We now have hanging on our wall a Paul J. Verheyden original oil painting. Who is Paul J. Verheyden you may ask? He’s my stepbrother. He and his wife Donna traveled from Texas to deliver his painting in person last weekend. And like many treasured gifts, this one has a long and twisting story.
The seed for the painting began late last year when Paul noticed a piece of paper sticking out of the family Bible he inherited after his dad, Dr. Floyd Verheyden, died in 2006. Paul opened the Holy Book to retrieve the 1995 column I had written when my mother, Ruth Lowry Verheyden, died. Paul read this tribute about his stepmother, then called me. I had not heard from him since Floyd’s funeral, but living often gets in the way of life at times, and I welcomed our reconnection.
And thus began a series of exchanges by phone, text and email. After Paul acquired a copy of my book, Angel in Tennis Shoes: Devotionals for Christmas, one selection, “The Christmas Cardinal,” lingered with him long after he closed the book. He knew he had to paint that cardinal. And then, he expanded his idea. He would paint the Christmas bird on the left side of his canvas and have my column printed on the right side. And this vision now hangs on our dining room wall.
Although I was grown, married and a mom when my widowed mother married his dad, a widower, Paul and his triplet sisters, Nina and Anne, were seven. Their siblings were older; Charles, 18, Sylvia, 15 and John, 11. Early on, this family realized Paul’s artistic abilities. And in keeping with their own dreams, Mother and Floyd, children of the Great Depression, wanted his children to have advantages they didn’t enjoy growing up. Mother searched and soon Paul was enrolled in private art lessons. Over time, his work was adorning the walls of their home.
Once when we were visiting, I asked Mother about buying one of Paul’s paintings. But she was adamant; his paintings were not for sale. She said, “Right now, he’s considered an amateur and we do not want him to jeopardize that designation for art competitions.”
After graduating high school, Paul attended the University of Texas where he majored in architecture. He says, “Architecture was a more practical career path than art. However in school, I completed many works of art with many different mediums through my drawing and water color painting classes as part of the architecture curriculum.”
Around 1970, Paul put down his oil palette and brush. He did not pick it up again for a half century. In 1921, his younger daughter asked him for a painting for her dining room wall. She had already confiscated four paintings and two drawings from his university days. She sent him a photo of a landscape featuring a winding road. And he painted the scene on a large canvas.
Eight months later, Paul, had completed 10 oil paintings, the earliest ones at the request of his four adult children and one, he gave his wife for Christmas. But once he painted the cardinal, he couldn’t let go. In addition to the original which I now have, he had numerous prints made. He gave each of our three adult children a print. Each of his children will also receive a copy.
Thereafter, the project took on a life of its own. He painted five more birds - blue jay, woodpecker, oriole, goldfinch and painted bunting - and he wrote the copy for each. The originals now hang on his staircase wall. He’s also in the process of creating a coffee table book of this series, Birds and Words.
With all of his work, Paul, who has survived a number of serious traumas including a commercial plane crash in 1988, credits God for his talent and inspiration. He cites Philippians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
And today as I stop to look at the PJV original, I smile with the memories it prompts, by the talent and generosity of the artist, and especially in appreciation for reconnection to this family.
Thank you, Paul.
(For information on purchasing his book, Birds and Words, or any other work, please check out his website at Paul J. Verheyden.com. Copies of my book, Angel in Tennis Shoes: Devotionals for Christmas are available at The Press-Sentinel or through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.)
2022
Comments