This year Helen discovered snowboarding, for good reason. Grandson, Nate, won the snowboardcross event in the X Games in Aspen for the fifth straight year and went on to the Olympics. Helen was as excited as I was.

The competition in Vancouver was fierce, the snow course was tricky, causing many skiers and boarders to fall. Having advanced through several heats to the final “Going for Gold/Silver/Bronze,” Nate caught an “edge” and spun out.

The day after Nate’s spin out, Helen decided to do a painting about snowboarding. Helen is an abstract painter, so it was difficult for me to even guess what the outcome would be like.

Several times she mentioned that she was really having fun with this painting, that she felt like it was she who was snowboarding.

It is an exciting – and fun – painting to view. The spirit of the event is there – the flurry of snow – the slash of the boards – the hint of orange flags - and, tucked away in fine print is “nate” – our own champ of snowboardX