, Hugo and Dickens, I have become better at putting my thoughts on paper.

It will be the same with Ayşe.  If she continues to follow the Master’s works, and I expect she will, she will become an artist who stands out.  Just the fact she chose the work of Picasso to copy, says a great deal and I know she will be a success in Life.

Carry on, Little One.  Your drum is calling you.