Lou Ann Bowersox took less than ideal circumstances during the pandemic and turned them into an opportunity to feel close to her family, even when they couldn’t physically be together.
“My husband had a major back surgery, three different procedures within a week’s time. The recovery was pretty intense. Right after surgery, COVID hit,” she said. “Everyone was on lockdown and I realized after several months I was in a frustrated, negative place.”
What started as a coping mechanism during the lockdown led to a unique way to connect to her grandchildren, both near and far.
“One particular night, I was frustrated at the world, not angry but frustrated. I wanted to capture how I was feeling — almost a challenge to myself to do a quick paint self-portrait,” Bowersox said. “I went into the art room, had on no makeup, took three very raw selfies and picked almost the worst one.”
Bowersox worked on painting her self-portrait over the next few days, releasing her emotions on the canvas.
“It’s not a feel-good piece,” Bowersox said. “But I love the emotions it captures.”
After finishing the painting, an idea came to her.
“It popped in my head. I realized I can’t see my grandkids, I can’t cuddle them, I can’t spend time with them — but painting, I can do,” she said. “I thought what if I could paint every single one of them and next summer we could be together and I could give it to them. I got really excited about it.”
The mission to create portraits of all 16 grandchildren gave Bowersox a new focus, and though the process would take time, she found it was well worth it.
“The hunt was on. I wanted to find the best picture for each grandkid to base the portrait on,” Bowersox said. “This gave me a much happier focus, knocking them out one at a time. I averaged one a month but finished some in two weeks.”
With grandchildren in England and New York, it would not be easy to get everyone together at the same time, so Bowersox planned a night for all the local grandkids to get together so she could surprise them with the special gift.
“I found a night when everyone could be together, fixed a big lasagna dinner, and made everyone leave the room afterward,” she said. “When I let them come back in, I just watched them as they found themselves on the walls.”
Bowersox was able to take pictures of each grandkid holding their portrait and enjoyed each of their reactions.
Some were surprised, never having seen a painting of themselves before, some loved it right away, and one took their painting all the way back home to Evansville.
After not being able to celebrate Christmas or have her family together, Bowersox said she finally emerged from what she calls the “COVID-funk”.
“I tried to use this to bring the family around me,” Bowersox said. “No matter what comes along you cannot be separated from your family. You can find love and connection somehow, someway.”
