You will see, in the column at the left, that the “Gatherings” began in 1993. At that time, we thought that it was a one-time event, which was held in northern Petaluma. I had no idea that the group had started up again by Dick Cole and some others who had attended the first event. Gathering 1999 shows the Geezer group at a restaurant in Sonoma, Dick’s hometown. As the attendance grew, the restaurant could no longer hold us. The park in Corte Madera became an easier location for the crowd.
Through the years, Dick Cole was able to share his watercolor paintings with the commercial art and the fine art communities.
This, below, is a collection of Dick Cole’s paintings that appeared as the 2008 calendar for the Bank of Marin. For several years, the calendars were offered to the Bank of Marin’s account holders. Each year, Dick would remove one of the twelve and add a new painting from a location in Marin County. The year that the bank was no longer presenting this beautiful calendar, I took this 2008 calendar and kept using it by finding the month with the correct sequence of days and I’d stick on a note where I printed the current month — so I could keep seeing Dick’s paintings. At one of our Geezer picnics, I told Dick that I did this- — I got one of his wonderful smiles.
We will miss seeing any more new paintings with Dick Cole’s deft touch.
We will miss his jovial wit. We will miss his friendship.
Ann
