Where to begin … I will try to describe my interpretation of this painting as it came to life. Eric, AKA Magoo was working on paintings at his Artist Without Barriers painting sessions (AWB-A place where people of all abilities come together and do their thing). I used to chat with the parents or go into th
e lunchroom and read giving Eric a little bit more independence. One day I walked out into the room and as I looked at Eric’s painting … it looked like an Angel. I commented how beautiful it looked … “I love it” I said. I went back into the lunchroom and read for a little while longer and when I came back out into the room the Angel was gone. I asked him if that was a new painting or did he paint over the Angel? By the look on his face I knew the answer. At that moment I realized I
wouldn’t comment anymore with the fear of him painting over another painting. A few more weeks and this painting emerged from that Angel painting. The painting was completed in July 2015 and came home to rest with all his other paintings. Eric’s Aunt Gisele (Ashley mother) came for a visit at Nana’s house one day in August 2015. She began flipping through all the paintings piled up against the wall. I told her she was free to pick whichever painting she wanted … he had so many. She pulled out a painting and said I’ll take this one. I asked her what it was in this painting that she was attracted to? She pointed out the embryo that was floating in the middle and said it looks like a baby. The painting went home to her house. Within the next few months her daughter Ashley announced what we already figured out … she was pregnant. Trying for five years her dream had come true, they were going to have a baby.
As this baby grew within Ashley‘s tummy there were a few unanswered questions. Was it a boy or a girl? She had a friend who always predicted the sex of the baby and mentioned to Ashley that she would be having twins. Ashley assured her she was not having twins. I was still not convinced … there was a little bit of a mystery still in this painting. Why was there both blue and pink in this embryo? One thing that Ashley was sure of was the baby’s name. Whether it was a girl or a boy it would be called … Miah. That name meant a lot to her. Ashley explained to everyone at her baby shower that February that she asked her Aunt and Uncle if they were ok with calling the baby Miah. … she got the green lig
ht, they were pleased, all was good. Who was Miah? Jeremiah; Miah as he was called by many was Ashley’s first cousin who had passed away when he was 17. Ashley was only 8. OK now things might be making more sense. The blue in the embryo may not be twins but the spirit of Miah. Closer to Ashley’s delivery date she came for a visit to her Nana’s house. When she arrived she sat down on the couch and began telling Nana that she was not feeling well and a little bit nervous. Eric came and sat down beside her and within a few minutes she said “I don’t know what you just did but I feel much better, thank you Eric”. Did Magoo already have a connection with this baby? Baby girl, Miah Angelina Congi arrived on
April 6, 2016. There were times when I would see Miah and Magoo communicate without words. Hummm … Angelina … maybe the Angel behind the painting? So to interpret the painting floating in the universe there is a child … a girl …the spirit of a boy … is it Miah … an Angel … Angelina? Magoo will never tell … but don’t we love to believe in something magical? Love, Magoo’s Mom Praying that I have interpreted this painting as he envisioned it.
Gifted the story in a wooden box with the painting made into a puzzle, December 2022.