Amy Boucher Pye

Category: Watercolor Wednesdays

Paintings by my father that inspire thoughts to ponder.

  • Watercolor Wednesday: Soaking up city culture

    By Leo Boucher. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

    It’s that time of year when many Americans come to Europe for vacation/holiday, and the time when I see on social media the many graduations and proms. Schools are generally out now across the pond, while my kids have well over a month left of the daily grind. I remind myself of our regular breaks in the school year – the two weeks at Christmas and Easter, and the three half-term breaks of a year. It all evens out in the end. But I do remember fondly that feeling of the last day of school, with the long three months stretching out in front of me. I had the chance to get bored.

    And so in the spirit of the season, today’s painting is of a European city with throngs of visitors – I’m thinking this might be Prague, but will have to ask my dad.

    What holiday plans do you have? Any city breaks planned?

  • Watercolor Wednesday: The value of work

    By Leo Boucher. Used with permission; all rights reserved.

    My parents both grew up on farms in the Midwest of America. Both learned the value of work, that continual work wrought by cows that need to be milked every day and animals fed and watered. They instilled in me the satisfaction of a job well done, whether a clean carpet or a writing project. I sometimes fear I am too soft on my kids in comparison – will they too love to work?

    Yes, work has been affected by the fall of humanity, where now we will toil and labor with sweat and pain. But humanity was to subdue creation before the fall, so we can infer that work can be good and meaningful. We’ll always live in that tension of living in a world that is made for beauty and enjoyment but one affected by sin and disease, and our relationship with work reflects that tension.

    What’s your view of work?

  • Watercolor Wednesday: Stopping to pause

    By Leo Boucher. All rights reserved.

    Just a few brushstrokes and a painting is born. I don’t have the confidence to paint in this way, but I appreciate others who do.

    Flowers bring beauty into our days, as we stop to pause, breathing in their scent and taking a moment to reflect. I often post photographs on my Intsagram feed of flowers and other things in creation as a discipline of seeing and noticing beauty.

    What have you seen today?

  • Watercolor Wednesday: Roses to delight

    By Leo Boucher. Used with permission; all rights reserved.

    This Sunday, America and some other countries (for example South Africa, I believe) will celebrate Mother’s Day. Not Mothering Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent that is observed in the UK, but the holiday that falls on the second Sunday in May, as I explain in Finding Myself in Britain. Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908, in honor of the founder’s mother, but she became disillusioned when in the 1920s the holiday became over-commercialized.

    Mother’s Day can be hard for me, because I’m not able to celebrate my mother in person, and because my family here in England can easily forget the holiday, without any of the cultural reminders to help them. Yes, as some people say, every day is Mother’s (or Father’s) day – why do we need another day? For me, marking the day in May feels special, and like I’m not being asked to lose my Americanness while living in Britain.

    This year we celebrated last Sunday, a week early because of conflicting events on the actual holiday. My son giving me chocolate and my daughter some lovely roses (photo above). I was delighted to be reminded of a painting my dad created for one of the senior art classes he teaches, which reflects the roses I have before me. A reminder of God’s beauty in creation, given in love by a family member.

    Do you love giving or receiving roses? Why?

  • Watercolor Wednesday: Selby Avenue in St. Paul

    By Leo Boucher. Used with permission; all rights reserved.

    It’s another dreary day in Londontown, so I thought some bright colors might bring some cheer with today’s art by my dad. This is a scene from Selby Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota. I love the welcoming lights inside, beckoning people in from what looks like a crisp and cold day outside.

    Would you stop there for a coffee and a chat?

  • Watercolor Wednesday: God the Master Artist

    By Leo Boucher. All rights reserved.

    My daughter and I have been sorting through her stuff so that I can build a new desk bed in her room. When flipping through the piles of paper, I came across this watercolor by my dad that I don’t remember seeing. What a treasure! I love the swathes of colors, evoking memories of gorgeous sunrises and sunsets. God, the master painter.

    What treasures have you unearthed lately?

  • Watercolor Wednesday: Sister Love

    By Leo Boucher. All rights reserved.

    My sister had a birthday recently, and when I called her I rued the fact that I have been outside of Minnesota for so many decades – and thus not able to take her to lunch on her birthday. It’s times like these when I feel the distance most keenly. At least technology is so much better than twenty years ago when I first moved to the UK, for without cost I can text or call her – an amazing thought compared with times past.

    Here’s a picture my dad painted, which I love, which we have hanging in our home. It’s Beth carrying water to build a sandcastle with my kids while we were all in Florida together one year. I found it difficult to photograph, for my dad painted it on the back of the piece of glass, which makes for such interesting color and texture but reflections too.

    What days of the year do you find poignant?

  • Watercolor Wednesday: A seaside scene

    By Leo Boucher. All rights reserved.

    As it’s the Easter holidays (at least in the UK), and many people are away enjoying a break (such as those hearing the cawing of the sea gulls at Spring Harvest), I thought it a good time to share this lovely seaside scene by my dad, Leo Boucher.

    Take a moment to look at it, and perhaps place yourself at the scene. What do you see and hear? Maybe some fishermen are unloading the catch of mussels just to the left of the frame. Artists set up their easels to capture the beauty of the moment. Children ask their parents for an ice cream.

    May you experience some moments of peace and refreshment this day.

  • Watercolor Wednesday: Looking to the Cross

    By Leo Boucher. All rights reserved.

    As we ponder the cross this Holy Week, may we understand more deeply the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice.

  • Watercolor Wednesday: Sailing at Sunset

    By Leo Boucher. Used with permission; all rights reserved.

    Sailboats on the water… so many of you appreciated the sailboat painting by my dad, Leo Boucher, that I posted a few weeks ago that I thought I’d share this watercolor with you today. What’s the story behind it, do you think? Maybe it’s coming up to dusk, those moments of stillness and change in the sky’s colors that can strike in us a sense of wonder and gratitude.

    What do you see?