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When Donna first sees this picture, she wonders if this is how her brother, Vincent, envisioned his future self as an old philosopher-type or if it was the old philosopher who always lived inside of him, always trying to figure out “what

In the fourth chapter of The Bird that Sang in Color, Vincent tells Donna and Frank that the harp is the only instrument he still needs to learn. He reiterates this aspiration again in Chapter Eight. By Chapter Nine, he’s learned this

The picture above comes from the actual sketchbook that inspired me to write my novel, The Bird That Sang in Color. In fact, all of the drawings I’ve been featuring in this latest blog series come from this same sketchbook. This drawing

Although Vincent played a variety of instruments, his favorite was the guitar. When Donna sees this picture, she thinks of all the times he played the guitar for her and remembers him saying his favorite phrase, “I’ve been

The drawing of Vincent during his short time in a seminary shows him looking out like he’d rather be anywhere else. As in all his pictures, Donna is amazed at how he was able to convey such feeling and emotion with a few strokes of a

“Creativity can be repetitive and boring until it’s transcendent.” I truly love this quote from a recent New York Times article on Peter Jackson’s Get Back documentary. I’ve experienced the repetitive and boring

The theme of music pervades The Bird that Sang in Color.  The story begins and ends in music and music is played throughout with various instruments and albums. But there isn’t only music in a literal sense. There is also the music of

Vincent’s sketchbook was a sort of pictorial autobiography with drawings conveying the simple, but rich life he led. During much of his lifetime, Donna encouraged him to do more in terms of pursuing a career but he chose to live life on

In chapter two of The Bird that Sang in Color, Donna sees Vincent playing a dulcimer in his room while listening to one of his favorite bands, The Incredible String Band. Several years later, she sees the above picture in the sketchbook of his

In the third chapter of The Bird that Sang in Color, Donna challenges Vincent’s decision to accept a baking job, saying that he could do so much more. About a week later, she tastes homemade bread that he baked and marvels and “how