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Last January I watched news and scrolled the web and social for updates on the California wildfires. Each story brought more bad news.

So many homes were lost; homes like mine, with families and memories. It seemed unimaginable. I considered sending a donation, like I'd done after Hurricane Katrina, but any small amount I could afford to send seemed trivial. I wanted to do something meaningful, but what?

In March I happened on a CBS news story about two California women who had to do something besides watch it happen. Ashley Miller and Amy Beemer Lev started an Instagram page called Homes in Memoriam which quickly grew into a non-profit that caught the eye of artists, wildfire survivors, and people wanting to help.

Artists from across the nation began signing up to create portraits of homes that were lost! It was something I could do too! I've been painting home portraits in watercolor for years, and love the genre. So I signed up for my first portraits and quickly completed and sent them off, then signed up for more. Each portrait is based on photography provided by the homeowner, along with the address and any requests for memorabilia.

Soon I received a thank you from one homeowner, then another. It made me feel like I'd made a difference to someone! I'd captured a memory of something they lost. This makes my heart happy. 

What I discovered is how much of a loss these wildfires caused. At least 30 people were killed, more than 200,000 were forced to evacuate, more than 18,000 homes were lost along with over 75,000 acres. Most of the damage was from the two largest fires: the Eaton Fire in Altadena and the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades.

Whether I was painting a cozy bungalow, a mid-century Modern, or a multi-million $$ Spanish Colonial, I discovered that all of the homes had the same thing in common: memories. Memories of family gatherings, children growing up, beloved pets, generations, collections, landscaping, neighbors, holidays and all the possessions and people that make a home the very best place to be.

All the home portraits I completed were in Altadena or Pacific Palisades. When I entered the addresses into Google Earth, I was returned a charred homesite, block after block of them. Not a brick or a piece of aluminum was left. When I saw that it really hit home. 

The scary thing is it could happen to any of us. In Washington State where I live there's plenty of forest land alongside houses that could easily go up in flames, given the same conditions as California.

So for now I'm gratefgul to be secure in my home studio painting home portraits and other paintings. I'm very grateful for the roof over my head and send my heartfelt best wishes to all those who lost theirs.

Thank you especially to Ashley and Amy for starting Homes in Memoriam and giving so many people the gift of a memory of what they'd lost. I'm so very glad I found you and that I can paint homes too.

Here are the homes I've painted. All of them burned to the ground. :-(