Ruth Clausen sits in her bedroom as muralist Bethan Clayton paints a Mediterranean scene on a wall in an enclosed patio in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Dec 28, 2017. Clausen, who suffers from dementia and Parkinson’s disease, had a wallpaper mural of a Tuscan ocean-side country villa that fell apart during the heavy rains a couple years ago. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
For several years, Ruth Clausen has awakened up to the sight of a bare wall outside her Costa Mesa bedroom.
But on Friday, Dec. 29, the 84-year-old awoke to hummingbirds, colorful flowers, sunny green pastures and the ocean.
Ruth Clausen, left, with muralist Bethan Clayton and the artwork Clayton is painting on a wall in an enclosed patio in Costa Mesa on Thursday, Dec 28, 2017. Clausen, who suffers from dementia and Parkinson’s disease, had a wallpaper mural of a Tuscan ocean-side country villa that fell apart during the heavy rains a couple years ago. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“This just delights me,” said Clausen, who has Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. “We went to Europe and saw things like this.”
As part of an addition to the home where Clausen has lived for more than four decades, the wall is viewable through a glass door in her bedroom.
Her daughter, Nancy Clausen, a marketing professional who lives in Illinois and commissioned the painting, said the mural will have an immediate impact since her mother spends most of her time in the room.
Several years ago, the wall was lined with wallpaper featuring a Tuscan vineyard. Ruth Clausen cherished the view, but the wallpaper immediately began to deteriorate because of water damage.
During a visit home in September, her daughter decided she would hire someone to create something similar to the wallpaper design.
“She doesn’t really have a view of anything and that was her only view,” Nancy said. “The idea of going back to this wall with nothing on it was kind of depressing. I knew she loved what we had before so I was trying to find something along those lines.”
As she started fielding quotes from artists, she realized the endeavor wouldn’t come cheap. Some estimates for the mural ran as high as $2,500, well beyond Clausen’s price range.
When she reached out to Bethan Clayton, a, Long Beach-based artist who also has a mother who is sick, however, she found herself a muralist.
Clayton’s 87-year-old mother is battling cancer in England and suffers from pain and other health issues, she said, which is prompting her to make a visit in the near future.
She quoted Clausen around $500, a steep discount.
“I’m happy to do this,” Clayton said while using her paintbrush to dot Clausen’s wall with rose petals. “We don’t know how long our moms are going to be around. I would hope someone would do something like this if my mother needed it.”
Clayton began working on the wall around 9 a.m. Thursday, using only paintbrushes and sponges.
Usually, artists come into a project with drawings and measurements of the canvas, Clayton said. She did none of that.
“I just came in with guns firing,” she said, adding that in preparation she did make a small drawing on a cash register receipt.
With each brushstroke, the wall was transformed into a serene Mediterranean locale.
Sailboats sit on the ocean water while butterflies and Clayton’s calling card — the hummingbird — soar above flower shrubs.
While the mural resembles the Mediterranean, the location is open to Ruth Clausen and her imagination.
“This could be Catalina,” Clayton said. “It can be anywhere you want.”
The mural exceeded Ruth Clausen’s expectations, she said, adding that the artwork will help lift her spirits.
“Wouldn’t you like to wake up and see that in the morning?” she asked.
https://www.ocregister.com/2017/12/29/muralist-gives-costa-mesa-woman-with-dementia-a-new-view-of-her-world/
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