Can I Finish Telling My Story

ARTIST:

Amanda Rivers

SENIOR:

Rudy Loy

ARTFORM:

Visual Arts

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Rudy is an unforgettable human. He shared so many memories and life experiences with me.  I visited with him for about an hour and in that hour it felt like I had met 7 people.

 Rudy is a naturally gifted mechanic. He told me a friend of his had a brand new red Massey Harris tractor that had stopped working. This friend had tried everything he could to get the tractor up and running again. His dad told him to get Rudy. “Rudy can fix anything.” The stubborn friend refused. If the mechanic couldn’t fix it there’s no way Rudy would be able to figure it out. Eventually they needed the tractor and were willing to try anything even to get Rudy to come take a look. Rudy told me he stood 10 feet away from the tractor looking at it and knew almost immediately what the problem was. He was able to get parts from broken down cars on the farm and as the sun was setting Rudy told his friend to start the tractor. It started! And Rudy remembers hearing his friend’s dad say “I told you Rudy could fix it!” While jumping around on his front porch. 

After hearing that story I knew immediately I wanted to paint that moment for Rudy. I’ve made the sun resemble some of Rudy’s woodworking pieces. In our visit Rudy showed me some songs he recorded and mixed. They were beautiful to experience with my synesthesia. Those colors are reflected in the colors of the sunset. 

Anytime Rudy would tell a story I would write a few notes down as to not forget. He would stop and wait for me to finish and then would say “can I finish telling my story now?” One story would end and another would start. There’s no way he could ever really finish telling his story because he continues to create memories that will last a life time and beyond.