Pitches made for painting

From Francesca

For over eight years we were walking companions. Four or five times a week we strolled along the beach enjoying the crashing excitement of winter storms or the balmy warmth of spring and summer days when the larks rose off the sand dunes singing as they soared heavenwards. Sometimes, for a change, especially in autumn, we walked in a nearby park where the leaf-strewn paths were the glorious colour of amber and so reminiscent of Mary Duffy’s painting of her garden path.

This year Amber became feeble and ill with advancing age. She could no longer manage walks on the beach because her increasing blindness made her nervous of losing me if she strayed too far from my side. She still loved her walks, so we went more frequently to the park where the paths helped to guide her and prevented her straying too far away. As winter approached, Amber struggled on but as time passed I had to lift her in and out of the car. I realised that life was almost over for her. In the middle of December my beloved friend and walking companion died.

Mary Duffy’s painting with its shades of amber which could be red bricks or fallen leaves on her garden path evokes treasured memories of a beautiful dog called Amber and our woodland walks on leaf strewn paths in the autumn of her life. I miss her greatly and even more so because when I am sad she is not there to hold my hand gently in her mouth to comfort me.

Francesca. January 2010