Let me just start by telling you a few things about my dad…

My dad (white shirt) pictured with his childhood friend Falken who is also an artist. I love the emotion in their faces! And also I need a good picture with my dad darn it! But for now this will do!

My dad (white shirt) pictured with his childhood friend Falken who is also an artist. I love the emotion in their faces! And also I need a good picture with my dad darn it! But for now this will do!

He’s got curly, short white hair, a tanned face (from tending to his garden and having a Tongan grandmother), and good, kind features.

He gets tears in his eyes when he’s happy and a little quiet when he’s sad.

A master gardener, bamboo shakuhachi flute player, green tea connoisseur, my father Richard Bohn has been honing his Chinese hermit/ illiterati skills for over seven decades.

You can often find him reading out of print books of poetry on a lawn chair, practicing his sumi-e painting strokes, quoting haiku poets (and writing haiku!) enjoying barefoot walks in the grass, eating hand grown tomatoes off the vine, he’s the real “Artist’s Way” deal.

He lives his life as his art: each day, a stroke with light and dark, humor, humility and gratitude…and let’s not forget a good snack!

He also has a weakness for a good kettle potato chip, a glass of cold coca cola and some chocolate. As I write this I can almost hear his voice : “That’s not a weakness Auria, those are the simple pleasures of life!”

He does the “typical” dad stuff too..changes tires, drives a thirty year old red truck, drives across the state to help you move if you need it…he’s not perfect but he’s done the dad thing better than he gives himself credit for.

I haven’t seen him for nearly three years and I am not sure when I will next have a chance. We do a family zoom meeting every Sunday and that keeps us connected but it is not the same. Let’s hope things improve so we can all be with our families safely sometime soon!

Bellow are some pictures of a few of my father’s pieces I have in my home.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!