I met Digree in April of 2018 in the studio of Salvatore Del Deo in Provincetown. She agreed to a portrait sitting for our painting group. We never expected her to show up in her authentic Nepalese Wedding Dress, jewelry and all, but what could be more authentic for this Nepalese farmer, who seems to be one with the Sun, and in sync with the Earth, than to come dressed up with love. The colors! We were filled with delight.

Digree was a perfect artists’ model; she sat so still just like a beautiful flower set in a vase. She is still learning English so she didn’t say much with words to us, but she spoke volumes by her actions and countenance. At breaktimes from posing she smiled radiantly and she delighted in the variety of interpretations we painters were creating. She probably didn’t know how much fun it was for us to try to capture her likeness and spirit. Yes, painting is difficult; it is very taxing on the brain, and as the painter ages it is taxing on the body as it requires long hours standing in front of an easel. But it is work that is rewarding and full of surprises, because if you paint like I do, each painting is a journey leading to an unknown destination. For me the subject leads the journey whether I like it or not. When you make a painting of a human sitter you realize the intensity of their existence. When I experience this intensity I want to honor it. Digree took the time and thought to go to the trouble of wearing her wedding outfit, so that outfit deserved to be captured as best I could. Her hands needed to be shown as working hands, the hands of a dedicated organic farmer of vegetables and flowers. Her face was filled with light so when I created the garden background from my own flowers, I used the colors of the sunflowers in her skin tones to help capture her radiance. She emanated warmth, humility, generosity, and an appreciation for a life given to her where she can do what she loves. She gives back to her community through operating a farm stand and participating in multiple farmer’s markets during the growing season. What serendipitous good fortune for us that her journey took her all the way from Nepal to take root in our community, like a precious seed carried on a purposeful wind.